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Omniverse Realtime Viewer

OpenAIOfficialCreated by NVIDIA OmniverseDistributed by OpenAI

  • Skill
  • Meta (authoring, orchestration, planning, memory)
  • Software development
  • Apache-2.0
  • Medium risk

From the author

Use as the top-level router for Omniverse Realtime Viewer USD app requests 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 orchestrator for developing USD-based viewer applications. It provides a structured approach to selecting implementation recipes, enforcing architectural conventions, and managing dependencies. By utilizing a set of focused reference documents, it guides developers through the lifecycle of building, configuring, and validating viewer applications, ensuring consistent behavior across different delivery paths such as local workstations or streaming environments.

What it does

  • Routes development requests to specific implementation recipes based on the target delivery path.
  • Enforces architectural rules for USD rendering, stage management, and UI integration.
  • Provides guidance on camera selection, input handling, and viewport interaction.
  • Standardizes the integration of AOV switching and render product configuration.
  • Facilitates the capture of validation evidence for viewer readiness.
  • Maintains separation between user-provided USD files and application-specific session state.

When to use it

  • When initiating the development of a new USD viewer application within the Omniverse ecosystem.
  • When determining the appropriate delivery path for a viewer, such as local native or streaming.
  • When needing to implement consistent camera, selection, or UI behavior across viewer projects.
  • When integrating advanced rendering features like AOV switching into an existing viewer.

Advantages

  • Ensures architectural consistency across diverse viewer implementations.
  • Provides a clear, modular path for adding specific capabilities like input routing or data display.
  • Promotes clean separation of concerns between stage data and viewer-owned state.
  • Standardizes the validation process for consistent delivery.

Usage examples

“I need to build a browser-based viewer for USD files.”
The agent will route you to the streaming viewer recipe, providing guidance on WebRTC stream setup, UI integration, and viewport interaction.
“How do I implement AOV switching in my local USD viewer?”
The agent will provide the AOV switching reference, detailing how to map render vars and update the display state on the server.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/openai/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

This is the top-level entry point for the Omniverse Realtime Viewer skill package. It is self-contained: all required routing, conventions, and validation guidance live in the selected references.

Use the focused reference documents as implementation recipes. This file chooses the right recipes and preserves the architectural rules that must hold across all generated viewer apps.

Instructions

Start by classifying the requested viewer, then read only the references needed for that delivery path and feature set. Implement the render path first, layer interaction and UI behavior on top of it, and finish by capturing validation evidence from references/validation.md.

Read Order

  1. Read references/routing.md to choose the delivery path and focused references.

  2. Read references/conventions.md before implementing camera, input, selection, viewport, streaming protocol, scene loading, or environment behavior.

  3. For broad viewer requests, read references/usd-viewer-app/README.md.

  4. If the delivery path is unclear, read references/streaming-vs-local/README.md.

  5. If the prompt includes layout, panels, controls, inspectors, status, or UX, read references/viewer-ux-workflow/README.md and then the focused viewer UI references. This applies to React/WebRTC, Tauri, Electron, ovui, ovwidgets, and Dear ImGui apps; "frontend" means user-facing UI, not only browser UI.

  6. For viewport interaction, read references/viewer-input-routing/README.md before references/camera-controls/README.md, references/native-picking-selection/README.md, or references/object-selection/README.md.

  7. Read only the focused capability references needed for the requested app.

  8. Use references/validation.md to capture review evidence before handoff.

Non-Negotiables

  • Use ovrtx for all USD and 3D rendering.

  • Browser apps display an ovstream WebRTC video stream plus UI. The browser does not render USD geometry.

  • Do not substitute WebGL, Three.js, Babylon.js, PlayCanvas, A-Frame, model-viewer, react-three-fiber, glTF browser viewers, or other client-side 3D renderers.

  • If local validation cannot run because the GPU/runtime environment is absent, scaffold the ovrtx path and document the runtime requirement. Do not add a browser-renderer fallback.

  • Keep user USD files unmodified. Viewer cameras, render products, render vars, settings, selection metadata, and runtime state belong in session/composite layers or app state.

  • Keep one owner for renderer.step(), stage mutation, native picking, selection writes, and live attribute writes.

  • Keep dependency acquisition in references/dependencies/README.md and deployment choices in references/cloud-deployment/README.md; do not duplicate package locations or deployment setup.

Focused Reference Families

  • Entry points and recipes: references/usd-viewer-app/README.md, references/streaming-viewer-recipe/README.md, references/ovui-local-viewer-recipe/README.md, references/streaming-vs-local/README.md, references/electron-shm-viewer/README.md, references/ovwidgets-editor-shell/README.md.

  • Rendering and stage: references/ovrtx-rendering/README.md, references/stage-loading/README.md, references/stage-management/README.md, references/render-settings/README.md, references/aov-switching/README.md, references/stage-hierarchy/README.md, references/stage-queries/README.md, references/stage-attribute-reads/README.md, references/prim-transform-safety/README.md, references/usd-sample-data/README.md.

  • Delivery and runtime: references/streaming-server/README.md, references/streaming-client/README.md, references/streaming-messages/README.md, references/streaming-lifecycle/README.md, references/local-viewer/README.md, references/tauri-local-viewer/README.md, references/cpp-native-viewer/README.md, references/headless-shm-cli/README.md, references/viewer-backend-interface/README.md, references/webgl-shm-transport/README.md.

  • Viewer UI/UX: references/viewer-ux-workflow/README.md, references/viewer-layout-patterns/README.md, references/viewer-control-patterns/README.md, references/viewer-data-view-patterns/README.md, references/viewer-feedback-status/README.md.

  • Interaction: references/viewer-input-routing/README.md, references/camera-controls/README.md, references/object-selection/README.md, references/native-picking-selection/README.md, references/selection-feedback/README.md, references/selection-animation/README.md, references/transform-manipulator/README.md, references/gl-viewport-overlay/README.md, references/ovui-library/README.md, references/prim-pick-effects/README.md, references/prim-info-display/README.md, references/viewport-overlays/README.md.

  • Infrastructure: references/dependencies/README.md, references/windows-native-setup/README.md, references/cloud-assets/README.md, references/cloud-deployment/README.md, references/troubleshooting/README.md.

Build Workflow

  1. Classify the prompt by delivery path, target user, required capabilities, runtime environment, validation needs, and explicit constraints.

  2. Select a small reference set. Start with the recipe or routing reference, then add focused capabilities such as camera, picking, hierarchy, properties, render settings, transform tools, cloud assets, or deployment.

  3. Read selected references before writing app code. Follow their build order, import order, data-channel contracts, and renderer ownership rules.

  4. Implement the core render path first, then input routing and camera, then selection and data panels, then scene/settings features, then packaging or deployment.

  5. Treat the selected references as the behavior contract for API shape, compatibility, and generated project structure.

  6. Capture validation evidence before calling the viewer ready.

Examples

  • For a browser viewer request, use the streaming recipe references plus camera, picking, hierarchy, properties, render settings, and stream-status references.

  • For a local workstation viewer request, use the local or native delivery references plus renderer setup, stage loading, viewport input, and validation.

Completion Checklist

  • Selected references match the user's intent and delivery path.

  • No code path uses a browser-side 3D renderer for USD.

  • The generated app has one clear owner for render stepping and stage mutation.

  • User USD files remain untouched by viewer-owned session data.

  • Camera, input, selection, scene loading, and stream behavior follow references/conventions.md.

  • Setup/build/run results and visual interaction evidence are captured with references/validation.md.

Files

references/cpp-native-viewer/project-build.md

C++ Native Project And Build

When To Use This vs Other Paths

You want...Use...
Native C++ binary, Dear ImGui UI, no Python, no ReactThis skill
Small Python desktop viewer with ovui widgetslocal-viewer
Native desktop app with React WebView and Rust FFItauri-local-viewer
Electron/React UI with a separate Python OVRTX process and SHM pixelselectron-shm-viewer
Browser client or remote GPU hoststreaming-server + streaming-client
Architecture routing before choosing local vs remotestreaming-vs-local

Choose C++/ImGui when the app runs on the GPU workstation, should ship as a native executable, and does not need web UI reuse. Choose Tauri when React UI reuse matters. Choose Electron + SHM when an existing Python OVRTX server should stay isolated from the desktop shell. Choose streaming when the client is remote.

Architecture Overview

One thread owns all mutable OVRTX state:

main thread
  -> GLFW event callbacks update OrbitCamera and pending pick requests
  -> ImGui builds controls and viewport
  -> write camera omni:xform
  -> write selection animation omni:xform
  -> enqueue native pick query, when a click happened
  -> ovrtx_step()
  -> ovrtx_fetch_results()
  -> ovrtx_map_render_var_output("LdrColor")
  -> BGRA/RGBA normalize into owned CPU buffer
  -> glTexSubImage2D()
  -> ImGui::Image()

Keep renderer, stage load/reset, pick query enqueue, result mapping, and ovrtx_write_attribute() calls on this same owner thread. UI callbacks should only update app state that the render loop consumes.

Project Skeleton

Use this shape for a minimal standalone viewer:

cpp-imgui-viewer/
  CMakeLists.txt
  src/
    main.cpp
    camera.h
    camera.cpp
    session_layer.h
    ovrtx_helpers.h

main.cpp owns GLFW, ImGui, OVRTX lifecycle, texture upload, picking, selection, and the render loop. Keep the first version simple; add richer panels only after the frame path and input path are correct.

Build System

Use CMake with OVRTX_DIR pointing at the OVRTX SDK root. Fetch Dear ImGui and GLFW when local copies are not provided.

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)

project(cpp_imgui_ovrtx_viewer LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)

include(FetchContent)

find_package(OpenGL REQUIRED)
find_package(glfw3 CONFIG QUIET)

if(NOT glfw3_FOUND)
    set(GLFW_BUILD_DOCS OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
    set(GLFW_BUILD_EXAMPLES OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
    set(GLFW_BUILD_TESTS OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
    FetchContent_Declare(
        glfw
        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/glfw/glfw.git
        GIT_TAG 3.4
    )
    FetchContent_MakeAvailable(glfw)
endif()

if(TARGET glfw)
    set(GLFW_TARGET glfw)
elseif(TARGET glfw3)
    set(GLFW_TARGET glfw3)
else()
    message(FATAL_ERROR "GLFW target was not found")
endif()

if(NOT DEFINED IMGUI_DIR AND DEFINED ENV{IMGUI_DIR})
    set(IMGUI_DIR "$ENV{IMGUI_DIR}")
endif()

if(IMGUI_DIR)
    set(imgui_SOURCE_DIR "${IMGUI_DIR}")
else()
    FetchContent_Declare(
        imgui
        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/ocornut/imgui.git
        GIT_TAG v1.91.9b
    )
    FetchContent_MakeAvailable(imgui)
endif()

add_library(imgui STATIC
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui.cpp"
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui_draw.cpp"
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui_tables.cpp"
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui_widgets.cpp"
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/backends/imgui_impl_glfw.cpp"
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/backends/imgui_impl_opengl3.cpp"
)
target_include_directories(imgui PUBLIC
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}"
    "${imgui_SOURCE_DIR}/backends"
)
target_link_libraries(imgui PUBLIC ${GLFW_TARGET} OpenGL::GL)

if(NOT DEFINED OVRTX_DIR AND DEFINED ENV{OVRTX_DIR})
    set(OVRTX_DIR "$ENV{OVRTX_DIR}")
endif()
if(NOT OVRTX_DIR)
    message(FATAL_ERROR "Set OVRTX_DIR to the OVRTX SDK root")
endif()

set(OVRTX_INCLUDE_DIR "${OVRTX_DIR}/include" CACHE PATH "OVRTX include directory")
find_library(OVRTX_LIBRARY
    NAMES ovrtx libovrtx
    PATHS "${OVRTX_DIR}/lib" "${OVRTX_DIR}/lib64" "${OVRTX_DIR}/bin"
    NO_DEFAULT_PATH
)
if(NOT OVRTX_LIBRARY)
    message(FATAL_ERROR "Could not find ovrtx under ${OVRTX_DIR}")
endif()

add_library(OVRTX::ovrtx UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
set_target_properties(OVRTX::ovrtx PROPERTIES
    IMPORTED_LOCATION "${OVRTX_LIBRARY}"
    INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${OVRTX_INCLUDE_DIR}"
)

add_executable(cpp_imgui_ovrtx_viewer
    src/main.cpp
    src/camera.cpp
    src/camera.h
    src/session_layer.h
    src/ovrtx_helpers.h
)

target_link_libraries(cpp_imgui_ovrtx_viewer PRIVATE
    OVRTX::ovrtx
    imgui
    ${GLFW_TARGET}
    OpenGL::GL
)

Run with the OVRTX runtime libraries visible:

cmake -S . -B build -DOVRTX_DIR="$OVRTX_DIR"
cmake --build build -j
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$OVRTX_DIR/lib:$OVRTX_DIR/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" \
  ./build/cpp_imgui_ovrtx_viewer /absolute/path/to/scene.usd

On Windows, add the OVRTX bin directory to PATH before launching.

Common C API Helpers

Keep small helpers for string conversion, result checks, and operation waits.

#include <ovrtx/ovrtx.h>
#include <ovrtx/ovrtx_attributes.h>
#include <ovrtx/ovrtx_config.h>
#include <ovrtx/ovrtx_types.h>

#include <cstdlib>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>

static ovx_string_t toOvxString(const std::string& value)
{
    return {value.c_str(), value.size()};
}

static std::string fromOvxString(ovx_string_t value)
{
    if (!value.ptr || value.length == 0) return {};
    return {value.ptr, value.length};
}

static bool ok(ovrtx_result_t result)
{
    return result.status == OVRTX_API_SUCCESS;
}

static bool ok(ovrtx_enqueue_result_t result)
{
    return result.status == OVRTX_API_SUCCESS;
}

static void printLastOvrtxError(const char* context)
{
    std::cerr << context;
    const std::string message = fromOvxString(ovrtx_get_last_error());
    if (!message.empty()) std::cerr << ": " << message;
    std::cerr << "\n";
}

static bool waitForOperation(
    ovrtx_renderer_t* renderer,
    ovrtx_enqueue_result_t op,
    const char* context)
{
    if (!ok(op)) {
        printLastOvrtxError(context);
        return false;
    }
    if (op.op_index == OVRTX_INVALID_HANDLE) {
        return true;
    }

    ovrtx_op_wait_result_t waitResult = {};
    const ovrtx_result_t wait =
        ovrtx_wait_op(renderer, op.op_index, ovrtx_timeout_infinite, &waitResult);
    if (!ok(wait) || waitResult.num_error_ops > 0) {
        printLastOvrtxError(context);
        return false;
    }
    return true;
}

Requirements and compatibility

Written for: OpenAI Codex

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.

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
OpenAI (Official)
Distributed by
OpenAI
Source
openai/plugins · plugins/nvidia/skills/omniverse-realtime-viewer · commit d420d13
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (written by AutoGineer)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by NVIDIA Omniverse or OpenAI.

Download ZIP

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