paraview-interface-cli-execution

name	paraview-interface-cli-execution
description	Sub-skill of paraview-interface: CLI Execution (+3).
version	1.1.0
category	engineering
type	reference
scripts_exempt	true

CLI Execution (+3)

CLI Execution

# Run ParaView Python script (with GUI libraries, offscreen)
pvpython script.py

# Run in pure batch mode (no GUI libraries needed)
pvbatch script.py

# Parallel execution with MPI
mpirun -np 4 pvbatch script.py

# With offscreen rendering (mesa)
pvbatch --force-offscreen-rendering script.py

# Specify specific mesa/EGL
DISPLAY=:0 pvpython script.py

pvpython vs pvbatch

Feature	pvpython	pvbatch
GUI available	Yes (can show windows)	No (headless only)
MPI parallel	No	Yes
Offscreen	Via --force-offscreen-rendering	Default
Use case	Interactive scripts, debugging	Production batch jobs

CLI Flags

Flag	Purpose
--force-offscreen-rendering	Force offscreen (no display needed)
--mesa	Use Mesa software rendering
-dr	Disable registry (ignore saved settings)
--state=file.pvsm	Load ParaView state file
--data=file.vtk	Load data file

Environment Setup

# Typical ParaView environment (installed via package manager)
export PATH=/usr/bin:$PATH  # pvpython, pvbatch in standard path

# Or from tarball installation
export PARAVIEW_HOME=/opt/ParaView-5.12
export PATH=$PARAVIEW_HOME/bin:$PATH
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$PARAVIEW_HOME/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH