Portable Installation

This page provides information on the V-Ray Portable installation.

Please do not use multiple V-Ray installation methods at the same time. If you plan on creating a Portable V-Ray installation for Maya, make sure you have uninstalled any other V-Ray version for Maya.

Overview

The V-Ray installer can be unpacked and used as a portable version. Creating a Portable Installation provides several advantages over the regular installer:

The Portable installation allows for setting a custom environment when starting each Maya instance. To compare, running the regular installation multiple times overwrites the V-Ray environment variables.
The Portable installation can be used to run V-Ray for Maya and V-Ray Standalone from any location or even a network drive. That way, multiple users can start Maya along with V-Ray using just a script that sets up the environment variables without the need to run local installations.
Upgrading a Portable installation is a lot easier, as you don't need to run the installer on every user's computer.
The Portable installation allows for quick switching between different V-Ray versions without reinstalling it.

Note that Chaos Cosmos is not included in the V-Ray for Maya Portable installation file. You can separately download and install Chaos Cosmos.

When using V-Ray from a Portable installation, the EULA needs to be accepted to start a render. A pop-up window will prompt you to accept the EULA the first time you start a render. Batch rendering is an exception to this.

If you are using a V-Ray version older than V-Ray 6, please refer to the Installation from zip guide, as the Portable Installation is not available for those V-Ray versions.

Required steps to run V-Ray

To create a Portable installation, you need to:

Download V-Ray for Maya

1. Download V-Ray.

2. Unpack the installation file. See the Unpack the installation file section of this page for more information.

3. Set up the environment variables needed to run V-Ray for Maya / V-Ray Standalone. See the Environment setup section of this page for more information.

4. Set up your license. Visit the Licensing page to find out how.

5. Run Maya or V-Ray Standalone.

Unpacking the installation file

Unpack the installation into a suitable location, which you can later use to run V-Ray on any computer. Here is a detailed step-by-step guide:

Download the V-Ray installer executable (.exe).
Open a Command Prompt. Type out: the location of the installer that you just downloaded -unpackInstall= location where you wish to unpack. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the installer and a target folder for unpacking into the Command Prompt to insert their directories. Press Enter to run the command. As an example, you can create a new folder called vray_builds to hold all portable V-Ray builds. Then, you can make other sub-folders and name them according to the V-Ray build version, for example vray_60002_maya2023 . It should look something like this:
```
D:\Downloads\vray_adv_60002_maya2023_x64.exe -unpackInstall=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023
```
After unpacking the installation, your folder structure should look like this:

D:\vray_builds\
├── vray_60002_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\

Here is an example with two different V-Ray 6 builds for Maya 2023 - each can be deployed with its own shell script and environment.
D:\vray_builds\
├── vray_60002_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
├── vray_60010_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\

The D:\vray_builds location is simply an example. The Portable Installation can be placed anywhere.
Set the necessary environment variables into a new Command Prompt and run V-Ray for Maya or V-Ray Standalone.

Download the V-Ray installer.
Open a Terminal. Type out: the location of the installer that you just downloaded -unpackInstall= location where you wish to unpack. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the installer and a target folder for unpacking into the Terminal to insert their directories. Press Enter to run the command. As an example, you can create a new folder called vray_builds to hold all portable V-Ray builds. Then, you can make other sub-folders and name them according to the V-Ray build version, for example vray_60002_maya2023 . It should look something like this:
```
/home/user/Downloads/vray_adv_60002_maya2023_centos7 -unpackInstall=/opt/vray_builds
```
After unpacking the installation, your folder structure should look like this:

/opt/vray_builds/
├── vray_60002_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\

Here is an example with two different V-Ray 6 builds for Maya 2023 - each can be deployed with its own shell script and environment.
/opt/vray_builds/
├── vray_60002_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
├── vray_60010_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
```
The  /opt/vray_builds  location is simply an example. The Portable Installation can be unpacked anywhere.
```
Set the necessary environment variables into a new Terminal and run V-Ray for Maya or V-Ray Standalone.

Download the V-Ray installer and extract the .app file
Right-click on the installation.app file and click on Show Contents > MacOS. Here you can find the run_installer file, which is used for this type of installation.
Open a Terminal. Type out: the location of the installer that you just downloaded -unpackInstall= location where you wish to unpack. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the installer and a target folder for unpacking into the Terminal to insert their directories. Press Enter to run the command. As an example, you can create a new folder called vray_builds in your root directory to hold all portable V-Ray builds. Then, you can make other sub-folders and name them according to the V-Ray build version, for example vray_60002_maya2023 . It should look something like this:
```
/Users/User/Downloads/vray_adv_60002_maya2023_mavericks_x64.app/Contents/MacOS/run_installer -unpackInstall=/vray_builds
```
After unpacking the installation, your folder structure should look like this:

/vray_builds/
├── vray_60002_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\

Here is an example with two different V-Ray 6 builds for Maya 2023 - each can be deployed with its own shell script and environment.
/vray_builds/
├── vray_60002_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
├── vray_60010_maya2023\
│ ├── maya_root\
│ ├── maya_vray\
│ └── vray\
```
The  /vray_builds  location is simply an example. The Portable Installation can be unpacked anywhere.
```
Set the necessary environment variables into a new Terminal and run V-Ray for Maya or V-Ray Standalone.

Environment setup

Setup for Maya

Module file setup

The easiest way to deploy V-Ray is to use the V-Ray module file that comes with the Portable Installation.

The V-Ray module is located in <unpacked location>/maya_root/modules. It contains all the variables needed to run V-Ray for Maya. It also has a readme part with instructions on how to set the environment using a module file. It can be set using one of two ways:

Recommended: Extend the MAYA_MODULE_PATH variable to contain the folder with the module file. Open Command Prompt or Terminal and type

set MAYA_MODULE_PATH=<module/file/location>;%MAYA_MODULE_PATH%

export MAYA_MODULE_PATH=<module/file/location>:$MAYA_MODULE_PATH

export MAYA_MODULE_PATH=<module/file/location>:$MAYA_MODULE_PATH

Move the module file to Maya's module folders.
- You will need to edit the file to replace "../../maya_vray" with the full path to the maya_vray directory.
- Then move the module file to the respective Maya versions' modules location. Here's the locations for Maya 2023:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Modules\Maya\2023

/usr/autodesk/modules/maya/2023

/Users/Shared/Autodesk/modules/maya/2023

A truly portable installation can be deployed with a .bat (Windows) or shell script (Linux, macOS) that extends MAYA_MODULE_PATH and starts Maya. You can have multiple bat scripts, each starting Maya with the module for a different V-Ray version.

Moving the module file inside Maya's folders is useful for a quick setup, but not truly portable.

Manual environment setup

Alternatively, you can manually set up the environment for V-Ray for Maya. We recommend wrapping this environment setup in a custom .bat (Windows) or shell (Linux, macOS) script, instead of adding them to your system or user environment or manually entering the variables in a Command Prompt / Terminal.

In the examples below, nnnn is the Maya version, for example 2022 or 2023, etc. For example VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_MAIN or VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_PLUGINS, etc.

The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 on Windows where vray_adv_60002_maya2023_x64.exe has been unpacked into D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\.

Here is a list of the environment variables and their descriptions and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.

OS	Action	Variable	Location	Description	Example
Windows	Set	MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\rendererDesc	Needed to run batch rendering with Maya.	set MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\rendererDesc
Windows	Set	VRAY_FOR_MAYA nnnn _MAIN ¹	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray	Loads the V-Ray for Maya plugins.	set VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_MAIN=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray
Windows	Set	VRAY_FOR_MAYA nnnn _PLUGINS ^1.1	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins	Loads the V-Ray plugins.	set VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\vrayplugins
Windows	Set	VRAY_PLUGINS ²	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins	Needed for V-Ray Standalone.	set VRAY_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\vrayplugins
Windows	Set	VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA nnnn ^1.2	<unpacked_location>\vray\opensl	Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray.	set VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2023=D:\vray_builds\vray_60020_maya2023\vray\opensl
Windows	Extend	PATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\bin\hostbin;<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\bin	Required to run V-Ray itself.	set PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\bin\hostbin;D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\bin;%PATH%
Windows	Extend	MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\plug-ins	Loads the V-Ray for Maya main plugins.	set MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\plug-ins;%MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH%
Windows	Extend	MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\scripts	Loads the V-Ray for Maya scripts.	set MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\scripts;%MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH%
Windows	Extend	MAYA_PRESET_PATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\presets	Loads the V-Ray material presets.	set MAYA_PRESET_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\presets;%MAYA_PRESET_PATH%
Windows	Extend	PYTHONPATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\scripts	Loads the V-Ray python scripts.	set PYTHONPATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\scripts;%PYTHONPATH%
Windows	Extend	XBMLANGPATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\icons	Loads the V-Ray icons.	set XBMLANGPATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\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_location>\maya_vray\scripts	Loads the node editor and lookdev templates.	set MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\scripts;%MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH%
Windows	Set	MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\toolclips	Enables toolclips for V-Ray.	set MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\toolclips;%MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH%
Windows	Extend	PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\usdplugins	Loads USD plugins for V-Ray.	set PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\usdplugins:$PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME
Windows	Set	VRAY_APPSDK_PLUGINS	<unpacked_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins	Loads V-ray App SDK plugins.	set VRAY_APPSDK_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\vrayplugins

The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 on Linux where vray_adv_60002_maya2023_linux_centos7 has been unpacked into /opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/.

Here is a list of the environment variables and their descriptions and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.

OS	Action	Variable	Location	Description	Example
Linux	Set	MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/rendererDesc	Needed to run batch rendering with Maya.	export MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/rendererDesc
Linux	Set	VRAY_FOR_MAYA nnnn _MAIN ^1.3	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray	Loads the V-Ray for Maya plugins.	export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_MAIN=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray
Linux	Set	VRAY_FOR_MAYA nnnn _PLUGINS ^1.4	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Loads the V-Ray plugins.	export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins
Linux	Set	VRAY_PLUGINS ^2.1	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Needed for V-Ray Standalone.	export VRAY_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins
Linux	Set	VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA nnnn ^1.5	<unpacked_location>/vray/opensl	Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray.	export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2023=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/vray/opensl
Linux	Extend	MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/plug-ins	Loads the V-Ray for Maya main plugins.	export MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/plug-ins:$MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH
Linux	Extend	MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/scripts	Loads the V-Ray for Maya scripts.	export MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH
Linux	Extend	MAYA_PRESET_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/presets	Loads the V-Ray material presets.	export MAYA_PRESET_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/presets:$MAYA_PRESET_PATH
Linux	Extend	PYTHONPATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/scripts	Loads the V-Ray python scripts.	export PYTHONPATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/scripts:$PYTHONPATH
Linux	Extend	XBMLANGPATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/icons	Loads the V-Ray icons.	export XBMLANGPATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/icons/%B:$XBMLANGPATH
Linux	Set	VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH ^3.1	arbitrary location	Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license.	export VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml>
Linux	Extend	MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/scripts	Loads the node editor and lookdev templates.	export MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH
Linux	Set	MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/toolclips	Enables toolclips for V-Ray.	export MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/toolclips:$MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH
Linux	Extend	PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/usdplugins	Loads USD plugins for V-Ray.	export PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/usdplugins:$PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME
Linux	Set	VRAY_APPSDK_PLUGINS	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Loads V-Ray App SDK plugins.	export VRAY_APPSDK_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins

The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 on macOS where vray_adv_60002_maya2023_mavericks_x64.app has been unpacked into /vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/.

Here is a list of the environment variables and their descriptions and examples. An example of a complete setup will be given further below.

OS	Action	Variable	Location	Description	Example
macOS	Set	MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/rendererDesc	Needed to run batch rendering with Maya.	export MAYA_RENDER_DESC_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/rendererDesc
macOS	Set	VRAY_FOR_MAYA nnnn _MAIN ^1.6	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray	Loads the V-Ray for Maya plugins.	export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_MAIN=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray
macOS	Set	VRAY_FOR_MAYA nnnn _PLUGINS ^1.7	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Loads the V-Ray plugins.	export VRAY_FOR_MAYA2023_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins
macOS	Set	VRAY_PLUGINS ^2.2	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Needed for V-Ray Standalone.	export VRAY_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins
macOS	Set	VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA nnnn ^1.8	<unpacked_location>/vray/opensl	Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray.	export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2023=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/vray/opensl
macOS	Extend	MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/plug-ins	Loads the V-Ray for Maya main plugins.	export MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/plug-ins:$MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH
macOS	Extend	MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/scripts	Loads the V-Ray for Maya scripts.	export MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH
macOS	Extend	MAYA_PRESET_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/presets	Loads the V-Ray material presets.	export MAYA_PRESET_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/presets:$MAYA_PRESET_PATH
macOS	Extend	PYTHONPATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/scripts	Loads the V-Ray python scripts.	export PYTHONPATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/scripts:$PYTHONPATH
macOS	Extend	XBMLANGPATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/icons	Loads the V-Ray icons.	export XBMLANGPATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/icons:$XBMLANGPATH
macOS	Set	VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH ^3.2	arbitrary location	Points V-Ray to a V-Ray license.	export VRAY_AUTH_CLIENT_FILE_PATH=<folder_containing_vrlclient.xml>
macOS	Extend	MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/scripts	Loads the node editor and lookdev templates.	export MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/scripts:$MAYA_CUSTOM_TEMPLATE_PATH
macOS	Set	MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/toolclips	Enables toolclips for V-Ray.	export MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/toolclips:$MAYA_TOOLCLIPS_PATH
macOS	Extend	PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/usdplugins	Loads USD plugins for V-Ray.	export PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/usdplugins:$PXR_PLUGINPATH_NAME
macOS	Set	VRAY_APPSDK_PLUGINS	<unpacked_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Loads V-Ray App SDK plugins.	export VRAY_APPSDK_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins

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, 2023, 2022, 2020, 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. You will need to edit the xml file with a text editor and point [PLUGINS]/vrayplugins to vray_builds/my_version/maya_vray/vrayplugins.
-- Example: Locate the xml file in the location where the build is unpacked, in the examples so far - /opt/vray_builds/vray60010_maya2020/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-- Once edited, here's how the line containing the vrayplugins location should look like: <PluginsPath>/opt/vray_builds/vray60010_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>

Example:config.xml

 <!--
	Example contents of config.xml as an alternative to settings the VRAY_PLUGINS environment variable
	In this example, the installation is for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 for Windows and the installation file is unpacked in D:\vray_builds\.
	In this case, the config.xml file is located in D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\bin\config.xml.
-->
<VRayStd>
	<Configuration>
		<PluginsPath>D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
	</Configuration>
</VRayStd>

 <!--
	Example contents of config.xml as an alternative to settings the VRAY_PLUGINS environment variable
	In this example, the installation is for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 for Linux and the installation file is unpacked in /opt/vray_builds/.
	In this case, the config.xml file is located in /opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-->
<VRayStd>
	<Configuration>
		<PluginsPath>/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
	</Configuration>
</VRayStd>

 <!--
	Example contents of config.xml as an alternative to settings the VRAY_PLUGINS environment variable
	In this example, the installation is for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 for macOS and the installation file is extracted in the root of the system drive in a new folder called vray_builds.
	In this case, the config.xml file is located in /vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-->
<VRayStd>
	<Configuration>
		<PluginsPath>/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
	</Configuration>
</VRayStd>

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 in 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:

Example: vrlclient.xml

 <!--
	Example contents of vrlclient.xml
	In this example, the primary IP address to look for a valid license is 10.0.0.100 at the default 30304 port.
	Alternate servers (hosts) have not been set.
-->
<VRLClient>
	<LicServer>
		<Host>10.0.0.100</Host>
		<Port>30304</Port>
		<Host1></Host1>
		<Port1>30304</Port1>
		<Host2></Host2>
		<Port2>30304</Port2>
		<User></User>
		<Pass></Pass>
	</LicServer>
</VRLClient>

Setup for V-Ray Standalone

Environment variables

The portable 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 installation build. Read the Unpacking the installation file section for more details.

The example directory and version names below are for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2023 on Windows where vray_adv_60002_maya2023_x64.exe has been unpacked into D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\.

Here is a list of the environment variables and their descriptions 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_location>\maya_vray\vrayplugins	Needed for V-Ray Standalone.	set VRAY_PLUGINS=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\maya_vray\vrayplugins
Windows	Set	VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA nnnn	<unpacked_location>\vray\opensl	Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray.	set VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\vray\opensl
Windows	Extend	PATH	<unpacked_location>\vray\lib	Required to run V-Ray itself.	set PATH=D:\vray_builds\vray_60002_maya2023\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 6 for Maya 2023 on Linux where vray_adv_60002_maya2023_centos7 has been unpacked into /opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/.

Here is a list of the environment variables and their descriptions 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_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Needed for V-Ray Standalone.	export VRAY_PLUGINS=/opt/vray_builds/maya_vray/vray_60002_maya2023/vrayplugins
Linux	Set	VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA nnnn	<unpacked_location>/vray/opensl	Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray.	export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/vray/opensl
Linux	Extend	LD_LIBRARY_PATH	<unpacked_location>/vray/lib	Required to run V-Ray itself.	export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/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 6 for Maya 2023 on macOS where vray_adv_60002_maya2023_mavericks_x64.app has been unpacked into /vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/.

Here is a list of the environment variables and their descriptions 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_location>/maya_vray/vrayplugins	Needed for V-Ray Standalone.	export VRAY_PLUGINS=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/maya_vray/vrayplugins
macOS	Set	VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA nnnn	<unpacked_location>/vray/opensl	Loads OSL plugins for V-Ray.	export VRAY_OSL_PATH_MAYA2020=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/vray/opensl
macOS	Extend	DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH	<unpacked_location> /vray/lib	Required to run V-Ray itself.	export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/vray_builds/vray_60002_maya2023/vray/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH
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 located in vray_builds/my_version/maya_vray/bin/config.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 installation build is unpacked, in the examples so far - /opt/vray_builds/vray_60010_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_60010_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>

Example: config.xml

 <!--
	Example contents of config.xml as an alternative to settings the VRAY_PLUGINS environment variable
	In this example, the installation is for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2020 for Linux and the installation file is extracted in D:\vray_builds\.
	In this case, the config.xml file is located in D:\vray_builds\vray_60010_maya2020\maya_vray\bin\config.xml.
-->
<VRayStd>
	<Configuration>
		<PluginsPath>D:\vray_builds\vray_60010_maya2020\maya_vray\vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
	</Configuration>
</VRayStd>

 <!--
	Example contents of config.xml as an alternative to settings the VRAY_PLUGINS environment variable
	In this example, the installation is for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2020 for Linux and the installation file is extracted in /opt/vray_builds/.
	In this case, the config.xml file is located in /opt/vray_builds/vray_60010_maya2020/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-->
<VRayStd>
	<Configuration>
		<PluginsPath>/opt/vray_builds/vray_60010_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
	</Configuration>
</VRayStd>

 <!--
	Example contents of config.xml as an alternative to settings the VRAY_PLUGINS environment variable
	In this example, the installation is for V-Ray 6 for Maya 2020 for macOS and the installation file is extracted in the root of the system drive in a new folder called vray_builds.
	In this case, the config.xml file is located in /vray_builds/vray_60010_maya2020/maya_vray/bin/config.xml.
-->
<VRayStd>
	<Configuration>
		<PluginsPath>/vray_builds/vray_60010_maya2020/maya_vray/vrayplugins</PluginsPath>
	</Configuration>
</VRayStd>

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 in 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:

Example: vrlclient.xml

 <!--
	Example contents of vrlclient.xml
	In this example, the primary IP address to look for a valid license is 10.0.0.100 at the default 30304 port.
	Alternate servers (hosts) have not been set.
-->
<VRLClient>
	<LicServer>
		<Host>10.0.0.100</Host>
		<Port>30304</Port>
		<Host1></Host1>
		<Port1>30304</Port1>
		<Host2></Host2>
		<Port2>30304</Port2>
		<User></User>
		<Pass></Pass>
	</LicServer>
</VRLClient>

If you want to use any additional tools like the standalone denoiser, or the VRIMG to OpenEXR converter, etc., then also add <unpacked_location>/vray/bin to the PATH environment variable.

Please note that by default the V-Ray installer will set the TdrLevel (that is GPU timeout detection and recovery) to 0 (disabled).

Content

Space Tools

Overview

Required steps to run V-Ray

Unpacking the installation file

Environment setup

Setup for Maya

Module file setup

Manual environment setup

Notes:

Setup for V-Ray Standalone

Environment variables

Tags

Notes: