tdmcp

MindDesigner (tdmcp) — TouchDesigner MCP server

tdmcp is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for TouchDesigner — build TouchDesigner from plain language. You describe a visual to an AI assistant (Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex); the AI builds the actual network of nodes inside your project, checks it for errors, and shows you a preview.

"Create a feedback tunnel from noise with blur and displace, then add bloom and output it to a window."

…and the nodes appear, wired up, in your /project1.

It works because it pairs two things every other tool was missing:

• Real knowledge — an embedded reference of 629 operators, 68 Python classes, workflow patterns, GLSL techniques and tutorials, so the AI uses real TouchDesigner operators instead of guessing.
• Real execution — a small bridge running inside TouchDesigner that actually creates, connects, inspects and previews nodes — with a create → verify → preview loop so the AI can see and fix its own work. Every generated network is auto-arranged into a readable left→right layout.

📖 Documentation

Full guides and reference live on the docs site → https://pantani.github.io/tdmcp/

For artists / musicians	For developers
What is tdmcp?	Architecture
Install (no terminal)	Tools reference
Your first visual	Environment variables
Shader Park	CLI & local copilot
Prompt cookbook	Bridge & REST API
Recipe gallery	Roadmap
Troubleshooting	Deployment

🇧🇷 Portuguese documentation: https://pantani.github.io/tdmcp/pt/

How it works

Three pieces talk to each other on your computer:

   You + your AI            tdmcp server               TouchDesigner
  (Claude / Cursor)   ─▶   (a small program)    ─▶   (the bridge inside TD)
   "make a feedback                                      builds real nodes
    tunnel from noise"                                   in /project1

1. Your AI assistant — where you type what you want.
2. The tdmcp server — a small Node program that gives the AI a set of TouchDesigner "tools" and the operator knowledge base. You install it once.
3. The bridge — a tiny piece that runs inside TouchDesigner so the server can actually drive it. You switch it on once per machine.

What you'll need

• TouchDesigner — the free non-commercial edition is fine.
• An MCP-capable AI assistant: Claude Desktop (easiest), Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor.

Node.js is only needed for the build-from-source path (Node 20+). The one-click Claude Desktop extension needs nothing extra — the server is bundled inside the .mcpb (formerly .dxt; legacy .dxt files still install).

Get started

You set up two sides: your AI (so it gets the tdmcp tools) and TouchDesigner (so the AI can drive it).

🤖 Easiest — let your AI install it. Using Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor? Paste this one message in:

Install and connect tdmcp for me using the official install guide:
https://pantani.github.io/tdmcp/guide/install
Do every step yourself; only stop when you need me to paste one line into TouchDesigner.

It clones, builds and wires everything up; the only manual step is pasting one line into TouchDesigner (Step 2 below).