Frequently asked questions
Is Simhive free, is it safe, how accurate are the sims, which classes work, does it do Mythic+ routes, do I need SimulationCraft? Short answers about the shared simming pool for World of Warcraft.
Short answers about Simhive. Setup steps are in the docs.
- Is Simhive free?
- What is a Droptimizer, and does Simhive have one?
- How is this different from simming on my own PC?
- Do I need to install SimulationCraft?
- How accurate are the results?
- Is it safe to let other people's sims run on my PC?
- What leaves my machine when I sim?
- Do I need an account?
- Which classes and specs work?
- Does it sim Mythic+ routes?
- Can I share a report?
- Can I sim without my PC, from a phone or another computer?
- Do I have to leave my PC on?
- Can I use Simhive without lending my PC at all?
- Can I sim without installing anything?
- Can I run it on a server or a NAS?
- Which operating systems?
- Can the pool operator control my machine?
- Why is my sim waiting?
- My token leaked — what now?
- Something broke, or a number looks wrong — where do I say so?
- Who runs this, and what is it built on?
Is Simhive free? #
Yes. There is nothing to buy and no premium tier: the currency is compute, and you bring your own. Your sims run on other members' PCs, and yours sims for them while you are not using it. Nobody is refused; when the pool is busy, members who lent more over the last 30 days are served first.
What is a Droptimizer, and does Simhive have one? #
A Droptimizer sims every drop of a raid, a dungeon pool or a vendor with your character and ranks them by how much DPS each would add. Simhive runs the full Droptimizer, plus Top Gear (the best combination of what you own), Quick Sim, Stat Weights and Mythic+ route sims. See Simming.
How is this different from simming on my own PC? #
The same SimulationCraft, the same numbers. The difference is speed and the queue: a Droptimizer that takes 20 minutes alone is split across every machine online and comes back in a couple of minutes, and there is no queue that depends on how much you paid. The price is that your PC sims for others while it is idle.
Do I need to install SimulationCraft? #
No. The app fetches the pool's exact SimulationCraft build (about 60 MB) from a public build channel, checksum verified, and keeps it current. Every machine in the pool runs the same commit, so a sim split over ten machines gives one consistent answer.
How accurate are the results? #
As accurate as SimulationCraft at the target error you pick. 0.1 % is plenty for gear decisions; go finer when two items sit within a few DPS of each other. Every machine is probed with a known batch when it joins, and a share of live work is re-simmed on a trusted machine, so a wrong machine gets benched rather than into your report.
Is it safe to let other people's sims run on my PC? #
Every batch is plain text for SimulationCraft, checked before it runs: anything that names a file, a path or the network is refused. The simc build has networking compiled out. It runs with the threads you allow, pauses by itself while World of Warcraft runs, and stops the moment you press Pause or quit. What runs on your machine has the full list.
What leaves my machine when I sim? #
Gear, talents, spec and fight settings, the same things on the public Armory. Never the character's name or realm; they are stripped before the sim leaves. Results come back only to you and are kept on your disk.
Do I need an account? #
No. You pick a name and get a token; the token is you. Use it on every machine you own, and treat it like a password. Getting a token.
Which classes and specs work? #
Everything SimulationCraft supports: every DPS spec, and tanks and healers where simc models them. The pool runs the nightly build, so new patches and tuning arrive as soon as SimulationCraft has them.
Does it sim Mythic+ routes? #
Yes. Paste a Mythic Dungeon Tools export string and Simhive sims the run pull by pull, with each pack's health scaled to the key level. Long routes are fine; a batch may run up to 20 minutes on a machine.
Can I share a report? #
"Save report" writes a self-contained HTML file. "Publish" puts the same report on the pool as a link you can paste anywhere, with or without your character's name. Delete it any time; every published report is removed 14 days after publishing. The durable copy is your History.
Can I sim without my PC, from a phone or another computer? #
Yes, from the browser at https://simhive.app/sim: sign in with your token. While one of your machines is connected to the pool (paused is fine), your sims run on the pool as usual; without one, in the browser tab itself — slower, and for smaller sims. Sim from the browser.
Do I have to leave my PC on? #
No. It only makes your own sims faster at peak, because served-first goes by what your machines gave over the last 30 days. The app does nothing while it is closed.
Can I use Simhive without lending my PC at all? #
Yes. Pause lending in the app and nothing of anyone else's runs on your PC; your sims still run on the pool, but on a busy evening they wait behind the members who lend. Or use only the browser, where your sims run in the tab itself — slower and for smaller sims. Sim without lending compares the ways and what each costs.
Can I sim without installing anything? #
Yes — even without signing in: open the sim page and sim as a guest (results are kept for a day, no publishing), or get a token and you are signed in right away. Without a machine of yours in the pool, the sim runs in your browser tab, on your computer only — much slower than the pool, and limited to smaller sims (a Droptimizer one source at a time, other sims up to 40 items, no Compare, Mythic+ routes or tank fights). Install Simhive to sim on the pool at full speed; your PC then helps the others while you are not using it. Sim from the browser.
Can I run it on a server or a NAS? #
Yes, as a Docker container, with or without the sim interface. It lends the machine's cores under your name and follows the pool's SimulationCraft build by itself. Docker and headless.
Which operating systems? #
Windows 10/11 (x64) and Linux (AppImage and .deb). macOS later. The Docker image is x86-64 Linux.
Can the pool operator control my machine? #
No. Threads, pause, the schedule and your machine's name are yours: you set them in the app, or from your own account on another machine of yours or the web interface. The operator can only change the machines they run themselves, and never which pool a machine joins or its token. If you want no changes from anywhere but the machine itself, set "Who may change this machine" to "Only on this machine" in its settings.
Why is my sim waiting? #
The pool is busy and orders jobs by what each member's machines gave over the last 30 days, with a free allowance so newcomers are not stuck behind everyone. Off-peak there is no ordering at all. Lending a machine off-peak moves your own sims up the line on raid night.
My token leaked — what now? #
Rotate it: in the app or on the web interface, Settings → Pool → Rotate token. You get a new token at once and the old one stops working on every machine, including whoever has it. Paste the new one into your other machines. If someone rotated it before you could, the recovery code gets your account back: the pool's /reclaim page takes the code and gives you a new token and a new code. Make the code before you need it, under Settings → Pool → Recovery code, and keep it somewhere that is not the machine the token is on. Lost both? The pool's operator can reissue after checking it is you.
Something broke, or a number looks wrong — where do I say so? #
Report a problem in the footer of the app or the web interface. It sends your words to the pool's operator together with what is needed to look into it: the versions, the machine's state, the last lines of its log, and the result you were looking at with the sim input (character name removed) and the raw simc output, so a wrong number can be run again on the operator's side. No account, nothing to find. The report is listed under Settings → Pool with its status, and the operator's answer shows there too. What is sent, exactly.
Who runs this, and what is it built on? #
Simhive's engine descends from Localbots (MIT) and runs SimulationCraft (GPLv3). Not affiliated with either project or with Blizzard Entertainment. The pool at https://simhive.app is run by its operator; the scores page shows who keeps it running.