RTWIZARD(1)

📦
version 7.44.0 · 2 versions
, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 rtwizard(1) — the BRL-CAD manual page, but make it cute

okay so bestie, you're reading the RTWIZARD(1) page from the BRL-CAD manual set, and honestly? it's a whole vibe. let's get into it. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

rtwizard — composite BRL-CAD images from color, ghost, and edge-line renderings 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

rtwizard [options] [-i] _geometry.g_ [-o] _output.{pix|png}_ [object ...]

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so rtwizard is literally the group-chat orchestrator of BRL-CAD utilities. it pulls together a bunch of tools to make composite images of geometry in prescribed styles. here's the lineup, no cap:

  • full-color ray tracings come from rt(1) 🔥
  • "hidden-line" edge drawings come from rtedge(1) ✏️
  • semi-transparent greyscale "ghost" renderings come from rt(1) combined with BRL-CAD image-manipulation tools 👻

and then all those layers get composited into a single image, written out to a pix(5) or PNG file, or displayed on a framebuffer. slay. 💅

🧚 the two modes

rtwizard has two modes, periodt:

  • with no arguments (or with --gui) it launches a wizard-style graphical interface that walks you through building an image interactively. main character energy fr.
  • given sufficient options on the command line, it runs non-interactively — which is lowkey iconic for scripting and bulk rendering.
⚠️ heads up: if a command line invocation lacks enough info to produce the requested image, rtwizard falls back to the GUI unless --no-gui is given. so it will absolutely interrupt your script if you're not paying attention 😭

🎨 the six picture types

the kind of image produced is governed by the --type option, or inferred from which object lists are supplied. here are the six, and yes they're giving a full runway lineup:

  1. Type A — Simple Full-Color Image — standard rt image. ✨
  2. Type B — Simple Line Drawing — standard rtedge image. ✏️
  3. Type C — Highlighted Image — full color rt image enhanced with rtedge lines. 🔥
  4. Type D — Mixed Full Color and Edges — like C, but objects are selectively edge-enhanced. 👑
  5. Type E — Ghost Image with Inserts — full color elements over faded greyscale context. 👻
  6. Type F — Ghost Image with Inserts and Edges — a Type E image further enhanced with rtedge lines. 🌈

🫶 the compatibility bit (important, don't skip)

for compatibility with rt(1):

  • the first unflagged argument naming an existing .g file is taken as the input geometry
  • the first unflagged argument with a supported image extension (.pix, .png, .ppm, .bw, .dpix) is taken as the output file
  • any remaining unflagged arguments are treated as color objects
🙈 but bestie, because this can be ambiguous, the -i and -o flags are preferred. like, just use the flags. trust me. 💀

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -h, --help — print the options summary and exit. bye bestie 👋
  • --help-dev — print the developer/programmatic options and exit. for the tech girlies who want the deeper lore 🧚
  • -i filename, --input-file filename — input .g geometry database. overrides any unflagged .g argument. 💖
  • -o filename, --output-file filename — output image file. a .png extension produces a PNG image; otherwise a BRL-CAD pix(5) image is written. other supported extensions are .ppm, .bw, and .dpix. 🖼️
  • -s #, --size # — width and height of a square output image, in pixels (default 512). overridden per-axis by -w and -n. ⭐
  • -w #, --width # — output image width in pixels (overrides the width from -s). 📏
  • -n #, --height # — output image height in pixels (overrides the height from -s). 📐
  • -t A|B|C|D|E|F, --type A|B|C|D|E|F — picture type to produce (see the table above). if a type is requested but the supplied object lists are insufficient for it, rtwizard exits with an error. no improvising, it's a strict queen 💀
  • -c obj[,...], --color-objects obj[,...] — comma-separated list of objects to render in full color. quote the list if names contain spaces (e.g. -c "obj1,obj 2"). 🌈
  • -l obj[,...], --line-objects obj[,...] — comma-separated list of objects to render as edge lines. ✏️
  • -g obj[,...], --ghost-objects obj[,...] — comma-separated list of objects to render as ghosted (faded) context. 👻
  • -a angle, --azimuth angle — set the azimuth view angle, in degrees. 🔄
  • -e angle, --elevation angle — set the elevation view angle, in degrees. ⬆️
  • --twist angle — set the twist view angle, in degrees. 🌀
  • -z value, --zoom value — zoom factor as a multiplier on the default view size. values greater than one enlarge the object; values less than one shrink it. 🔍
  • --center x/y/z — set the xyz coordinates of the view center. 🎯
  • --eye_pt x/y/z — set the eye point. part of a complete low-level view specification (with --viewsize and --orientation); a complete low-level specification overrides the high-level view options. 👁️
  • --viewsize value — set the view size directly (low-level view specification). 📦
  • --orientation x/y/z/w — set the view orientation quaternion (low-level view specification). 🧭
  • -P angle, --perspective angle — set the perspective angle, in degrees. 🔭
  • -C color, --background-color color — background color for full-color ray tracing, as R/G/B or hex (default white). 🤍
  • --line-color color — color for edge lines, as R/G/B or hex. the keyword "region" uses each region's own color for its lines. 🖍️
  • --non-line-color color — color used for the non-line areas of edge renderings. 🎨
  • -G value, --ghost-intensity value — visibility of ghosted objects (default 6.0). 👻
  • -O #, --occlusion # — occlusion mode (1 to 3) for line rendering (default 1). see rtedge(1). 🕶️
  • --gui — force the graphical interface even when the command line specifies enough information to produce an image. 🪄
  • --no-gui — force command-line operation even when the supplied information is insufficient. overridden by --gui if both are given. ⚔️
  • -d device, --fbserv-device device — framebuffer device for fbserv(1) to use instead of the default memory-only interface (e.g. -d /dev/wgl). see fbhelp(1) for available devices. a framebuffer started by rtwizard is closed automatically after image generation. 🖥️
  • -p #, --fbserv-port # — TCP port for the fbserv(1) framebuffer. an existing framebuffer server may be reused; in that case rtwizard leaves it open after rendering. 🔌
  • --benchmark — benchmark mode: disable randomness for reproducible timing. ⏱️
  • --cpu-count # — number of CPUs to use. 🧠
  • --pid-file filename — file used for tracking process IDs. 📄
  • --log-file filename — write debugging output to this file. 🗒️
  • -v #, --verbose # — set the verbosity level. 🗣️

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

Example 1. Highlighted color-plus-edge image at a custom view

rtwizard -i m35.g -c component/power.train -g component -l component \
         -a -35 -e 15 -z 1.6 -o m35.png

render the m35 sample model with its power train highlighted in full color over a ghosted, edge-lined truck body, viewed from azimuth -35 and elevation 15 and zoomed in 1.6x, saving the result as a PNG image. she's gorgeous, your honor 💖

Example 2. Bulk rendering on the command line

for g in *.g; do
    rtwizard --no-gui -t A -i "$g" -c all -s 1024 -o "${g%.g}.png"
done

non-interactively produce a 1024x1024 full-color image of the "all" object in every .g file in the current directory, naming each output after its database. --no-gui ensures the script never blocks on the GUI. automation ate, no crumbs 🔥

Example 3. Live preview on a framebuffer

rtwizard -d /dev/wgl -i m35.g -l component

display a line drawing of the m35 truck in an OpenGL framebuffer window rather than writing it to a file. live preview moment ✨

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

brlcad(1), rt(1), rtedge(1), fbserv(1), fbhelp(1), pix(5)

👑 AUTHOR 👑

BRL-CAD Team 💜

this software is Copyright (c) 1989-2026 by the United States Government as represented by U.S. Army Research Laboratory. 📜

🍓 BUG REPORTS 🍓

reports of bugs or problems should be submitted via electronic mail to devs@brlcad.org — they're literally waiting for your lore drop, bestie 🫶

okay that's the whole page!! 💅 this cutie lives in the BRL-CAD manual set as RTWIZARD(1) — go make something iconic with it 🎀✨

📦 where this page comes from