RenVis

A visual node-based editor for Ren'Py visual novels.
Build your story graph in the browser, generate .rpy files, and launch the game directly from the tool.

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Requirements

Tool	Version	Notes
Python	≥ 3.12	Backend runtime
uv	any	Python package manager (pip install uv or curl -Lsf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh)
Node.js	≥ 18	Frontend build
Ren'Py SDK	any recent	Required to run the generated game

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Quick Start

1. Backend

./start-backend.sh

Starts the API server at http://localhost:8000.

2. Frontend

./start-frontend.sh

Opens the editor at http://localhost:5173.

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Workflow

Create a project

1. Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.
2. Click New Project.
3. Set Project Path — an empty folder where your Ren'Py game will live
   (e.g. /home/you/my-renpy-game).
4. Set Ren'Py Executable — the full path to the Ren'Py launcher
   (e.g. /home/you/renpy-8.3.3-sdk/renpy.sh on Linux,
   C:\renpy-8.3.3-sdk\renpy.exe on Windows).
5. Click Create.

Build the story

Use the graph editor to create nodes and connect them:

Node type	Purpose
Label	Entry point / anchor (label start: etc.)
Dialogue	Character speech lines
Choice (menu)	Branching menu — drag from each handle to connect a branch
Condition	if/elif/else branching on variables
Scene	Background image change
Encounter	Show/hide character sprites
Jump	Jump to a label
Return	End the current label block

Tip: Drag a connection to empty canvas space to open the quick-create popup and instantly add + connect a new node.

Generate .rpy files

Click Generate (toolbar).
The backend writes four files into <project-path>/game/:

game/
  characters.rpy   – define statements for all characters
  variables.rpy    – default variable declarations
  options.rpy      – game title, window size, etc.
  script.rpy       – the full story script

Run with Ren'Py

Option A — from within RenVis

Click Run (toolbar). RenVis calls
<renpy-exe> <project-path> and launches the game automatically.
(Requires Ren'Py Executable to be set in project settings.)

Option B — manually from the terminal

# Linux / macOS
/path/to/renpy.sh /path/to/my-renpy-game

# Windows (PowerShell)
& "C:\renpy-8.3.3-sdk\renpy.exe" "C:\path\to\my-renpy-game"

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Project structure

RenVis/
├── backend/          Python/FastAPI – generates .rpy, stores project JSON
│   ├── main.py       REST API routes
│   ├── generator.py  .rpy code generation
│   └── models.py     Pydantic data models
├── frontend/         React + TypeScript + Vite
│   └── src/
│       ├── components/story/   Graph editor, node panel, toolbar
│       ├── store/              Zustand state management
│       └── types.ts            Shared type definitions
├── start-backend.sh
└── start-frontend.sh

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Project data

Project state is stored as a single JSON file inside the project folder:

<project-path>/
  renvis.json        – full project data (nodes, characters, variables, …)
  game/
    script.rpy
    characters.rpy
    variables.rpy
    options.rpy
    images/
    audio/

The ~/.renvis/config.json file keeps track of recently opened projects.