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Executors

Executors are responsible for running graphs in Rivet. In Canvas mode, choose the active executor from the Run context menu in the top app bar. The Settings modal also has a Default executor setting; that setting only chooses the executor Rivet starts with next time, and does not change an already-running session.

There are 3 possible executors in use at any one time:

Browser​

The browser executor runs inside the same browser/webview process as the Rivet application. It is the simplest executor and is useful for graph logic that does not need Node APIs.

Browser mode is limited by browser security rules. For example, HTTP calls to services that do not allow the Rivet origin can fail with CORS errors. Browser mode also cannot expose Code-node require or process.

Node​

The Node executor runs graphs through the app-executor sidecar and communicates with the app over the internal executor WebSocket. It is the recommended executor for serious local workflows, including:

  • HTTP calls that should not be limited by browser CORS
  • MCP nodes
  • file-system native APIs
  • package-backed Code-node require
  • workflows that should behave like a Node process rather than a browser tab

The desktop app binds its internal executor to 127.0.0.1:21889 by default. Hosted or containerized wrappers can run the same executor on a different bind host or port with RIVET_EXECUTOR_HOST, RIVET_EXECUTOR_PORT, --host, and --port.

Remote​

This executor connects to an external Rivet debugger server and lets another process run or debug graphs while Rivet shows live execution. It requires the remote debugger to be set up in that process. If the remote process implements dynamicGraphRun, Rivet can ask it to run the graph shown in the editor. If it enables graph upload, Rivet can upload the current project before running it remotely.

To use the remote executor, connect via the Remote Debugger option in the dropdown of the Rivet action bar.

When you disconnect a remote debugger while Node mode is selected, Rivet restores the internal Node executor session. Hosted wrappers can pass an internal executor URL through RivetAppHost so the app classifies that URL as the internal executor rather than as an external remote debugger.