Documentation

rdc-cli is a Unix-friendly command-line interface for RenderDoc GPU captures. It provides pipe-friendly TSV output, JSON mode, and 65 commands for exploring .rdc capture files — designed for CI pipelines and AI agents.

Quick Start

pipx install rdc-cli
rdc open capture.rdc
rdc info
rdc draws
rdc pipeline 5 --json
rdc close

Key Concepts

Two-Layer Architecture

rdc-cli uses a daemon architecture: rdc open starts a background daemon that loads the capture and holds it open. Subsequent commands (rdc draws, rdc pipeline, etc.) send JSON-RPC requests to the daemon over TCP. This means the capture is loaded only once, and queries are fast.

Output Modes

By default, commands output TSV (tab-separated values) — ideal for Unix pipes like grep, awk, cut, and sort. Add --json to any command for structured JSON output, perfect for jq, CI assertions, or AI agent consumption.

VFS Path System

rdc-cli exposes capture data through a virtual filesystem. You can browse it with rdc ls, rdc cat, and rdc tree. Every piece of data has a stable path like /draws/142/shader/ps.

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