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OpenCue Documentation

repository·master·Indexed 21 days ago

https://github.com/academysoftwarefoundation/opencue

An open-source render management system for visual effects and animation production. Includes documentation for Cuebot (central management service), CueAdmin (CLI administration tool for jobs, layers, frames, and hosts), cuecmd (CLI tool for distributing shell commands as jobs), and the CueGUI plugin system for extending the user interface.

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What's inside OpenCue

  1. What is OpenCueWeb?

    master

    OpenCueWeb is a web-based application built with Next.js and React that provides a responsive, browser-accessible interface for managing OpenCue render farms. It serves as a modern alternative to the desktop-based CueGUI, allowing for network-wide access and mobile-friendly interaction.

    Key Capabilities

    • Job Management: Full parity with CueGUI for monitoring Jobs, Layers, and Frames, including detailed column sets (Comments, Launched, Eligible, Finished, etc.).
    • Interactive Visualizations: Includes a Job Dependency Graph (mirroring JobMonitorGraph) and animated progress bars for jobs and layers.
    • Real-time Monitoring: Automatic status updates and job-finished notifications via in-app toasts or desktop popups.
    • Advanced Inspection: Inline Layers and Frames panels, breadcrumb navigation, and an Attributes panel for viewing entity metadata.
    • Safety Features: A global read-only toggle (File ▸ Disable Job Interaction) to prevent destructive actions.
    • Developer/Power User Tools: Regex-enabled search, keyboard shortcuts (press ?), and integrated log viewing (including an option to launch logs in a local editor like VSCode).

  2. Overview of PyOutline and pycuerun

    master

    PyOutline and pycuerun are two interconnected components located in the pyoutline/ package:

    • PyOutline: A job specification library used to define jobs. It provides a Python API for constructing job definitions, serializing them to the OpenCue job specification format, managing sessions for runtime data exchange, and offering a plugin system and pluggable backends for execution.
    • pycuerun: A command-line frontend for PyOutline. It parses outline scripts, manages launch options, executes individual frames on render hosts, and provides development/debugging tools.

    Key Technologies

    • Python 3.7+ (with type hints)
    • PyYAML (serialization)
    • FileSequence (frame range parsing)
    • PyCue (opencue) (Cuebot API communication)
    • SQLite (local backend state management)
    • Pytest (testing)

  3. What is OpenCue PyOutline?

    master
    PyOutline is a Python library designed for building and managing OpenCue job definitions. It acts as a Python abstraction layer over OpenCue's XML job descriptions, allowing developers to construct complex, repeatable rendering workflows programmatically instead of manually editing XML files. PyOutline is the underlying engine used by CueSubmit to construct job submissions.

  4. Overview of the CueWeb System

    master
    CueWeb is the web-based interface for the OpenCue system. It provides a graphical user interface for managing and interacting with OpenCue services. The system supports plugins, keyboard shortcuts, and various authentication methods (such as GitLab) to facilitate workflow management in a web environment.

  6. Overview of OpenCue Command Line Tools

    master

    OpenCue provides several command-line tools for managing and interacting with the render farm, supporting job management, system administration, and automation.

    Available Tools

    • cueadmin: The primary administrative tool. Used for comprehensive control over shows, allocations, hosts, subscriptions, and system resources.
    • cueman: A job management tool that extends cueadmin with advanced filtering, batch operations, and user-friendly features for efficient farm management.
    • cuecmd: A command execution tool that runs arbitrary shell commands from a text file as frames on the render farm, enabling easy parallelization of batch operations.
    • pycuerun: A tool for submitting and running Python-based jobs on the OpenCue render farm.

  7. Overview of OpenCueWeb

    master

    OpenCueWeb is a web-based interface designed for managing OpenCue render farms. It serves as a web-accessible alternative to the CueGUI (Cuetopia and CueCommander) desktop clients, allowing users to manage rendering tasks from any platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, tablets, or mobile devices) via a browser without installing client software.

    Key capabilities include:

    • Real-time monitoring: Automatic updates for job status and frame progress.
    • Secure API communication: Uses JWT token generation.
    • Advanced Search: Supports regex-enabled searching with dropdown suggestions.
    • Collaborative access: Multiple users can interact with the same interface simultaneously.

  8. Overview of OpenCue 2025 Major Features

    master

    In 2025, OpenCue underwent significant architectural improvements focused on scalability and performance. Key advancements include:

    • Distributed Scheduler: A Rust-based scheduler designed to eliminate database bottlenecks in large-scale deployments.
    • Rust RQD: A complete rewrite of the RQD component in Rust, resulting in a 5x smaller binary and 50% reduced CPU usage.
    • CueNimby: A system tray application used for NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) control.
    • Cueman: A new CLI tool for advanced job and batch management.
    • Cuecmd: A module specifically for batch command execution.
    • Observability: Integration with Loki for centralized log aggregation and event-driven monitoring with dashboards.
    • Enterprise Readiness: OpenCueWeb now supports LDAP authentication.
    • Python Distribution: All Python modules are now published to PyPI, simplifying installation and dependency management.

  9. Overview of CueSubmit

    master

    CueSubmit is a Python-based QT application designed for submitting jobs to an OpenCue render farm. It provides a user interface for artists and developers to configure job parameters, layers, and dependencies before dispatching work.

    CueSubmit can be used in two ways:

    1. As a standalone application.
    2. As a plugin within applications that support PySide/qtpy integration (e.g., Autodesk Maya or Foundry Nuke).

  10. What is OpenCue?

    master
    OpenCue is an open source render management system designed for visual effects and animation production. It allows users to break down complex jobs into individual tasks and submit them to a configurable dispatch queue that allocates computational resources across a render farm. It is designed to be highly scalable, supporting multi-facility, on-premise, cloud, and hybrid deployments.

  11. What is OpenCue?

    master

    OpenCue is an open-source render management system designed for visual effects (VFX) and animation production. It allows developers and studios to scale rendering pipelines through intelligent job scheduling, resource optimization, and seamless integration across production workflows.

    Key capabilities include:

    • Intelligent Scheduling: Advanced algorithms distribute jobs across compute resources for optimal utilization.
    • Scalable Architecture: Supports thousands of concurrent jobs and numerous machines.
    • Cross-Platform Support: Native support for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
    • Python Integration: A comprehensive Python API for automation and custom pipeline workflows.
    • Real-time Monitoring: Web-based and desktop GUI interfaces for live job tracking and performance analytics.
    • DCC Integrations: Ready-made plugins for industry-standard tools like Maya, Nuke, and Blender.