How to Enable Automatic Login for Cinema 4D and the Commandline Renderer?

Matt
Matt
  • Updated

Cinema 4D and the Commandline Renderer can be configured to automatically log in using one of four licensing methods. Choose your preferred method below and follow the complete step-by-step instructions.

Each method corresponds to the options seen in the manual licensing dialog, as described in our article on:
How do I license the Commandline renderer manually?

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Licensing Methods

Click sections below to expand and reveal instuctions

+1. Maxon App

Follow these steps to configure automatic licensing via the Maxon App:

  1. Navigate to your Cinema 4D installation directory:
    • Windows:C:\Program Files\Maxon\Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
    • macOS:/Applications/Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
  2. Open the resource folder.
  3. Open config.txt using a plain-text editor (e.g., Notepad on Windows, TextEdit in plain-text mode on macOS).
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the file and add the following line: 
    g_licenseModel=LICENSEMODEL::MAXONAPP
  5. Save the file.
  6. Relaunch Cinema 4D or the Commandline Renderer to verify automatic licensing.

This configuration forces Cinema 4D or the Commandline Renderer to automatically attempt to license itself via the Maxon App.

Tokenized Password Authentication For Automatically Logging in to the Maxon App

For enterprise environments where non-admin users need access to licensed products without direct Maxon App GUI interaction, administrators can use the mx1 command-line tool to generate a stored license token. This allows non-admin users to automatically access Maxon products without requiring their own login credentials.

For complete instructions on setting up tokenized password authentication using the mx1 tool, see:
How to Use Tokenized Passwords for Maxon App Authentication

+2. Maxon Account
Important Security Note

Your password is stored in plain text when using this method. If you use the same password for other services, we strongly recommend changing your MyMaxon password to a unique one before proceeding.

Follow these steps to configure automatic login with your Maxon Account credentials:

  1. Navigate to your Cinema 4D installation directory:
    • Windows:C:\Program Files\Maxon\Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
    • macOS:/Applications/Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
  2. Open the resource folder.
  3. Open config.txt using a plain-text editor (e.g., Notepad on Windows, TextEdit in plain-text mode on macOS).
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the file and add the following lines: 
    g_licenseUsername="YourMyMaxonEmailAddress"
g_licensePassword=YourMyMaxonPassword
g_hideaccountmode=false
    • Email Address: Must be enclosed in quotes (e.g., "user@example.com").
    • Password: Must NOT be in quotes.
  5. Save the file.
  6. Relaunch Cinema 4D or the Commandline Renderer to verify automatic login.

Important Version Note:

  • Cinema 4D 2024 and newer: The line g_hideaccountmode=false is required.
  • Cinema 4D 2023 and older: This line is optional but safe to include.
+3. Maxon License Server

Follow these steps to configure automatic licensing via a Maxon License Server:

  1. Navigate to your Cinema 4D installation directory:
    • Windows:C:\Program Files\Maxon\Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
    • macOS:/Applications/Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
  2. Open the resource folder.
  3. Open config.txt using a plain-text editor (e.g., Notepad on Windows, TextEdit in plain-text mode on macOS).
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the file and add the following line: 
    g_licenseServerURL="http://servername:port"

    Replace:

    • servername: The IP address or hostname of the MLS computer.
    • port: The port number configured for the MLS.

    Ensure the entire URL is enclosed in quotes.

  5. Save the file.
  6. Relaunch Cinema 4D or the Commandline Renderer to verify automatic licensing.
+4. RLM

Follow these steps to configure automatic licensing via an RLM License Server:

  1. Navigate to your Cinema 4D installation directory:
    • Windows:C:\Program Files\Maxon\Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
    • macOS:/Applications/Maxon Cinema 4D 202*
  2. Open the resource folder.
  3. Open config.txt using a plain-text editor (e.g., Notepad on Windows, TextEdit in plain-text mode on macOS).
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the file and add the following line: 
    g_licenseServerRLM=servername:port

    Replace:

    • servername: The IP address or hostname of the RLM server.
    • port: The RLM port number.

    Quotes are not required for this method.

  5. Save the file.
  6. Relaunch Cinema 4D or the Commandline Renderer to verify automatic licensing.

Deploying to Multiple Machines

If you want to apply the same configuration to multiple computers:

  1. Copy your newly edited config.txt file.
  2. Navigate to the resource folder of the Cinema 4D installation on the target machine.
  3. Paste and replace the existing config.txt file.
  4. Relaunch Cinema 4D or the Commandline Renderer to verify the configuration.

Version Compatibility Warning

You must only copy the config.txt file between identical versions of Cinema 4D (e.g., 2024 → 2024).

Copying configuration files between different versions (e.g., 2023 → 2024) will cause the application to fail to launch due to version-specific parameter differences.

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