Options can be specified with either a leading '+' or a leading '-'. Many options are switches, meaning
a '+' turns the option on, and a '-' turns the option off. For other options, it doesn't matter if a '+'
or a '-' is used. Most options cannot have spaces in them so you should specify +FN rather than +FN,
and combining options is not allowed, so +SCisverydifferentfrom+S+C.Optionsarenotcasesensitive.
The command-line options are shown below with their corresponding INI file options. If the same option
is specified multiple times, whether in INI files or on the command-line, the last such option overrides
any previous ones, with the exception of the +L or Library_Path option, which is cumulative.
Parsingoptions:I<input_file_name> or Input_File_Name=file
Specifies the input file to use. Only real files are supported. Using '-' as the input file name,
to read from the standard input, is deprecated.
HI<header_include_file_name> or Include_Header=file
Specifies a file as the first include file of a scene file. This can be used to always include a
specific set of default include files used by all your scenes.
L<library_path> or Library_Path=path
Specifies a directory to search for input files, include files, fonts, and image maps, if the
specified file is not in the current directory. This may be specified multiple times to increase
the number of directories to search.
MVn.n or Version=float
Treat scene files as if they were version n.n instead of the current version. This may be
overridden from within the scene file.
SU or Split_Unions=bool
Split bounded CSG unions if children are finite. This allows automatic bounding of CSG objects to
take place.
UR or Remove_Bounds=bool
Remove unnecessary bounding objects. This allows automatic bounding of older scene files to take
place.
BM1 or Bounding_Method=1
Enable BVH (Bounding Volume Hierarchy) bounding (the default).
BM2 or Bounding_Method=2
Enable BSP (Binary Space Partitioning) tree bounding.
Outputoptions:Hn or Height=integer
The image should be n pixels high.
Wn or Width=integer
The image should be n pixels wide.
SRn or Start_Row=integer
Start the rendering at row n from the top of the screen.
SR0.n or Start_Row=float
Start the rendering n percent from the top of the screen.
ERn or End_Row=integer
End the rendering at row n from the top of the screen.
ER0.n or End_Row=float
End the rendering at n percent from the top of the screen.
SCn or Start_Column=integer
Start the rendering at column n from the left of the screen.
SC0.n or Start_Column=float
Start the rendering at n percent from the left of the screen.
ECn or Start_Column=integer
End the rendering at column n from the left of the screen.
EC0.n or Start_Column=float
End the rendering at n percent from the left of the screen.
C or Continue_Trace=bool
Continue a previously interrupted trace.
P or Pause_When_Done=bool
If previewing, pause when the rendering is complete before closing the window.
V or Verbose=bool
Output verbose status messages on the progress of the rendering.
WLn or Warning_Level=integer
Set warning level to n.
X or Test_Abort=bool
Enable the 'q' and 'Q' keys to interrupt a rendering in progress.
Xn or Test_Abort_Count=integer
Only check every n pixels for a user abort.
Outputoptions-displayrelated:D[0][GHT] or Display=boolPalette=char
Display the rendering in progress, optionally specifying the palette. The only valid X Window
palette option is G, which forces grayscale preview. The X Window palette is based on the visual
used, whether selected automatically by POV-Ray or via the -visual option. To specify the
palette, you must first specify the display type (the second character, shown here as '0') for
compatibility reasons, even though it is ignored in UNIX versions.
SPn or Preview_Start_Size=integer
Start mosaic preview with blocks n pixels square.
EPn or Preview_End_Size=integer
End mosaic preview with blocks n pixels square.
UD or Draw_Vistas=bool
Draw vista rectangles before rendering has been deprecated.
Outputoptions-filerelated:F[CEHJNPST][n] or Output_to_File=boolOutput_File_Type=char
Store the rendered image using one of the available formats, namely Compressed TGA, OpenEXR,
Radiance High Dynamic-Range, JPEG, PNG, PPM, System specific (PNG) and TGA.
O<output_file> or Output_File_Name=file
Write the output to the file named output_file, or the standard output if '-' is given as the
output file name.
MIn or Max_Image_Buffer_Memory=n
Sets the allowable size of the output image cache in megabytes.
Tracingoptions:MBn or Bounding=boolBounding_Threshold=integer
Use automatic bounding slabs if more than n objects are in the scene.
QnorQuality=integer
Render at quality n. Qualities range from 0 for rough images and 9 for complete ray-tracing and
textures, and 10 and 11 add radiosity.
A0.n or Antialias=boolAntialias_Threshold=integer
Do antialiasing on the pixels until the difference between adjacent pixels is less that 0.n, or
the maximum recursion depth is reached.
AMn or Sampling_Method=integer
Specify the method of antialiasing used, non-adaptive (n = 1), or adaptive antialiasing (n = 2).
Jn.n or Jitter=boolJitter_Amount=float
Specify maximum radius, in pixels, that antialiased samples should be jittered from their true
centers.
Rn or Antialias_Depth=integer
Set the maximum recursion depth for antialiased pixel sub-sampling.
UA or Output_Alpha=bool
Use alpha channel for transparency mask.
UL or Light_Buffer=bool
Use light buffer to speed up rendering has been deprecated.
UV or Vista_Buffer=bool
Use vista buffer to speed up rendering has been deprecated.
Animationoptions:Kn.n or Clock=float
Render a single frame of an animation with the clock value n.n.
KFIn or Initial_Frame=integer
Specify the initial frame number for an animation.
KFFn or Final_Frame=integer
Specify the final frame number for an animation. This must be set at a value other that 1 in
order to render multiple frames at once.
KIn.n or Initial_Clock=float
Specify the clock value for the initial frame of an animation.
KFn.n or Final_Clock=float
Specify the clock value for the frame final of an animation.
SFn or Subset_Start_Frame=integer
Render a subset of frames from an animation, starting at frame n.
SF0.n or Subset_Start_Frame=float
Render a subset of frames from an animation, starting n percent into the animation.
EFn or Subset_End_Frame=integer
Render a subset of frames from an animation, stopping at frame n.
EF0.n or Subset_End_Frame=float
Render a subset of frames from an animation, stopping n percent into the animation.
KC or Cyclic_Animation=bool
Generate clock values for a cyclic animation.
UF or Field_Render=bool
Render alternate frames using odd/even fields, suitable for interlaced output.
UO or Odd_Field=bool
Start a field rendered animation on the odd field, rather than the even field.
Redirectingoptions:GI<name> or Create_Ini=bool or Create_Ini=file
Write all INI parameters to a file named after the input scene file, or one with the specified
name.
G[ADFRSW]<name> or <Stream>_File=bool or <Stream>_File=file
Write the stream to the console and/or the specified file. The streams are All_File (except
status), Debug_File, Fatal_File, Render_File, Statistics_File, and the Warning_File.
XWindowSystemoptions:
In addition to the standard command-line options, POV-Ray recognizes additional command-line switches
related to the X Window System. See X(1) for a complete description of these options.
-display <display_name>
Display preview on display_name rather than the default display. This is meant to be used to
change the display to a remote host. The normal dispay option +d is still valid.
-geometry [WIDTHxHEIGHT][+XOFF+YOFF]
Render the image with WIDTH and HEIGHT as the dimensions, and locate the window XOFF from the left
edge, and YOFF from the top edge of the screen (or if negative the right and bottom edges
respectively). The WIDTH and HEIGHT, if given, override any previous Wn and Hn settings.
-help Display the X Window System-specific options. Use -H by itself on the command-line to output the
general POV-Ray options.
-icon Start the preview window as an icon.
-title <window_title>
Override the default preview window title with window_title.
-visual <visual_type>
Use the deepest visual of visual_type, if available, instead of the automatically selected visual.
Valid visuals are StaticGray, GrayScale, StaticColor, PseudoColor, TrueColor, or DirectColor.
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