You can launch LabVIEW in Headless Run mode, a non-interactive execution mode designed for executing code or operations without human interaction.

Launch LabVIEW in Headless Run mode if your application involves one of the following:
  • Running LabVIEW in a container or remote runner that does not have a user interface.
  • Executing automated workflows like automated unit testing or mass compilation.
  • Integrating LabVIEW into continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows where operations must execute without user interaction.
Launching LabVIEW in Headless Run mode introduces the following changes to LabVIEW operation:
  • Headless Run mode allows you to run LabVIEW without requiring license activation.
  • Headless Run mode suppresses the LabVIEW UI when you launch LabVIEW. This prevents errors and UI prompts that typically require user input from interrupting automated workflows. It also prevents users from editing VIs using the LabVIEW IDE.
You can launch LabVIEW in Headless Run mode using LabVIEWCLI or directly from the command line.
  • Launch LabVIEW in Headless Run mode using LabVIEWCLI by adding the -Headless argument to your command.
    LabVIEWCLI -OperationName <Operation> \
					 <other-arguments> \
					 -Headless
  • Launch LabVIEW in Headless Run mode using the command line using the following command:
    labview.exe --headless
Note You cannot run a standard instance of LabVIEW and a headless instance of LabVIEW simultaneously on the same machine.

When running in Headless Run mode, LabVIEW does not stop execution for errors. Instead, LabVIEW automatically logs errors in the temp folder and continues trying to execute tasks or code.

NI provides prebuilt LabVIEW container images for both Windows and Linux on Docker Hub, as well as Dockerfiles for users that need to add custom functionality to their containerized LabVIEW implementation. Consult the LabVIEW for Containers GitHub page and the container image overview on Docker Hub for more information on setting up a container for headless LabVIEW operation.