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Omniverse Realtime Viewer

NVIDIAOfficialCreated by NVIDIA Omniverse

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Software development
  • Apache-2.0
  • Medium risk

From the author

Use as the top-level router for Omniverse Realtime Viewer USD apps, XR delivery, SPG GPU processing, stylized rendering, and focused viewer reference documents.
— the description by NVIDIA Omniverse

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The Omniverse Realtime Viewer skill acts as a central routing and architectural framework for developing USD-based 3D viewer applications. It provides a structured approach to composing rendering, scene state, and delivery mechanisms, ensuring that developers can integrate OVRTX rendering, OVStage scene management, and various UI or streaming adapters effectively. The skill emphasizes a modular architecture where the viewer runtime, UI/input adapters, and delivery systems are decoupled, allowing for consistent behavior across local and streamed environments.

What it does

  • Provides a routing architecture for USD viewer apps, XR delivery, and GPU-accelerated rendering.
  • Defines the separation of concerns between viewer runtime, UI adapters, and delivery systems.
  • Offers guidance on integrating OVRTX for high-fidelity 3D rendering.
  • Establishes conventions for camera interaction, scene state management, and input handling.
  • Supports the implementation of specialized features like stylized rendering and CAE/CFD visualization.
  • Provides protocols for agent-to-UI communication and scene control.

When to use it

  • When starting the development of a new USD-based realtime viewer application.
  • When integrating advanced rendering features like stylized visualization or AOV switching.
  • When building XR or spatial editing capabilities into an existing Omniverse application.
  • When you need to standardize the architecture for local and streamed viewer deployments.
  • When implementing chat-driven scene control or agent-based inspection of a 3D scene.

Advantages

  • Promotes a clean, modular architecture that separates rendering logic from UI and transport.
  • Ensures consistent behavior across different delivery methods, such as local windows or WebRTC streaming.
  • Provides clear paths for extending functionality without disrupting the core viewer runtime.
  • Facilitates the integration of complex simulation and visualization data into the viewer.
  • Standardizes conventions for scene state, selection, and camera control.

Usage examples

“How do I set up a basic USD viewer application using the Omniverse Realtime Viewer architecture?”
The agent will guide you to start with the viewer app reference, resolve dependencies, and implement the core runtime owner to manage the OVStage and OVRTX renderer.
“I need to add stylized rendering to my existing viewer. Where should I start?”
The agent will direct you to the stylized visualization references to implement the required USD/Lua/CUDA nodes within your existing runtime owner.
“How can I enable an AI agent to control the viewer scene?”
The agent will point to the A2UI Scene Copilot reference to implement an operation interface that allows the agent to send commands through the existing runtime owner.
“How do I switch between different render outputs like beauty and depth in my viewer?”
The agent will explain how to use the AOV switching reference to map RenderVars and update the RenderProduct's orderedVars through the runtime owner.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/nvidia/omniverse-realtime-viewer/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip omniverse-realtime-viewer.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by NVIDIA Omniverse

<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved. -->

<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 -->

Omniverse Realtime Viewer

Build responsive USD viewers by composing OVRTX rendering, OVStage scene state, and the delivery/UI libraries appropriate to the app. Use this package for viewer architecture and interaction; use each selected SDK's upstream guidance for installation and exact release-specific APIs.

Start With The App

  1. When delivery is explicit, select its recipe through references/routing.md and follow its current phase. Otherwise start with references/usd-viewer-app/README.md. For an existing app, keep its architecture and read only the references for the requested change. Broad app, conventions and UI catalogs are lookups as needed.

  2. Resolve the selected libraries through references/dependencies/README.md. Preserve the project's manifest unless an upgrade is requested.

  3. Build a working frame and camera interaction in the chosen shell, then add the requested capabilities. Read references/conventions.md for shared input, camera, selection, and protocol conventions.

  4. Use references/viewer-ux-workflow/README.md for broader interface design. Loading, selection feedback, errors, and input responsiveness belong in the first working app, alongside rendering.

  5. Validate the actual delivery path with references/validation.md. A browser screenshot does not validate a native window or a different transport.

Architecture

OwnerResponsibility
Viewer runtimeOwn the live OVStage, publication clock, OVRTX renderer, scene changes, and render stepping.
UI and input adapterDisplay frames and copied app state; send user intent to the runtime owner.
Storage/query/simulation workersPerform their assigned work and return results through the selected integration boundary.
Delivery adapterPresent locally or stream through ovstream; respect frame ownership and backpressure.

Use OVRTX for USD/3D rendering. Browser apps display its WebRTC video; local apps present its output through their native shell. A missing GPU means rendering is unverified, not a reason to substitute a browser 3D renderer.

Keep viewer cameras, settings, effects, and transient edits in app-owned session or runtime state so the source USD stays intact. Serialize scene mutation and render stepping through the runtime owner. Read references/ovstage-ovrtx-integration/README.md for that loop, then the population or data-plane references when implementing scene loading or attribute writes.

Keep expensive loading and metadata work off the UI and render threads. Keep transport details behind a delivery adapter so camera, selection, properties, and loading state can be reused across local and streamed shells.

Add Capabilities As Needed

Use references/routing.md to select camera/picking, scene management, render settings, cloud assets, simulation, editor tools, deployment, or CAE/CFD visualization. Read the selected capability's implementation flow and its linked contract; the full reference catalog is not a prerequisite for a first frame.

For simulation, use the routing reference's Simulation Ecosystem section plus references/realtime-sim-integration/README.md. For UI-driven forces or control, add references/interaction-round-trip/README.md.

For example scenes, use references/usd-sample-data/README.md. When a runtime failure needs diagnosis, use references/troubleshooting/README.md and the selected SDK's matching release guidance before changing the architecture.

Solid Modeling: Upstream First

For usd-brep, exact BRep, solid modeling, kernel failures, CAD topology, or BrepArray questions, first read references/dependencies/README.md → USD BRep. Follow the owning repository's current agent guidance, skills, operation docs, and package API before selecting local integration references. Discover the upstream router rather than assuming skill names or directory layouts remain fixed. Upstream owns modeling semantics, schema rules, tuning, and diagnostics; this package owns OVRTX display, worker handoff, selection mapping, and publication timing.

GPU Processing And Stylized Viewers

For custom GPU processing, chained outputs and lens sampling, read references/spg-processing/README.md. For toon, ink, technical/X-Ray styles, geometry strokes or full wireframe, continue to references/stylized-visualization/implementation.md. Its USD/Lua/CUDA starting node and geometry/depth/composite build sequence work with the selected viewer recipe; use references/stylized-visualization/style-recipes.md for the preset math and references/stylized-visualization/README.md for supporting contracts. Implement the result inside the existing OVRTX/runtime owner and deliver the published processed output. These instructions do not require a sample checkout or a prior stylized-rendering implementation.

For an optional usd-brep geometry source, first read references/dependencies/README.md → USD BRep and the owning repository's current agent guidance, skills, and operation docs; then read references/stylized-visualization/usd-brep-source.md for the display boundary.

XR Viewers

For headsets, immersive viewers, or spatial editors, start with references/xr-viewer-recipe/README.md. Resolve SDK setup and contracts through references/dependencies/ovxr.md; the library owns OpenXR lifecycle and frame submission. For controllers, hands, navigation, or scene tools, add references/xr-spatial-input/README.md and references/ovxr-python-interactions/README.md. For projection-integrated UI, read references/ovxr-composition-ui/README.md and references/ovxr-composition-ui-validation/README.md.

Files

references/ovui-local-viewer-recipe/validation-build-order.md

ovui Local Validation And Build Order

13. Validate The Omniverse Realtime Viewer

Use this as a routine smoke checklist. Add focused proof only for features the viewer actually exposes or for demo-critical claims.

Validate in this order:

  1. Compile or import-check the local app package.

  2. Launch with a real display and confirm the ovui window opens at the requested size.

  3. Confirm the main window resizes and the viewport image frame tracks the window dimensions.

  4. Push a synthetic RGBA gradient through the selected ovui image provider and capture a desktop screenshot proving native presentation works before any renderer debugging.

  5. Load a simple sample scene and save a direct ovrtx LdrColor artifact from the same render product and render var used by the viewport.

  6. Capture a desktop screenshot of the ovui window showing that rendered frame.

  7. Confirm colors are correct with a scene containing obvious red and blue objects.

  8. Confirm the scene was not modified and no viewer lights were injected unless requested.

  9. Confirm camera orbit, pan, right-drag dolly, wheel zoom, and fit-to-stage update the rendered view.

  10. Confirm left-click selection does not fire after an orbit drag.

  11. Confirm viewport picking uses the visible image rect and remains accurate after resize.

  12. Confirm selected prim state appears in the tree and info panel.

  13. Confirm hierarchy expansion, properties, and variants display the current selected prim only.

  14. Confirm scene switching clears stale selection, refreshes hierarchy, preserves render settings, and avoids concurrent render/reset.

  15. For visible render settings, confirm either an immediate before/after effect, backend effective-state echo, explicit reload/profile behavior, or unsupported-key rejection. Do not require broad artifact capture for hidden or unimplemented settings.

  16. Confirm render settings persist after scene switch and app restart only for settings that were validated or accepted as non-live defaults.

  17. Confirm selection outline groups are cleared on every stage load when selection feedback is enabled.

  18. If a selected-prim transform gizmo is present, confirm dragging it changes a known prim's live omni:xform by a measured delta and the highlight/info panel follow the moved prim.

  19. If physics is requested, confirm either a verified PhysX.attach_ovstage(stage, read_ordinal=...) compatibility probe or the bounded OVPhysX worker path. Focus proof on one selected prim, parent/child process model, OVStage write/consume ordinals, and nonzero motion when motion was requested.

  20. Confirm the app shuts down without leaving a stale Python GPU process.

Use these failure checks:

  • Window opens but content does not resize: verify the ovui window fills the app window and viewport widgets use flexible sizing.

  • Black frame: verify render product path, camera path, render var source, resolution, and camera transform.

  • Direct LdrColor artifact is nonblank but the window is blank: verify ovui presentation with the synthetic frame and switch to a known-good ovui-native presentation path if needed.

  • Magenta materials: verify OVRTX_BIN_PATH and plugin library path.

  • Scene load works once but fails after switching: verify renderer reset/load serialization, inline sublayer paths, and operation error handling.

  • Camera moves incorrectly: verify row-major camera matrix layout, world-up convention, finite state, ovui button mapping, and letterbox transform.

  • Picking fails: verify native pick query enqueue/step/result handling, pick coordinate transform, RenderProduct GPU pinning when required by the active ovrtx build, and no picking during load/reset.

  • Gizmo appears but prim does not move: verify mouse-down priority before camera/orbit, no pick on drag release, and local omni:xform deltas queued through the shared transform adapter for the selected prim. Confirm OVStage writes finish before advancing the write floor and rendering that ordinal; direct renderer writes apply only to standalone compatibility paths.

  • OPEN button does nothing or fails inconsistently: remove or demote the dialog control until it is validated; keep the path-field LOAD path as the primary stage-loading control.

  • Tree or info panel shows stale data: verify cache invalidation after scene switch, variant change, and selection clear.

  • UI freezes on large scenes: verify hierarchy traversal is lazy or moved off the UI path.

Read for depth: see references/local-viewer, references/stage-loading, references/viewer-input-routing, references/camera-controls, references/object-selection, references/stage-hierarchy, references/render-settings, and references/stage-management for full debugging contracts.

Follow this sequence when implementing from scratch:

  1. Create the project skeleton and dependency files.

  2. Build app config, runtime state, ovui lifecycle, and a resizable empty viewport shell.

  3. Add ovrtx renderer construction and a single hard-coded sample scene load.

  4. Add a synthetic ovui presentation smoke test and capture the first nonblank window screenshot.

  5. Add inline root/session setup with LdrColor, save a direct frame artifact, and confirm one displayed frame in the ovui window.

  6. Add continuous frame stepping and stable ImageBridge updates.

  7. Add letterbox math, normalized input routing, and a transparent viewport hit surface.

  8. Add camera orbit, pan, zoom, wheel zoom, and fit-to-stage.

  9. Add scene registry, scene picker, reload, and serialized scene switching.

  10. Add hierarchy and properties queries.

  11. Add tree-driven selection, then viewport picking.

  12. Add native selection outline feedback and prim info display.

  13. Add selected-prim transform gizmo behavior only after selection and live transform writes are proven.

  14. Add render settings capabilities, immediate apply paths, and persistence only for validated settings.

  15. Run the validation checklist and fix failures before adding optional overlays, cloud assets, or editor-style widgets.

Do not skip the displayed-frame milestone. If the first implementation includes every feature before ovrtx image display is proven, failures become hard to isolate.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs Python, Needs Node.js

The author says: Orchestrator skill. Downstream focused references may require NVIDIA GPUs, ovrtx, ovstream, ovui, OpenUSD, Python, Node/React, Tauri, Electron, C++, or cloud GPU deployment access depending on the selected viewer path.

Security

What our scanner noticed· Medium risk

  • Large base64-encoded blobs
  • Instructions that use the network

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
NVIDIA Omniverse
Publisher
NVIDIA (Official)
Source
NVIDIA/skills · skills/omniverse-realtime-viewer · commit fce3cca
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE-APACHE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

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Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download omniverse-realtime-viewer.zip