Name: TouchDesigner MCP
Author: 8beeeaaat

LABSCO SUMMARY

You can check what the network is rendering, not just what it contains.

Node trees describe structure, and structure is the part of a TouchDesigner problem that is already visible; capturing a TOP's output closes the loop by showing what actually changed after a parameter edit. The error check reporting descendants matters for the same reason — the failing node is rarely the one you were looking at.

What it is

A control surface over a running TouchDesigner instance. A component you drop into the project runs a WebServer DAT; this server talks to it, covering node editing, Python execution, API reference lookup and image capture.

What you get

Node editing: list what sits under a path filtered by pattern, create a node of a given type under a parent, update its parameters, delete it
Parameter reads and error reports, the error check covering a node and its descendants rather than one node at a time
Python inside TouchDesigner — a whole script, or a named method on a specific node with its arguments
The API as reference material without leaving the session: the class and module list, details for a named class, and the Python help() text for a module
The current output of a TOP node captured as an image, downscaled to a size you set
Prompts for the recurring jobs: fuzzy node search by name, family or type, connecting nodes, and walking a node's errors recursively
Output shaping on nearly every tool — a detail level of minimal, summary or detailed, and a response format of json, yaml or markdown

Requirements

Node.js, and TouchDesigner running with this project's .tox component imported and its WebServer DAT listening — port 9981 by default, and a connection refused there means the component is not running rather than the server being broken. Failed connection checks are cached for 60 seconds, so a fix takes effect on the retry after that. The server and the component are versioned on their own axis: a component older than the supported minimum, or a major version ahead, stops execution and asks you to update the other half, so keep the downloaded component and the npm package in step. It also ships as an .mcpb bundle. MIT.

Setup effort

Follow the published steps

See installation options

USE CASES

01

Building part of a network by describing it

Create the node under the parent you name, set its parameters, and check what it renders before moving on.

create_td_nodeupdate_td_node_parametersget_top_image

02

Finding out why the output looks wrong

Check the node and everything under it for errors, then read the parameters of whatever is reporting one.

get_td_node_errorsget_td_node_parametersget_td_nodes

03

Doing something the node tools do not cover

Run Python inside TouchDesigner, or call a method on one node with the arguments it expects.

execute_python_scriptexec_node_method

04

Using an API you do not have memorised

List the classes, read the one you need, and pull its help() text — without switching to the documentation.

get_td_classesget_td_class_detailsget_td_module_help

05

Checking the bridge is actually up

Ask the server what it is connected to before concluding the network is at fault.

get_td_infodescribe_td_tools

14 tools

Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.

`create_td_node`

Create a new node in TouchDesigner

BEFORE YOU INSTALL

What to know first

Tools you get

14 tools when we connected.

Requires

TouchDesigner
Node.js 20+
npx on PATH

CONTEXT COST

Light Standing cost

Rated by the size of the 14 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are

INSTALLATION

Connect your client

Server setup

Download touchdesigner-mcp-td.zip from https://github.com/8beeeaaat/touchdesigner-mcp/releases/latest/download/touchdesigner-mcp-td.zip and extract it

Import mcp_webserver_base.tox into your TouchDesigner project and place it at /project1/mcp_webserver_base; do not move any files inside the extracted folder, since the component loads modules/ by relative path

Open the Textport (Alt+T) to confirm the component started, and keep TouchDesigner running while you use the server

MCP Clients

Claude Desktop — npx, Claude Code — npx

JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "touchdesigner": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "touchdesigner-mcp-server@latest",
        "--stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Codex

CODEX · TERMINAL

codex mcp add touchdesigner -- npx -y touchdesigner-mcp-server@latest --stdio

Any MCP client — stdio

ANY MCP CLIENT — STDIO · TERMINAL

npx -y touchdesigner-mcp-server@latest --stdio

Claude Code — Docker HTTP

Clone the repository, build the Docker image and start the container

CLAUDE CODE — DOCKER HTTP · TERMINAL

git clone https://github.com/8beeeaaat/touchdesigner-mcp.git
cd touchdesigner-mcp
make build
TRANSPORT=http docker-compose up -d

Point your MCP client to the HTTP endpoint

CLAUDE CODE — DOCKER HTTP · JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "touchdesigner-http": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:6280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop — Docker HTTP

Clone the repository, build the Docker image and start the container

CLAUDE DESKTOP — DOCKER HTTP · TERMINAL

git clone https://github.com/8beeeaaat/touchdesigner-mcp.git
cd touchdesigner-mcp
make build
TRANSPORT=http docker-compose up -d

Point your MCP client to the HTTP endpoint

CLAUDE DESKTOP — DOCKER HTTP · JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "touchdesigner-http": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://localhost:6280/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop — Docker stdio

Clone the repository, build the Docker image and start the container

CLAUDE DESKTOP — DOCKER STDIO · TERMINAL

git clone https://github.com/8beeeaaat/touchdesigner-mcp.git
cd touchdesigner-mcp
make build
docker-compose up -d

Configure your client to exec into the container (use the full path to docker-compose.yml in the folder you cloned)

CLAUDE DESKTOP — DOCKER STDIO · JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "touchdesigner-docker": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "compose",
        "-f",
        "<YOUR_PATH_TO_TOUCHDESIGNER_MCP>/docker-compose.yml",
        "exec",
        "-i",
        "touchdesigner-mcp-server",
        "node",
        "dist/cli.js",
        "--stdio",
        "--host=http://host.docker.internal"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop — MCP Bundle

Download touchdesigner-mcp.mcpb from https://github.com/8beeeaaat/touchdesigner-mcp/releases/latest/download/touchdesigner-mcp.mcpb

Double-click the .mcpb file to install it in Claude Desktop

Restart Claude Desktop if touchdesigner-mcp does not appear in its MCP panel

TouchDesigner MCP

You can check what the network is rendering, not just what it contains.

What it is

What you get

Requirements

Setup effort

Building part of a network by describing it

Finding out why the output looks wrong

Doing something the node tools do not cover

Using an API you do not have memorised

Checking the bridge is actually up

14 tools

`create_td_node`

`delete_td_node`

`describe_td_tools`

`exec_node_method`

`execute_python_script`

`get_td_class_details`

`get_td_classes`

`get_td_info`

`get_td_module_help`

`get_td_node_errors`

`get_td_node_parameters`

`get_td_nodes`

`get_top_image`

`update_td_node_parameters`

What to know first

Tools you get

Requires

Light Standing cost

Connect your client

Server setup

MCP Clients

Claude Desktop — npx, Claude Code — npx

Codex

Any MCP client — stdio

Claude Code — Docker HTTP

Claude Desktop — Docker HTTP

Claude Desktop — Docker stdio

Claude Desktop — MCP Bundle

TouchDesigner MCP

You can check what the network is rendering, not just what it contains.

What it is

What you get

Requirements

Setup effort

Building part of a network by describing it

Finding out why the output looks wrong

Doing something the node tools do not cover

Using an API you do not have memorised

Checking the bridge is actually up

14 tools

create_td_node

delete_td_node

describe_td_tools

exec_node_method

execute_python_script

get_td_class_details

get_td_classes

get_td_info

get_td_module_help

get_td_node_errors

get_td_node_parameters

get_td_nodes

get_top_image

update_td_node_parameters

What to know first

Tools you get

Requires

Light Standing cost

Connect your client

Server setup

MCP Clients

Claude Desktop — npx, Claude Code — npx

Codex

Any MCP client — stdio

Claude Code — Docker HTTP

Claude Desktop — Docker HTTP

Claude Desktop — Docker stdio

Claude Desktop — MCP Bundle

Same category

Embody

LOOMLE

Unreal-Blender MCP

Advanced Unity MCP Integration

`create_td_node`

`delete_td_node`

`describe_td_tools`

`exec_node_method`

`execute_python_script`

`get_td_class_details`

`get_td_classes`

`get_td_info`

`get_td_module_help`

`get_td_node_errors`

`get_td_node_parameters`

`get_td_nodes`

`get_top_image`

`update_td_node_parameters`