"Blender -b" command does not work on headless Ubuntu server #77339

New Issue

Zach Hixson · 2020-06-04T03:46:52+02:00

Zach Hixson commented

2020-06-04 03:46:52 +02:00

System Information
Operating system: Ubuntu 18.04.4
Graphics card: 2x Nvidia P106-100

Blender Version
Broken: version: 2.83.0, branch: master, commit date: 2020-06-03 14:38, hash: 211b6c29f7
Worked: 2.82

Short description of error
When running "blender -b," from command like, it throws the error "Unable to open a display; Aborted (core dumped)," which is the same error it always threw if trying to render without the "-b" command on a headless server. The error occurs even if a .blend file is specified, or if you input the "--python-console," command. Seems to work all-right on Windows, so only broken on Linux as far as I can tell.

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error

Open Ubuntu Terminal
Run "Blender -b" on a headless machine

**System Information** Operating system: Ubuntu 18.04.4 Graphics card: 2x Nvidia [P106](https://archive.blender.org/developer/P106.txt)-100 **Blender Version** Broken: version: 2.83.0, branch: master, commit date: 2020-06-03 14:38, hash: `211b6c29f7` Worked: 2.82 **Short description of error** When running "blender -b," from command like, it throws the error "Unable to open a display; Aborted (core dumped)," which is the same error it always threw if trying to render without the "-b" command on a headless server. The error occurs even if a .blend file is specified, or if you input the "--python-console," command. Seems to work all-right on Windows, so only broken on Linux as far as I can tell. **Exact steps for others to reproduce the error** 1. Open Ubuntu Terminal 2. Run "Blender -b" on a headless machine

Zach Hixson commented

2020-06-04 03:46:52 +02:00

Added subscriber: @ZachHixson

Campbell Barton commented

2020-06-04 06:43:59 +02:00

Added subscriber: @ideasman42

Campbell Barton commented

2020-06-04 06:43:59 +02:00

This is quite strange, tested 2.83 release on Arch Linux without X11 running.

blender -b --factory-startup --python-console

Works without any errors.

It's possible the rendering attempts to access the GPU in background mode, however that should only happen if you attempt to use EEVEE for rendering.

This is quite strange, tested 2.83 release on Arch Linux without X11 running. `blender -b --factory-startup --python-console` Works without any errors. It's possible the rendering attempts to access the GPU in background mode, however that should only happen if you attempt to use EEVEE for rendering.

Campbell Barton commented

2020-06-04 07:31:52 +02:00

Tested with Ubuntu 18.04 server, and can't redo the error.

Campbell Barton commented

2020-06-04 16:50:15 +02:00

Closed as duplicate of #77348

Campbell Barton closed this issue

2020-06-04 16:50:15 +02:00

Campbell Barton commented

2020-06-04 16:50:57 +02:00

Closed as duplicate of #77367

Campbell Barton closed this issue

2020-06-04 16:50:57 +02:00

Jeff Davies commented

2020-08-03 21:17:02 +02:00

Added subscriber: @kaptkaos

Jeff Davies commented

2020-08-03 21:17:02 +02:00

Operating System: Oracle-Linux-7.8 (a variant of Red Hat)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Corporation GP100GL [Tesla P100 SXM2 16GB] (rev a1)

I'm seeing the same behavior on a Red Hat Linux install. I create the default.blend file on my Mac (its literally just the default sube with no modifications to lighting ot the camera). Here are some of the samle command and their output:

[opc@test2 ~]$ blender -b default.blend -f 1 -noaudio
Blender 2.83.3 (hash 353e5bd749 built 2020-07-22 06:01:36)
found bundled python: /home/opc/blender/2.83/python
Read blend: /home/opc/default.blend
Unable to open a display
Aborted (core dumped)

[opc@test2 ~]$ blender -b default.blend -f 1 -o//test.png -noaudio
Blender 2.83.3 (hash 353e5bd749 built 2020-07-22 06:01:36)
found bundled python: /home/opc/blender/2.83/python
Read blend: /home/opc/default.blend
Unable to open a display
Aborted (core dumped)

There are no audio cards on cloud servers so I'm using the -noaudio option. I hope this helps.

Operating System: Oracle-Linux-7.8 (a variant of Red Hat) Graphics Card: NVIDIA Corporation GP100GL [Tesla [P100](https://archive.blender.org/developer/P100.txt) SXM2 16GB] (rev a1) I'm seeing the same behavior on a Red Hat Linux install. I create the default.blend file on my Mac (its literally just the default sube with no modifications to lighting ot the camera). Here are some of the samle command and their output: [opc@test2 ~]$ blender -b default.blend -f 1 -noaudio Blender 2.83.3 (hash 353e5bd7493e built 2020-07-22 06:01:36) found bundled python: /home/opc/blender/2.83/python Read blend: /home/opc/default.blend Unable to open a display Aborted (core dumped) [opc@test2 ~]$ blender -b default.blend -f 1 -o//test.png -noaudio Blender 2.83.3 (hash 353e5bd7493e built 2020-07-22 06:01:36) found bundled python: /home/opc/blender/2.83/python Read blend: /home/opc/default.blend Unable to open a display Aborted (core dumped) There are no audio cards on cloud servers so I'm using the -noaudio option. I hope this helps.

Jeff Davies commented

2020-08-03 21:38:46 +02:00

Quick note, if i specify CYCLES on the command line, I can get it to compile. If I specify cycles in the .blend file only and not on the command line, I get the failure message. Here is a sample working CLI on my linux box in the cloud:

blender -b default.blend -E CYCLES -o //test.png -f 1 -F PNG -noaudio

Quick note, if i specify CYCLES on the command line, I can get it to compile. If I specify cycles in the .blend file only and not on the command line, I get the failure message. Here is a sample working CLI on my linux box in the cloud: blender -b default.blend -E CYCLES -o //test.png -f 1 -F PNG -noaudio

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"Blender -b" command does not work on headless Ubuntu server #77339