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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
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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://mp-staging.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/electron-shm-viewer/protocol-interaction-lifecycle.md

Electron SHM Protocol, Interaction, And Lifecycle

JSON App Protocol

Use the envelope from streaming-messages:

{"event_type":"<MessageType>","payload":{}}

Common flows:

FlowReact sendsPython sends
Open stageopenStageRequest {url}openStageResult {url,result,error?,root_prim_path?}
HierarchygetChildrenRequest {prim_path,filters?}getChildrenResult {prim_path,children}
PropertiesgetPropertiesRequest {prim_path,max_bytes?}getPropertiesResponse {prim_path,properties,truncated?}
SelectionselectPrimsRequest {paths}stageSelectionChanged {prims}
PickingpickRequest {request_id,x,y}pickResult {request_id,path?}
Loading stateloadingStateQuery {}loadingStateResponse {url,loading_state}
AOV querygetAvailableAOVs {}availableAOVsResult {aovs,available}
AOV changechangeAOVRequest {aov}activeAOVState {active,available,result?}
SettingssetRenderSettingRequest {key,value} / getRenderSettingsRequest {}renderSettingsChanged {settings,capabilities,result?,applied?,applies_at?,requires_reload?,message?}
ErrornoneviewerError {code,message,detail?}

SHM lifecycle messages:

EventDirectionPayload
shmReadyPython to Electron main{name,width,height,protocol}
shmConnectedElectron/React internal{name,width,height}
shmDisconnectedEither side{reason?}
frameStatsPython or React{fps?,sequence?,dropped?}

Protocol rules:

  • JSON messages are UTF-8 strings on the control channel.

  • Decode and validate before dispatch.

  • Include request ids for async operations that may complete out of order.

  • Keep backward-compatible aliases only when required by existing UI.

  • Cap large property payloads and return truncated: true when needed.

  • Never include frame bytes in JSON.

  • Render setting changes must reject keys outside the backend-advertised capability list. Success means active viewer state changed, or an explicit non-live action was accepted.

Input, Camera, And Picking

React captures local pointer events and sends semantic input to Python. Python owns camera math and selection side effects.

Expected controls:

  • left drag: orbit

  • middle drag: pan

  • right drag: dolly or context menu depending on drag threshold

  • wheel: zoom

  • click under drag threshold: native ovrtx pick query

Pointer mapping:

  1. Measure the canvas CSS pixel size.

  2. Compute the visible image rectangle from render width/height.

  3. Reject clicks outside the image rectangle unless a drag should clamp.

  4. Convert to render-product pixel coordinates.

  5. Send camera or native pick messages.

Example messages:

{"event_type":"cameraMouseButton","payload":{"button":0,"down":true,"x":320,"y":240,"modifiers":{}}}
{"event_type":"cameraMouseMove","payload":{"x":340,"y":260}}
{"event_type":"cameraWheel","payload":{"delta":-120,"x":340,"y":260}}

Use viewer-input-routing for gesture semantics, camera-controls for camera math, and object-selection for native pick query behavior. Use native selection outlines for renderer-visible selection feedback: enable outlines at renderer creation, configure group styles, write non-zero omni:selectionOutlineGroup values for selected prims, and write group 0 to clear. Do not add legacy segmentation-based picker or outline compositor modules for ovrtx 0.3 generated Electron apps.

Scene Loading, Queries, And Settings

Scene switching is server-owned:

  1. React sends openStageRequest {url}.

  2. Python resolves the path or asset id.

  3. Python pauses stepping and resets/reloads the ovrtx stage.

  4. Python rebuilds viewer camera, render product, render vars, and settings.

  5. Python clears stale selection, hover, pending pick, selection outline, AOV, and load error state.

  6. Python resets or restores camera according to stage-management settings.

  7. Python emits openStageResult, root children, settings state, and selection.

  8. Frame publishing resumes after the new render product produces a valid frame.

Hierarchy and property query rules:

  • Use stage-hierarchy for traversal, variants, bounds, and properties.

  • Keep slow USD queries out of the render loop and transport callbacks.

  • Cache the root prim path after load; do not assume /World.

  • Include root prim path in openStageResult.

  • Keep tree/property payloads bounded.

Render settings are server state. React sends commands; Python validates and applies them on the render loop thread. Persist cross-scene viewer settings under a user-configurable path such as data/viewer-settings.json.

Do not add lights in inline session layers unless the user requested viewer-controlled lighting. Preserve authored scene lighting by default.

Lifecycle

Development startup:

python server/app.py --transport shm --width 1920 --height 1080
npm run electron:dev

Packaged startup:

Electron main starts Python sidecar
Python prints shmReady JSON
Electron connects native SHM client
React backend starts frame pump
Python loads initial stage or waits idle

Shutdown:

React unsubscribes frame listeners
preload disconnects
Electron main cancels WaitFrame workers
native addon closes SHM client
Python render loop stops stepping
Python closes SHM server and unlinks owned resources
Python calls ovstream shutdown exactly once
Electron terminates sidecar if it started it

Failure handling:

  • If Python exits, stop the frame pump and emit disconnected state.

  • If Electron exits, Python should detect client detach and either idle or exit according to app config.

  • If the SHM name is stale, fail fast with a reconnectable error.

  • If protocol versions differ, refuse to connect.

  • If frame header validation fails, drop the frame and reconnect.

Build And Dev Workflow

Python setup:

python3 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
export OVRTX_SKIP_USD_CHECK=1

Use references/dependencies for exact ovrtx, ovstream, USD, NumPy, and Warp setup. Do not invent alternate acquisition paths.

Electron setup:

npm install
npm run build:native
npm run electron:dev

Native addon notes:

  • Link against the ovstream SHM client library shipped with the app dependency set.

  • Package libovstream_shm_client.so beside the addon or configure a stable runtime library path before loading it.

  • Rebuild the addon when Electron version changes.

  • Prefer the host repo's existing node-gyp-build, prebuildify, or cmake-js convention.

  • Do not rely on globally installed native libraries.

Useful scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "server:shm": "OVRTX_SKIP_USD_CHECK=1 python -m server.app --transport shm",
    "build:native": "npm --prefix electron/native run build",
    "frontend:dev": "vite --host 127.0.0.1",
    "electron:dev": "electron ."
  }
}

Keep server, frontend, and native addon steps individually runnable.

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