CueNIMBY

System tray application for workstation NIMBY control

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CueNIMBY is a cross-platform system tray application that provides user control over OpenCue’s NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) feature on workstations.

Synopsis

cuenimby [OPTIONS]

Description

CueNIMBY provides a visual interface for monitoring and controlling workstation availability for rendering. It runs as a system tray application, displays state through color-coded icons, sends desktop notifications for important events, and supports time-based scheduling for automatic state changes.

The application is designed to work alongside RQD’s automatic NIMBY feature, providing users with visibility and manual control while RQD handles automatic protection based on user activity.

Options

General options

--version

Show CueNIMBY version and exit

--help, -h

Show help message and exit

--verbose, -v

Enable verbose (DEBUG) logging

Connection options

--config PATH

Path to configuration file

Default: ~/.opencue/cuenimby.json

--cuebot-host HOST

Cuebot server hostname

Overrides configuration file

Can also be set via CUEBOT_HOST environment variable

--cuebot-port PORT

Cuebot server port

Overrides configuration file

Can also be set via CUEBOT_PORT environment variable

--hostname HOST

Hostname to monitor

Default: local hostname (auto-detected)

Useful for monitoring remote hosts

Feature options

--no-notifications

Disable desktop notifications

Overrides configuration file setting

Configuration

Configuration file

CueNIMBY stores configuration in ~/.opencue/cuenimby.json. The file is automatically created on first run with default values.

Example configuration

{
  "cuebot_host": "cuebot.example.com",
  "cuebot_port": 8443,
  "hostname": null,
  "poll_interval": 5,
  "show_notifications": true,
  "notification_duration": 5,
  "scheduler_enabled": false,
  "schedule": {
    "monday": {
      "start": "09:00",
      "end": "18:00",
      "state": "disabled"
    },
    "tuesday": {
      "start": "09:00",
      "end": "18:00",
      "state": "disabled"
    }
  }
}

Configuration parameters

Connection settings

cuebot_host (string)

Hostname or IP address of Cuebot server

Default: "localhost" or value of CUEBOT_HOST environment variable

cuebot_port (integer)

Port number for Cuebot gRPC service

Default: 8443 or value of CUEBOT_PORT environment variable

hostname (string or null)

Hostname to monitor

Default: null (auto-detect local hostname)

Set to monitor a different host

Polling settings

poll_interval (integer)

How often to check host state, in seconds

Default: 5

Recommended range: 5-60 seconds

Lower values increase responsiveness but use more resources

Notification settings

show_notifications (boolean)

Enable desktop notifications

Default: true

notification_duration (integer)

How long notifications stay visible, in seconds

Default: 5

May not be honored by all platforms

Scheduler settings

scheduler_enabled (boolean)

Enable time-based scheduler

Default: false

schedule (object)

Weekly schedule configuration

Keys: day names (lowercase: monday, tuesday, etc.)

Values: schedule entry objects

Schedule entry format

{
  "start": "HH:MM",  // Start time (24-hour format)
  "end": "HH:MM",    // End time (24-hour format)
  "state": "disabled" // Desired state: "disabled" or "available"
}

During the specified time range, the host will be set to the specified state. Outside the range, the opposite state applies.

Environment variables

CUEBOT_HOST

Default Cuebot hostname

Overridden by --cuebot-host or config file

CUEBOT_PORT

Default Cuebot port

Overridden by --cuebot-port or config file

System tray interface

Icon states

Icon color	State	Description
🟢 Green	AVAILABLE	Host is unlocked and idle
🔵 Blue	WORKING	Host is unlocked and rendering
🔴 Red	DISABLED	Host is manually locked
🟠 Orange	NIMBY_LOCKED	Host is locked by RQD NIMBY
⚫ Gray	UNKNOWN	State cannot be determined

Menu options

Available (checkbox)

Toggle host availability for rendering

Checked: Host accepts rendering jobs

Unchecked: Host rejects rendering jobs

Notifications (checkbox)

Toggle desktop notifications

Changes persist to configuration file

Scheduler (checkbox)

Toggle time-based scheduler

Requires schedule configuration

Changes persist to configuration file

About

Show application information using native platform dialog

Displays version, monitored host, and description

Uses AppleScript (macOS), MessageBox (Windows), or zenity/kdialog (Linux)

Works regardless of notification settings

Quit

Exit CueNIMBY

Host state in OpenCue remains unchanged

Notifications

CueNIMBY sends desktop notifications for the following events:

Frame started

Sent when a rendering frame starts on the monitored host.

OpenCue - Frame Started
Rendering: show_name/frame_name

NIMBY locked

Sent when RQD locks the host due to user activity.

OpenCue - NIMBY Locked
Host locked due to user activity. Rendering stopped.

NIMBY unlocked

Sent when RQD unlocks the host after idle period.

OpenCue - NIMBY Unlocked
Host available for rendering.

Manual lock

Sent when user manually disables rendering.

OpenCue - Host Disabled
Host manually disabled for rendering.

Manual unlock

Sent when user manually enables rendering.

OpenCue - Host Enabled
Host enabled for rendering.

Platform-specific features

macOS

Notifications:

• Uses native Notification Center
• Requires notification permissions (granted automatically)
• Auto-detects and uses terminal-notifier if available (most reliable)
• Fallback chain: terminal-notifier → pync → osascript
• Recommended: Install terminal-notifier for best results

  brew install terminal-notifier
  

• Alternative: Install pync for enhanced notifications

  pip install pync
  

• Built-in fallback uses osascript (no additional install required)

System tray:

• Icon appears in menu bar (top-right)
• Follows system dark/light mode

Windows

Notifications:

• Uses Windows 10+ toast notifications
• Requires Windows 10 or later
• Optional: Install win10toast for better support

  pip install win10toast
  

System tray:

• Icon appears in notification area (bottom-right)
• May be hidden in overflow area

Auto-start:

• Add to Startup folder: Win+R, type shell:startup
• Or use Task Scheduler for more control

Linux

Notifications:

• Uses freedesktop notification standard
• Requires notification daemon (usually pre-installed)
• Optional: Install notify2 for better integration

  pip install notify2
  

System tray:

• Requires system tray support in desktop environment
• Some environments need AppIndicator:

  sudo apt-get install gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1
  

Auto-start:

• Add to autostart applications in desktop settings
• Or create systemd user service

Integration

With RQD

CueNIMBY is designed to work alongside RQD’s NIMBY feature:

RQD NIMBY (Automatic):

• Monitors keyboard/mouse input
• Locks host on user activity
• Unlocks after idle period
• Kills running frames

CueNIMBY (Manual + Visual):

• Shows current state
• Allows manual override
• Sends notifications
• Provides scheduling

Both can run simultaneously. CueNIMBY shows RQD’s NIMBY_LOCKED state and allows manual control independent of RQD’s automatic behavior.

With CueGUI

CueNIMBY’s state changes are immediately visible in CueGUI:

• Host list shows lock state
• Lock state icon updates
• Host color indicates availability

Users can lock/unlock from either CueGUI or CueNIMBY - changes are synchronized through Cuebot.

With OpenCue API

CueNIMBY uses the OpenCue Python API (pycue) to:

• Query host state
• Lock/unlock hosts
• Monitor running frames

API calls used:

opencue.api.findHost(hostname)
host.lock()
host.unlock()
host.lockState()
host.getProcs()

Examples

Basic usage

Start with default settings:

cuenimby

Connect to specific Cuebot

Using command-line options:

cuenimby --cuebot-host cuebot.prod.com --cuebot-port 8443

Using environment variables:

export CUEBOT_HOST=cuebot.prod.com
export CUEBOT_PORT=8443
cuenimby

Monitor remote host

cuenimby --hostname render-node-05

Debug mode

cuenimby --verbose

Custom configuration

cuenimby --config /etc/opencue/cuenimby-prod.json

Disable notifications

cuenimby --no-notifications

Scheduler configuration examples

Workweek protection

Disable rendering during business hours:

{
  "scheduler_enabled": true,
  "schedule": {
    "monday": {"start": "09:00", "end": "18:00", "state": "disabled"},
    "tuesday": {"start": "09:00", "end": "18:00", "state": "disabled"},
    "wednesday": {"start": "09:00", "end": "18:00", "state": "disabled"},
    "thursday": {"start": "09:00", "end": "18:00", "state": "disabled"},
    "friday": {"start": "09:00", "end": "18:00", "state": "disabled"}
  }
}

Effect:

• 9am-6pm: Disabled (artist working)
• 6pm-9am: Available (overnight rendering)
• Weekends: Always available

Lunch hour availability

Enable during lunch break:

{
  "schedule": {
    "monday": {"start": "12:00", "end": "13:00", "state": "available"}
  }
}

Split shift

Multiple periods per day:

{
  "schedule": {
    "monday": [
      {"start": "09:00", "end": "12:00", "state": "disabled"},
      {"start": "13:00", "end": "18:00", "state": "disabled"}
    ]
  }
}

Note: Current version supports one period per day. Use most important period.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

Icon doesn’t appear

• Linux: Install AppIndicator support
• Windows: Check hidden icons
• macOS: Check menu bar settings

Can’t connect to Cuebot

• Verify Cuebot hostname and port
• Check network connectivity
• Verify firewall rules
• Run with --verbose for details

Notifications don’t work

• macOS: Grant notification permissions
• Windows: Check notification settings
• Linux: Verify notification daemon
• Install platform-specific libraries

State not updating

• Check poll interval (may be too high)
• Verify host exists in Cuebot
• Check hostname matches
• Restart CueNIMBY

Scheduler not triggering

• Verify scheduler_enabled: true
• Check time format (HH:MM, 24-hour)
• Verify day names (lowercase)
• Check schedule logic

Log files

CueNIMBY logs to stderr. To capture:

cuenimby --verbose 2>&1 | tee cuenimby.log

See also

• Desktop rendering control guide - Understanding desktop allocations, subscriptions, and NIMBY states
• CueNIMBY user guide - Complete usage guide
• CueNIMBY tutorial - Step-by-step walkthrough
• NIMBY concept guide - NIMBY system overview
• Quick start: CueNIMBY - Quick start guide