vfxreview/RenderWorker/README.md

# VFXReview RenderWorker

Windows service that drives `aerender.exe` on the artist workstations (RenderPipeline2 §7).
It talks **only HTTP** to the VFXReview server (`/api/ext/*`, API-key auth) — it never
gets a database connection. All scheduling policy (render windows, Render Now,
urgent priority) is enforced server-side in the claim endpoint; the worker polls dumbly.

## One click → EXR + MOV + MP4

A single **Queue Export** click produces all three deliverables. The server
chains two jobs:

1. **AE_RENDER** — `aerender` writes the clean EXR sequence (no overlay, no LUT).
2. **PREVIEW_ONLY** — created automatically when the render completes. The
   worker runs `AfterFX.com -noui -r scripts/vfxr_build_preview.jsx`, which opens
   the studio slate/overlay **template** AEP, imports the rendered EXRs, rebuilds
   the shot around them (OCIO → `_SHOW LUT` → `UNG_VFX_OVERLAY`), duplicates
   `UNG_EXPORT_TEMPLATE` into a preview comp with the slate filled in, queues the
   MOV (`4444 Tri`) and MP4 (`REVIEW_PREVIEW`) output modules, and **saves a
   throwaway AEP**. The worker then runs `aerender -project <that aep>` with no
   `-comp`, rendering both outputs in one launch.

The MOV and MP4 land beside the EXRs. The MP4 is uploaded and registered as an
ordinary `Version` — internal-only, never client-visible, and it changes no task
or shot status (§10.0). Preview settings live in `SystemConfig` under
`preview.*`, so template names and paths are changed without redeploying.

If the preview stage fails, only it is retried — the validated EXRs are never
re-rendered. The temp AEP is kept on failure so you can open it and see exactly
what the farm built.

### Proving headless AE first

Headless AE is the one real unknown, so prove it before relying on it
(spec 18.2-C4). **Close After Effects**, then:

```powershell
.\scripts\test-preview-build.ps1 -ExrDir "V:\_EXPORTS\...\v002" -ShotCode "UNG_111_001_030" -Version "v002"
```

It runs the exact build the worker runs and prints the result plus any warnings
(missing LUT comp, missing slate layer, …), then gives you the `aerender` command
to render what it built. If it reports no result file, AE cannot script headlessly
under that account — fall back to having the panel pre-build the preview comp in
the artist's AEP (then it is pure `aerender`), or the ffmpeg engine.

## What it does (Phase 2 scope)

- Registers on startup (E6) and receives server-supplied tuning (poll/heartbeat/lease/stall).
- Heartbeats every 30 s (E7) — the heartbeat response is also the cancel channel.
- Claims one `AE_RENDER` job at a time (E8), runs `aerender.exe` with the manifest's
  comp/frame-range/templates, parses `PROGRESS:` lines, reports progress + ETA (E9,
  renews the lease).
- Stall watchdog: no progress for `stallTimeoutSeconds` (default 600) → kill process tree, retryable fail.
- Deterministic errors (missing footage / missing comp / unopenable project) → non-retryable fail (E10);
  transient errors auto-requeue server-side up to `maxAttempts`.
- On success: uploads the full aerender log via presign (E20), reports complete (E11).
- Crash recovery: `current-job.json` written on claim; on restart the worker asks the server
  what became of the job and reports a retryable fail if it was still ours. Partial renders
  are never resumed — the next attempt clears its own output files and re-renders.
- Durable reporting: complete/fail reports spool to disk and replay in order with backoff —
  rendering continues while the server is down.

Preview generation (Phase 4) and validation (Phase 3) plug into this same service later.

## Build

Requires the .NET 8+ SDK.

```bash
cd RenderWorker/VFXReviewWorker
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained -p:PublishSingleFile=true -o publish
```

Produces a single `publish/VFXReviewWorker.exe` — no runtime install needed on render nodes.

## Configure

Create `C:\ProgramData\VFXReviewWorker\config.json` (§7.8):

```json
{
  "serverUrl": "https://review.twotalesvfx.com",
  "apiKey": "<API_SECRET_KEY>",
  "machineName": "RENDER-01",
  "aerenderPath": "C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe After Effects 2026\\Support Files\\aerender.exe",
  "aeVersion": "24.3",
  "ffmpegPath": "C:\\pipeline\\bin\\ffmpeg.exe",
  "pathMappings": [
    { "from": "//SAN/", "to": "S:/" }
  ]
}
```

`pathMappings` translate the manifest's canonical UNC paths to this machine's drive
mappings. Everything tunable (poll interval, lease, stall timeout, max attempts) lives in
the server's SystemConfig and arrives at registration — no per-machine tuning files.

## Run interactively (first-time smoke test)

```bash
VFXReviewWorker.exe
```

Logs go to the console-less service log at `%ProgramData%\VFXReviewWorker\logs\worker_YYYYMMDD.log`
(14-day rolling). Confirm the machine appears on the web **Pipeline → Machines** page, then stop it.

## Install as a Windows service

Run as a studio account with SAN access (works whether or not an artist is logged in):

```powershell
sc.exe create VFXReviewRenderWorker binPath= "C:\pipeline\VFXReviewWorker\VFXReviewWorker.exe" start= auto obj= "STUDIO\svc-render" password= "<password>"
sc.exe description VFXReviewRenderWorker "VFXReview render pipeline worker (aerender)"
sc.exe start VFXReviewRenderWorker
```

Uninstall: `sc.exe stop VFXReviewRenderWorker && sc.exe delete VFXReviewRenderWorker`.

## Rollout notes (spec §17.2)

- Install on **one** workstation first; add the second after a clean week.
- Set `render.maxAttempts = 1` in SystemConfig for the first week (observe before auto-retrying).
- Enter each machine's render windows on the Machines page (`availability`), defaults:
  weekdays 19:00–08:00 + full weekends; Render Now override = 4 h.
- The dashboard warns when the two workstations report different AE versions.

## Tests

```bash
cd RenderWorker
dotnet test
```

Covers the progress parser against recorded aerender transcript lines (success, error,
non-retryable), ETA math, path mapping, log-tail ring buffer, and the output-dir
clearing guard (only files matching the job's own pattern prefix are ever deleted).