RenderX Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for RenderX. Learn how to set up your distributed render farm, connect your Discord server, and manage your rendering nodes seamlessly.

Note: RenderX currently officially supports Unreal Engine 5 projects. Blender and Maya support are currently in closed beta.

Quickstart Guide

Getting started with RenderX takes less than 5 minutes. You need two components: the RenderX Desktop App (installed on your render nodes) and the RenderX Discord Bot (invited to your server).

Step 1: Download the Desktop App on your primary workstation and any additional PCs you want to use as render nodes.
Step 2: Invite the RenderX Discord Bot to your team's server.
Step 3: Authenticate the Desktop App with your Discord account so the nodes can talk to the bot.
Step 4: Type /render start in your Discord server!

Installation

The RenderX Desktop App is a lightweight, system-tray native application that manages Unreal Engine instances silently in the background.

Windows

Download the .exe installer from the dashboard. Run the installer and ensure you check the box for "Launch on Startup" so your node is always available.

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Download the .dmg file, mount it, and drag RenderX into your Applications folder. Ensure you grant RenderX the necessary disk access permissions in System Settings.

App UI Overview

The RenderX Desktop App is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, living mostly in your system tray. When you click the tray icon, the main UI window expands to give you full control over the local node.

Node Status

At the top of the UI, you'll see a clear status indicator. A green dot means the node is Active and connected to the Master Dispatcher. A yellow dot indicates it is currently Rendering, and a gray dot means it is Paused.

Resource Monitoring

The app provides real-time metrics for your local hardware:

CPU Usage: Tracks the current load on your processor.
RAM/VRAM Usage: Essential for Unreal Engine rendering. You can set hard limits in the settings to prevent RenderX from eating all your system memory.

OS & Engine Integration

The UI includes simple toggles to manage the node's behavior, such as Auto-Start OS Integration (launching quietly when you boot your computer) and verifying the connection to your installed Unreal Engine 5 binaries.

Configuring the Client

After installing and opening the RenderX Desktop App, you will be greeted by the Configure Client screen. This is where you link your node to Discord and your Unreal Engine project. Follow these four steps:

1. Discord User ID REQUIRED

To connect the node to your Discord account, you need your unique Discord ID.

How to get your Discord ID: Open Discord and click on the Gear icon (User Settings) near your profile picture. Go to Advanced and turn on Developer Mode. Go back, click on your profile picture, and select Copy User ID. Paste this number into the app.

2. Unreal Engine Project (.uproject) CRITICAL

Click Browse and navigate to the path of your Unreal Engine project file.

Make sure you click on the actual project file name ending in .uproject (e.g., D:\Lan_Render\plugintest\plugintest.uproject) and select the file, not just the folder.

3. Unreal Engine Version

Use the dropdown menu to select the exact version of Unreal Engine that your project is using.

4. Queue Asset Directory CRITICAL

Click Browse and navigate to the folder containing your Movie Render Queues.

The folder structure MUST be exactly: \Content\Cinematics\Finals

Ensure that all of your Movie Render Queues are saved inside this exact directory before clicking OK.

Once all four options are filled out, click the large Save & Connect button.

5. Start Rendering from Discord

Now it's time to join the RenderX Discord Server. Navigate to the #render channel and type the command /render. You'll get a dropdown menu to select one of your batch renders. Click on it, and it will automatically start the render on your connected node!

Now sit back and enjoy!

Discord Commands

Once your PC is connected, head over to your Discord server! You can control your entire farm by simply typing / in the chat to see the full menu of commands.

🟢 Core Rendering Commands

/render 🎬 — Start rendering! Comes with powerful optional arguments:
- auto_upload: Override your default cloud upload settings (y/n).
- eco_mode: Automatically shut down the PC when the render finishes! ⚡
- cvar: Inject custom Console Variables (CVars) for this specific render!
/status 📊 — Check what is currently rendering and see active jobs.
/progress ⏳ — Get a live, real-time progress update from all nodes.
/abort 🛑 — Instantly kill the current render job on a specific node.
/queues 📋 — List all available sequences/queues ready for rendering.
/cancel_queue 🗑️ — Remove a specific sequence from the render queue.
/history 🕒 — View a detailed list of the last 5 completed renders.

🔧 Remote Configuration & Fixes

/setpath 📁 — Remotely set the UE Project Path for a node.
/setbatch 📂 — Remotely set the UE Queue Asset Folder for a node.
/setmap 🗺️ — Dynamically change the default map directly from Discord!
/fixtdr 🛠️ — Safely adjust your windows registry to fix Unreal Engine crashes! (Requires running Client as Admin)
/setwindow 🪟 — Control the headless background window size to save VRAM and prevent GPU crashes!

💻 Hardware & Node Monitoring

/hwstatus 📈 — Check real-time CPU, GPU, and RAM usage on your nodes.
/temp 🌡️ — Check exact CPU and GPU temperatures to prevent overheating.
/diskspace 💾 — Check how much storage space is left on your drives.
/screenshot 📸 — Snap a live screenshot of a node's desktop!
/logs 📜 — Fetch the latest Unreal Engine crash or output logs.
/ping 🏓 — Check if your nodes are online and responding.
/cmd ⌨️ — Run custom CMD/PowerShell scripts remotely on a node.
/restart 🔄 — Restart the RenderX Client app on a node.
/turnoff 🔌 — Completely shut down the remote PC when renders are done!
/subscribe 💎 — Get a personalized premium link to unlock exclusive RenderX features!

Privacy & Security

We take your privacy seriously. When you use the RenderX bot in your server, your messages and render information will only show to you (using ephemeral messages). Nobody else can see your commands, your paths, or your node info, even if you execute them in a public group channel.

If you are still worried about privacy, you can also use the bot in Personal DMs! Simply right-click the bot, select "Message", and manage your entire render farm privately via Direct Messages.

🔒 Local-First Security Guarantee: RenderX is a highly secure application. We do NOT upload, copy, or sync any of your Unreal Engine project files, 3D assets, or rendered images. Everything stays 100% securely on your local PC. Our servers strictly only transfer text commands between Discord and your machine.

System Tray App

Once installed, RenderX sits quietly in your system tray. A green dot on the icon indicates that the node is active and ready to accept jobs from Discord.

Right-clicking the tray icon allows you to:

Pause node availability (prevents the node from accepting new jobs).
View local rendering logs.
Configure local hardware limits (e.g., Max VRAM usage, Max CPU threads).

Node Management

RenderX allows you to easily scale your farm by adding or removing nodes. As long as a node is authenticated and has the required project files, the Master Dispatcher will automatically discover it and assign it frames.

FAQ

Do I need Unreal Engine installed on every node?

Yes. Every node must have the same version of Unreal Engine installed. We recommend using network-attached storage (NAS) to share the project files, avoiding the need to sync gigabytes of data to every machine.

What happens if a node crashes mid-render?

RenderX features 99% crashless fault tolerance. If a node goes offline or encounters a GPU crash, the master dispatcher will automatically reassign those specific frames to other healthy nodes in the swarm.