Accessing assets

Isaac Sim loads assets from the primary hosted service by default. You can select an Asset Region Profile when a regional service provides better access, or use a local asset pack for offline and air-gapped environments.

Asset Region Profiles

An Asset Region Profile selects a compatible asset root and configures any storage settings required for that service. Isaac Sim provides these profiles:

Profile	Use
us	Primary asset service used by a fresh configuration and for explicit switchback.
china	Regional asset service for users in mainland China.

Linux

export ISAACSIM_ASSET_REGION_PROFILE=china
./isaac-sim.sh

Windows

set ISAACSIM_ASSET_REGION_PROFILE=china
isaac-sim.bat

The selected profile’s asset root is stored in the persistent asset-root setting. Unsetting ISAACSIM_ASSET_REGION_PROFILE alone does not restore a previously selected root. To return to the primary service, clear ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT and select the us profile for the next launch. You can then leave the profile unset for later launches.

The china profile publishes an asset availability manifest. The isaac_version field identifies the asset release. Each asset_path is the full path to a file relative to the versioned asset root’s Isaac directory. A status value of available reports that the file is mirrored, reason_code explains other statuses when provided, and checked_at records when the status last changed. The manifest covers files under the root’s Isaac directory; it does not confirm the availability of other paths.

Use the resolved asset root from Isaac Sim APIs when constructing asset paths. Do not hardcode the profile’s storage endpoint or derive direct object URLs from the manifest.

Local asset packs

The downloadable Isaac Sim asset packs are built from the default Asset Region Profile’s asset set. Use a local asset pack when the host cannot access a hosted asset service.

1. Download every part of the Isaac Sim Assets Complete Pack from Latest Release. Verify each part with the MD5 checksum in the download table.

   To resume an interrupted download and verify it in one command, you can use aria2c -c --checksum=md5=<md5> "<download-url>" with the values from the download table.

2. Combine the parts and extract the complete archive. Replace VERSION with the full asset-pack version from the download table.

   Linux

   ASSET_PACK_VERSION=VERSION
   mkdir -p ~/isaacsim_assets
   cd ~/Downloads
   cat "isaac-sim-assets-complete-${ASSET_PACK_VERSION}".0??.zip > "isaac-sim-assets-complete-${ASSET_PACK_VERSION}.zip"
   unzip "isaac-sim-assets-complete-${ASSET_PACK_VERSION}.zip" -d ~/isaacsim_assets
   

   Windows

   set "ASSET_PACK_VERSION=VERSION"
   mkdir C:\isaacsim_assets
   cd %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
   copy /b "isaac-sim-assets-complete-%ASSET_PACK_VERSION%.0??.zip" "isaac-sim-assets-complete-%ASSET_PACK_VERSION%.zip"
   tar -xf "isaac-sim-assets-complete-%ASSET_PACK_VERSION%.zip" -C C:\isaacsim_assets
   

3. Confirm that the extracted versioned asset root contains both the Isaac and NVIDIA directories. Set ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT to that root and start Isaac Sim. Replace VERSION_DIRECTORY below with the version directory in the extracted pack.

   Linux

   export ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT="$HOME/isaacsim_assets/Assets/Isaac/VERSION_DIRECTORY"
   ./isaac-sim.sh
   

   Windows

   set ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT=C:\isaacsim_assets\Assets\Isaac\VERSION_DIRECTORY
   isaac-sim.bat
   

Asset root resolution order

The asset root is resolved in this order, from highest to lowest priority:

Priority	Source	Example
1	ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT environment variable	export ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT=https://my-server
2	Asset Region Profile	ISAACSIM_ASSET_REGION_PROFILE=us
3	Command-line argument	--/persistent/isaac/asset_root/default=https://my-server
4	Experience (.kit) file	persistent.isaac.asset_root.default = "https://my-server"
5	Extension default	Primary US asset root

ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT always takes precedence. When neither environment variable is set, normal Kit settings precedence applies to command-line, experience, and extension values. Both environment-variable workflows write the persistent asset-root setting. To restore the primary root after using a profile or local pack, clear ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT and launch once with ISAACSIM_ASSET_REGION_PROFILE=us.

If a selected profile appears to be ignored, clear the higher-priority ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT environment variable and restart Isaac Sim:

Linux

unset ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT

Windows Command Prompt

set ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT=

Windows PowerShell

Remove-Item Env:ISAACSIM_ASSET_ROOT -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Verify asset access

In the Isaac Sim app, select Utilities > Check Default Assets Root Path. The log reports the resolved root when it is reachable.

In Python, use isaacsim.storage.native.get_assets_root_path() or isaacsim.storage.native.get_assets_root_path_async() to resolve and validate the configured root before joining it with relative asset paths.