How to add image sequence in sequencer via python?

Question

I'm trying to add image sequence to sequencer using python, but it looks like sequence_editor.sequences.new_image() can only add singular images and not image sequences.

Is there any way to add image sequence to sequencer without using bpy.ops.sequencer.image_strip_add()? I'm in a situation where I can't quite use it.

Answer 1

The bpy.ops.sequencer.image_strip_add() operator can add multiple images as a single strip. Here's a simple example that takes directory C:\Users\xxxx\Desktop\test\ containing 5 images of the format image_####.png and imports them as a sequence. You need to use the proper context, which is SEQUENCE_EDITOR, in order to use the bpy.ops.sequencer.image_strip_add command:

import bpy
directory = r"C:\Users\xxxx\Desktop\test"
prefix = "image_" #prefix in image_0001.png
frame_start = 1
frame_end = 5
files = []
for frame in range(frame_start, frame_end + 1):
    files.append({"name":f"{prefix}{frame:04d}.png"})
area_type = 'SEQUENCE_EDITOR'
areas  = [area for area in bpy.context.window.screen.areas if area.type == area_type]
with bpy.context.temp_override(
    window=bpy.context.window,
    area=areas[0],
    regions=[region for region in areas[0].regions if region.type == 'WINDOW'][0],
    screen=bpy.context.window.screen
):
    bpy.ops.sequencer.image_strip_add(
        directory=directory,
        files=files,
        relative_path=True,
        show_multiview=False,
        frame_start=frame_start,
        frame_end=frame_end,
        channel=1,
        fit_method='FIT'
    )

On the other hand, the new_image() method is designed to create a new image sequence strip for a single image file. It does not have the ability to automatically combine multiple images into a single strip so you will end up with 5 image sequences:

import bpy
import os
directory = r"C:\Users\xxxx\Desktop\test"
prefix = "image_" #prefix in image_0001.png
frame_start = 1
frame_end = 5
for frame in range(frame_start, frame_end + 1):
    filename = f"{prefix}{str(frame).zfill(4)}.png"
    seq = bpy.data.scenes[0].sequence_editor.sequences.new_image(
        name = filename,
        filepath = os.path.join(directory, filename),
        channel = 1,
        frame_start = frame,
        fit_method = 'ORIGINAL'
    )