---
title: "HTTP rendering engine"
slug: "http-rendering-engine"
abstract: "Server-side render JSS and ASP.NET applications with a rendering engine controlled by you."
---
# HTTP rendering engine

The HTTP rendering engine uses a remote rendering host for server-side rendering applications built with the ASP.NET Rendering SDK and the JavaScript Rendering SDK (JSS). The communication between the Sitecore Content Management (CM) instance and a rendering host is performed through HTTP calls.

Applications built using [JSS for Next.js](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/sitecore-javascript-rendering-sdk--jss--for-next-js.html "Sitecore JavaScript Rendering SDK (JSS) for Next.js") use this rendering engine by default and require no additional configuration.

[Using the rendering engine with applications built with the ASP.NET Rendering SDK](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/asp-net-core-rendering-engine.html "ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine") requires some configuration.

The HTTP rendering engine is available in Sitecore 9.1.1 and later.

## Pros and cons of the HTTP rendering engine

*Pros*

- You have full control over the rendering host management: startup, pooling, clustering, profiling, debugging, and so on.
- With the help of tunneling software like [Ngrok](https://ngrok.com/), front-end developers can test Experience Editor integration by using their local headless apps for server-side rendering. This is possible by dynamically setting the rendering host URL in the Experience Editor with the help of the `sc_httprenderengineurl` query string parameter.
- For JSS applications, you do not need to have Node.js on the Sitecore server. You choose where to host the rendering host.
- You do not have to deploy artifacts of applications created with the JSS to the Sitecore Content Management (CM) server.

*Cons*

- You must control the rendering host yourself and ensure it is awake and always available.