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Common flags for the command line renderer

The following table contains the common flags shared by all the renderers. To view these, type the following in a shell or Terminal (Mac OS X) window:

Render -help

These options complete the list of all options that you can use with:

the file renderer (Render -r file)
The file renderer uses the settings specified in the file’s render layers as to which renderer is used. For more information, see Render layer overview in the Rendering book.
the vector renderer (Render -r vr).

Common options

Flag name	Definition
-test	Print MEL commands but do not execute them.
-verb	Print MEL commands before they are executed.
-keepMel	Keep the temporary MEL file.
-listRenderers	Lists all available renderers.
-renderer <string> or -r <string>	Use this specific renderer: sw, hw, mr, vr, file.
-proj <string>	Use this Maya project to load the file.
-log <string>	Specifies a render log file and location. The log file contains the standard output and standard error information.

General purpose flags

Flag	Definition
-rd <path>	Directory in which to store image files.
-im <filename>	Image file output name.
-fnc <int>	Frame/Animation ext, such as name, name.ext. For details, see the Render Settings: Common tab in the Rendering book.
-of <format>	Output image file format. For supported file formats, see File formats in the Rendering book.

Frame numbering options

Flag	Definition
-s <float>	Start frame for an animation sequence.
-e <float>	End frame for an animation sequence.
-b <float>	By frame (or step) for an animation sequence.
-pad <int>	Number of digits in the output image frame file name extension.
-rfs <int>	Renumber frames: Start number - number for the first image when rendering.
-rfb <int>	Renumber frames: By frame - step used for renumbering frames.
-skipExistingFrames	Enable this option so that the renderer detects and skips over frames that have already been rendered. This feature saves rendering time.

Camera Options

Flag	Definition
-cam <name>	Specify which camera to be used.
-rgb <boolean>	Turn RGB output on or off.
-alpha <boolean>	Turn Alpha output on or off.
-depth <boolean>	Specify whether the rendered images contain a depth channel.

Resolution options

Flag	Definition
-x <int>	Set X resolution of the final image.
-y <int>	Set Y resolution of the final image.
-percentRes <float>	Renders the image using the specified percent of the resolution.
-ard <float>	(Software renderer) Device aspect ratio for the rendered image.
-par <float>	(Hardware renderer, Vector renderer) Pixel aspect ratio for the rendered image.
-x <int>	Set X resolution of the final image.

Render Layers and Passes

Flag	Definition
-rl <boolean:name>	Render each render layer separately.
-rp <boolean:name>	Render passes separately.
-sel <boolean:name>	Selects which objects, groups, and/or sets to render.

MEL callbacks

Flag	Definition
-preRender <string>	MEL code executed before rendering.
-postRender <string>	MEL code executed after rendering.
-preLayer <string>	MEL code executed before each render layer.
-postLayer <string>	MEL code executed after each render layer.
-preFrame <string>	MEL code executed before each frame.
-postFrame <string>	MEL code executed after each frame.
-pre string	Obsolete flag.
-post string	Obsolete flag.

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