This page describes how to set up your local system environment to load and run the correct version of V-Ray from zip.
Overview
Installing V-Ray for Maya from a .zip file provides several advantages over the regular installer:
- The ZIP installation allows for setting a custom environment when starting each Maya instance. In difference, running the regular installation multiple times overwrites the V-Ray environment variables.
- The ZIP installation can be used to run V-Ray for Maya and V-Ray Standalone from an arbitrary location or even a network drive. That way, multiple users can start Maya along with V-Ray for Maya using just a script that sets up the environment variables without the need to run local installations.
- Upgrading a ZIP installation is a lot easier too, as you don't need to run the installer on every user's computer.
- The ZIP installation allows for quickly switching between different V-Ray versions without reinstalling it.
When installing V-Ray for Maya from a .zip file, note that Chaos Cosmos is not included by default in the installation. To add it, you can separately download and install it.
When using a ZIP-installed V-Ray, the EULA needs to be accepted to start a render. A pop-up window appears when rendering begins. Only Batch rendering is an exception to this.
Required steps to run V-Ray
To run a ZIP installation, you will need to:
- Unpack the ZIP file to a location of your choice
- Set up the environment variables needed to run V-Ray for Maya and/or V-Ray Standalone
- Set up your license
- Run Maya or V-Ray Standalone
An easy way to complete the environment set up and run Maya or V-Ray Standalone is with a custom shell or bat script that sets the environment for running the application instance.
These steps are further discussed in the sections below with examples.
It is highly recommended to only use V-Ray from a ZIP install or from a regular installation, but never both at the same time. If you plan on using the ZIP install, make sure to uninstall V-Ray beforehand.
Unpacking the .zip file
Extract the contents of the relevant .zip file into a suitable folder. After unpacking, there should be three sub-folders: maya_root, maya_vray, and vray.
Below is a step-by-step guide:
- Download V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 (Zip) from the Chaos website. The file should be called vray_adv_51020_maya2020_x64.zip.
- Make a new directory anywhere on your machine or on a network location and call it (for example) vray_builds. For the purposes of our example, create a vray_builds directory on your D:\ drive.
- Make another directory inside vray_builds and name it vray_51020_maya2020.
- Unpack vray_adv_51020_maya2020_x64.zip into the vray_51020_maya2020 directory. Three new sub-folders should appear: maya_root, maya_vray, and vray
The D:\ drive holding the vray_builds folder is simply an example. The unpacked V-Ray ZIP installation can be placed anywhere.
At this point, your folder structure should look like this:
D:\vray_builds\
├── vray_51020_maya2020\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
Here is an example with V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 and V-Ray Next for Maya 2020 - each can be deployed with its own shell script and environment.
D:\vray_builds\
├── vray_51020_maya2020\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
├── vray_40401_maya2020\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
- Download V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 (Zip) from the Chaos website. The file should be called vray_adv_51020_maya2020_centos7.zip.
- Make a new directory anywhere on your machine or on a network location and call it (for example) vray_builds. For the purposes of our example, create a vray_builds directory on your /opt/ directory.
- Make another directory inside vray_builds and name it vray_51020_maya2020.
- Unpack vray_adv_51020_maya2020_centos7.zip into the vray_51020_maya2020 directory. Three new sub-folders should appear: maya_root, maya_vray, and vray
The /opt directory on Linux is simply an example. The unpacked V-Ray ZIP installation can be placed anywhere.
At this point, your folder structure should look like this:
/opt/vray_builds/
├── vray_51020_maya2020/
│ ├── maya_root/
│ ├── maya_vray/
│ └── vray/
Here is an example with V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 and V-Ray Next for Maya 2020 - each can be deployed with its own shell script and environment.
/opt/vray_builds/
├── vray_51020_maya2020/
│ ├── maya_root/
│ ├── maya_vray/
│ └── vray/
├── vray_40401_maya2020/
│ ├── maya_root/
│ ├── maya_vray/
│ └── vray/
- Download V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 (Zip) from the Chaos website. The file should be called vray_adv_51020_maya2020_mavericks_x64.zip.
- Make a new directory anywhere on your machine or on a network location and call it (for example) vray_builds. For the purposes of our example, navigate to your root directory using cd / and create a vray_builds directory.
- Make another directory inside vray_builds and name it vray_51020_maya2020.
- Unpack vray_adv_51020_maya2020_mavericks_x64.zip into the vray_51020_maya2020 directory. Three new sub-folders should appear: maya_root, maya_vray, and vray
The / root directory is simply an example. The unpacked V-Ray ZIP installation can be placed anywhere.
At this point, your folder structure should look like this:
/vray_builds/
├── vray_51020_maya2020/
│ ├── maya_root/
│ ├── maya_vray/
│ └── vray/
Here is an example with V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 and V-Ray Next for Maya 2020 - each can be deployed with its own shell script and environment.
/vray_builds/
├── vray_51020_maya2020/
│ ├── maya_root/
│ ├── maya_vray/
│ └── vray/
├── vray_40401_maya2020/
│ ├── maya_root/
│ ├── maya_vray/
│ └── vray/
After unpacking the zip file, set up the environment to run V-Ray for Maya and V-Ray Standalone or set up an environment to only run V-Ray Standalone.
V-Ray Material Library Browser
The V-Ray Material Library Browser can be installed using the mtllib tool that comes with the .zip file. Once unpacked, it resides in the following location:
Win: unpack_zip_folder\maya_vray\bin\mtllib.exe
Linux: unpack_zip_folder/maya_vray/bin/mtllib.bin
macOS: unpack_zip_folder/maya_vray/bin/mtllib.bin
For more information on how to run the mtllib tool, see Material Library Installation.
Environment setup
Before you run Maya оr V-Ray Standalone, you need to set up an environment. There are some specific steps to consider for Maya, XGen with Maya and V-Ray Standalone. The license setup is the last requirement, as V-Ray needs to be instructed where to look for a valid license.
Please read the sections below for more information and examples.
Setup for Maya
The following environment variables need to be set when running Maya with V-Ray.
In the examples below, nnnn is the Maya version, for example 2018 or 2020, etc. For example VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_MAIN or VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_PLUGINS, etc.
V-Ray 5 comes with material presets. To load the presets, the MAYA_PRESET_PATH environment variable needs to be set.
The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on Windows where vray_adv_51020_maya2020_x64.zip has been unpacked into D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\.
Here is a list of the environment variables and their description and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.
V-Ray 5, update 1 introduces changes to the PATH and MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH environment variables.
Note that for Windows, the \bin\hostbin and \bin locations must be added in this order to the PATH variable.
To set up the environment for V-Ray 5, see the setup for older versions of V-Ray.
OS | Action | Variable | Location | Description | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows | Set | MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\rendererDesc | Needed to run batch rendering with Maya. | set MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\rendererDesc |
Windows | Set | VRAY_FOR_MAYAnnnn_MAIN 1 | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray | Loads the V-Ray for Maya plugins. | set VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_MAIN=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray |
Windows | Set | VRAY_FOR_MAYAnnnn_PLUGINS 1.1 | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins | Loads the V-Ray plugins. | set VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\vrayplugins |
Windows | Set | VRAY_PLUGINS 2 | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins | Needed for V-Ray Standalone. | set VRAY_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\vrayplugins |
Windows | Set | VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYAnnnn 1.2 | <unpacked_zip_location>\vray\opensl | Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray. | set VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\vray\opensl |
Windows | Extend | PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\bin\hostbin;<unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\bin | Required to run V-Ray itself. | set PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\bin\hostbin;D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\bin;%PATH% |
Windows | Extend | MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\plug-ins | Loads the V-Ray for Maya main plugins. | set MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\plug-ins;%MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH% |
Windows | Extend | MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\scripts | Loads the V-Ray for Maya scripts. | set MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\scripts;%MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH% |
Windows | Extend | MAYA_PRESET_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\presets | Loads the V-Ray material presets. | set MAYA_PRESET_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\presets;%MAYA_PRESET_PATH% |
Windows | Extend | PYTHONPATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\scripts | Loads the V-Ray python scripts. | set PYTHONPATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\scripts;%PYTHONPATH% |
Windows | Extend | XBMLANGPATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\icons | Loads the V-Ray icons. | set XBMLANGPATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\icons;%XBMLANGPATH% |
Windows | Set | VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH 3 | arbitrary location | Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license. | set VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml> |
Windows | Extend | MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\scripts | Loads the node editor and lookdev templates. | set MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\scripts;%MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH% |
Windows | Set | MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\toolclips | Enables toolclips for V-Ray. | set MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\toolclips;%MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH% |
The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on Linux where vray_adv_51020_maya2020_linux_x64.zip has been unpacked into /opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/.
Here is a list of the environment variables and their description and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.
V-Ray 5, update 1 introduces changes to the LD_LIBRARY_PATH and MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH environment variables.
For Linux, LD_LIBRARY_PATH should no longer be set for V-Ray for Maya and should only be set when running V-Ray Standalone.
To set up the environment for V-Ray 5, see the setup for older versions of V-Ray.
OS | Action | Variable | Location | Description | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Linux | Set | MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/rendererDesc | Needed to run batch rendering with Maya. | export MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/rendererDesc |
Linux | Set | VRAY_FOR_MAYAnnnn_MAIN 1.3 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray | Loads the V-Ray for Maya plugins. | export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_MAIN=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray |
Linux | Set | VRAY_FOR_MAYAnnnn_PLUGINS 1.4 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins | Loads the V-Ray plugins. | export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins |
Linux | Set | VRAY_PLUGINS 2.1 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins | Needed for V-Ray Standalone. | export VRAY_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins |
Linux | Set | VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYAnnnn 1.5 | <unpacked_zip_location>/vray/opensl | Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray. | export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/vray/opensl |
Linux | Extend | MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/plug-ins | Loads the V-Ray for Maya main plugins. | export MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/plug-ins:$MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH |
Linux | Extend | MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/scripts | Loads the V-Ray for Maya scripts. | export MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH |
Linux | Extend | MAYA_PRESET_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/presets | Loads the V-Ray material presets. | export MAYA_PRESET_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/presets:$MAYA_PRESET_PATH |
Linux | Extend | PYTHONPATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/scripts | Loads the V-Ray python scripts. | export PYTHONPATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/scripts:$PYTHONPATH |
Linux | Extend | XBMLANGPATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/icons/%B | Loads the V-Ray icons. | export XBMLANGPATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/icons/%B:$XBMLANGPATH |
Linux | Set | VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH 3.1 | arbitrary location | Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license. | export VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml> |
Linux | Extend | MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/scripts | Loads the node editor and lookdev templates. | export MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH |
Linux | Set | MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\toolclips | Enables toolclips for V-Ray. |
|
The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on macOS where vray_adv_51020_maya2020_mavericks_x64.zip has been unpacked into /vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/.
Here is a list of the environment variables and their description and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.
V-Ray 5, update 1 introduces changes to the DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH and MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH environment variables.
For macOS, DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH should no longer be set for V-Ray for Maya and should only be set when running V-Ray Standalone.
To set up the environment for V-Ray 5, see the setup for older versions of V-Ray.
OS | Action | Variable | Location | Description | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
macOS | Set | MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/rendererDesc | Needed to run batch rendering with Maya. | export MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/rendererDesc |
macOS | Set | VRAY_FOR_MAYAnnnn_MAIN 1.6 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray | Loads the V-Ray for Maya plugins. | export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_MAIN=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray |
macOS | Set | VRAY_FOR_MAYAnnnn_PLUGINS 1.7 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins | Loads the V-Ray plugins. | export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2020_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins |
macOS | Set | VRAY_PLUGINS 2.2 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins | Needed for V-Ray Standalone. | export VRAY_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins |
macOS | Set | VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYAnnnn 1.8 | <unpacked_zip_location>/vray/opensl | Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray. | export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/vray/opensl |
macOS | Extend | MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/plug-ins | Loads the V-Ray for Maya main plugins. | export MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/plug-ins:$MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH |
macOS | Extend | MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/scripts | Loads the V-Ray for Maya scripts. | export MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH |
macOS | Extend | MAYA_PRESET_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/presets | Loads the V-Ray material presets. | export MAYA_PRESET_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/presets:$MAYA_PRESET_PATH |
macOS | Extend | PYTHONPATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/scripts | Loads the V-Ray python scripts. | export PYTHONPATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/scripts:$PYTHONPATH |
macOS | Extend | XBMLANGPATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/icons | Loads the V-Ray icons. | export XBMLANGPATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/icons:$XBMLANGPATH |
macOS | Set | VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH 3.2 | arbitrary location | Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license. | export VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml> |
macOS | Extend | MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/scripts | Loads the node editor and lookdev templates. | export MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH |
macOS | Set | MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\toolclips | Enables toolclips for V-Ray. |
|
Notes:
1 (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8) - nnnn is the Maya version. For example, 2020, 2019, 2018, etc.
2 (2.1, 2.2) - VRAY_PLUGINS is used for running the V-Ray Standalone executable that comes with the V-Ray for Maya installation. This is needed to render .vrscene files directly with V-Ray Standalone. An alternative to setting VRAY_PLUGINS as an environment variable is using the config.xml located in vray_builds/my_version/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.xml. You will need to edit the xml file with a text editor and point the [PLUGINS]/vrayplugins to vray_builds/my_version/maya_vray/vrayplugins.
-- Example: Locate the xml file in the location where the ZIP build is unpacked, in the examples so far - /opt/vray_builds/vray40401_maya2018/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-- Once edited, here's how the line containing the vrayplugins location should look like: <PluginsPath>/opt/vray_builds/vray40401_maya2018/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
3 (3.1, 3.2) - VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH needs to point to the folder that contains the vrlclient.xml file that holds the V-Ray license server settings (IP address and port number). Alternatively, using the tool to set or change your license settings will create the vrlclient.xml file for you at a default location and there will be no need to explicitly define its location the VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH variable. However, it might be useful to use the variable to define per-user license settings.
For the case where using the environment variable is the best option for you and you need to create the vrlclient.xml file manually, the example below shows what it should contain:
You can now run Maya.
Here is a sample Maya.env file for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on Windows, where the .zip installation has been extracted to D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020. Place the file in C:\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2020 or combine its contents with the already existing Maya.env that you will find there, in case the original file is not empty.
Setup for V-Ray Standalone
The ZIP install can also be used to run only V-Ray Standalone without running V-Ray for Maya. In this case, the number of environment variables to set is reduced.
The list or variables to set requires unpacking the same ZIP build. Read the Unpacking the .zip file section for more details.
The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on Windows where vray_adv_51020_maya2020_x64.zip has been unpacked into D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\.
Here is a list of the environment variables and their description and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.
OS | Action | Variable | Location | Description | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows | Set | VRAY_PLUGINS 4 | <unpacked_zip_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins | Needed for V-Ray Standalone. | set VRAY_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\maya_vray\vrayplugins |
Windows | Set | VRAY_OSL_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\vray\opensl | Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray. | set VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\vray\opensl |
Windows | Extend | PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>\vray\lib | Required to run V-Ray itself. | set PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_51020_maya2020\vray\lib;%PATH% |
Windows | Set | VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH 5 | arbitrary location | Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license. | set VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml> |
The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on Linux where vray_adv_51020_maya2020_linux_x64.zip has been unpacked into /opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/.
Here is a list of the environment variables and their description and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.
OS | Action | Variable | Location | Description | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Linux | Set | VRAY_PLUGINS 4.1 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins | Needed for V-Ray Standalone. | export VRAY_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/maya_vray/vray_51020_maya2020/vrayplugins |
Linux | Set | VRAY_OSL_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/vray/opensl | Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray. | export VRAY_OSL_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/vray/opensl |
Linux | Extend | LD_LIBRARY_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/vray/lib
| Required to run V-Ray itself. | export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/vray/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH |
Linux | Set | VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH 5.1 | arbitrary location | Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license. | export VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml> |
The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 5 for Maya 2020 on macOS where vray_adv_51020_maya2020_mavericks_x64.zip has been unpacked into /vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/.
Here is a list of the environment variables and their description and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.
OS | Action | Variable | Location | Description | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
macOS | Set | VRAY_PLUGINS 4.2 | <unpacked_zip_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins | Needed for V-Ray Standalone. | export VRAY_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins |
macOS | Set | VRAY_OSL_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/vray/opensl | Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray. | export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/vray/opensl |
macOS | Extend | DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH | <unpacked_zip_location>/vray/lib | Required to run V-Ray itself. |
|
macOS | Set | VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH 5.2 | arbitrary location | Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license. | export VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml> |
Notes:
4 (4.1, 4.2) - VRAY_PLUGINS is used for running the V-Ray Standalone executable that comes with the V-Ray for Maya installation. This is needed to render .vrscene files directly with V-Ray Standalone. An alternative to setting VRAY_PLUGINS as an environment variable is using the config.xml.xml located in vray_builds/my_version/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.xml. You will need to edit the xml file with a text editor and point the [PLUGINS]/vrayplugins to vray_builds/my_version/maya_vray/vrayplugins.
-- Example: Locate the xml file in the location where the ZIP build is unpacked, in the examples so far - /opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-- Once edited, here's how the line containing the vrayplugins location should look like: <PluginsPath>/opt/vray_builds/vray_51020_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
5 (5.1, 5.2) - VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH needs to point to the folder that contains the vrlclient.xml file that holds the V-Ray license server settings (IP address and port number). Alternatively, using the tool to set or change your license settings will create the vrlclient.xml file for you at a default location and there will be no need to explicitly define its location the VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH variable. However, it might be useful to use the variable to define per-user license settings.
For the case where using the environment variable is the best option for you and you need to create the vrlclient.xml file manually, the example below shows what it s hould contain:
If you want to use any additional tools like the Irradiance map viewer, the VRIMG to OpenEXR converter etc., then also add to the PATH environment variable vray_builds/my_version/vray/bin.
Please note that by default the V-Ray installer will set the TdrLevel (that is GPU timeout detection and recovery) to 0 (disabled).