The shot CLI

Render one preset to a PNG (the agent then Reads the file):

cargo run -p standalone --example shot -- --preset "Whorl" --frames 120 --out shot.png

Flags:

flag	meaning
--preset <name>	preset to render (by name, as shown in the report / library); optional when the library holds exactly one preset
--presets <dir>	load the library from <dir> instead of the resolved preset directory
--preset-file <path>	load exactly one preset from <path> (beats --presets)
--set k=v,...	constant stimulus frame: bass,mid,treb,onset,bar,novelty (0..1), tempo (BPM), beat (non-zero = true). Keys are the grammar’s names, so tempo is what a binding writes. It reaches the frame’s scalars only — not the 64-band spectrum, so bin(x) reads 0 — see the calibration traps before trusting a value
--frames <N>	frames to advance before capture (default 120)
--size <WxH>	render size (default 1280x720)
--out <path>	output PNG (single shot) or dir/file (--all)
--all	contact sheet of every preset, labeled (needs --out)
--report [family=<sys>]	per-family metrics table — reactivity, animation, coverage and the transient probe; family= takes any system name — all twelve the scene registry carries: attractor, emitter, fragment_field, lsystem, parametric_curve, reaction_diffusion, shape_collage, shape_field, spectrum, star_pattern, swarm, warp_mesh
--json	emit the report as JSON instead of a text table
--signal <kind:param>	synth-audio filmstrip (see below)
--audio <clip.wav>	filmstrip from a 16-bit PCM WAV
--strip <N>	frames tiled along the audio (default 8)
--at <hop>,...	explicit filmstrip hops, beating --strip’s even spacing — how to capture a transient
--frame-at <hop>	one frame at that hop, written at the full --size — no tile scaling, no border. Needs --signal/--audio; not combinable with --at. Which flag takes a picture worth keeping
--tier floor|rich	quality tier to capture at (default floor — see above)
--horizon <minutes>	the long-run drift check — N simulated minutes at capture cadence, one statistics row per interval. Minutes of wall clock; never a gate
--interval <secs>	simulated seconds between horizon rows (default 30)
--render <clip.wav>	offline video — walk the clip at --fps and stream every frame to stdout for an encoder to read. Deterministic and decoupled from real time
--fps <n|num/den>	the render mode’s frame rate (default 60). A decimal is rejected: write 30000/1001, not 29.97
--ffmpeg <path>	spawn this encoder and wire the pipe, so one command produces a file. Needs --out <file>. No encoder ships and there is no fallback
--crf <0-51>	the encoder’s rate-quality setting (default 18, archival). Higher is smaller; +6 is about half the size. Needs --ffmpeg — the one argument you may move
--help, -h	print the usage text and exit 0

Bad arguments and unknown presets exit non-zero with a message.

In this section

• The horizon: does a world still look like itself after minutes?
• —render: a music video from a track
• The three calibration traps
• Aiming a capture at a transient
• A full-size frame under real audio
• What the report’s columns mean
• Which preset library a shot uses
• Editing presets live
• Examples
• Held bindings: the scene may not be seeing this frame’s value