TouchDesigner MCP

This is an implementation of an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for TouchDesigner. Its goal is to enable AI agents to control and operate TouchDesigner projects.

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Overview

TouchDesigner MCP acts as a bridge between AI models and the TouchDesigner WebServer DAT, enabling AI agents to:

• Create, modify, and delete nodes
• Query node properties and project structure
• Programmatically control TouchDesigner via Python scripts

Multi-target (this fork)

On the asyade fork (multi-instance branch), one stdio MCP server can address multiple TouchDesigner instances via a sticky target:

• Builtin lab on port 9981 (default sticky) or tunnel-registered lab
• MCP-owned projects via reverse tunnel to tdmcp-hub :9980 (create_td_project / start_td_project / stop_td_project)
• Node/script tools always hit the sticky target (no per-call target argument)

Owned peers show a live bridge face in the Network Editor (tunnel state, last op, capped event log) — not a blank COMP:

Details: docs/hub.md (Bridge face) · contract docs/AGENT_MCP.md. Offline .toe: docs/toe-digest.md. After editing src/: npm run build then restart the MCP client process.

Installation

Please refer to the Installation Guide.

If you are updating, please refer to the procedure in the Latest Release.

For Cursor + this fork (multi-target), prefer Method 2b — one local dist/cli.js, not upstream npx alongside it.

MCP Server Features

This server enables AI agents to perform operations in TouchDesigner using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Tools

Tools allow AI agents to perform actions in TouchDesigner.

Tool Name	Description
list_td_targets	Lists known targets (lab + MCP-owned). No liveness probe. (fork)
select_td_target	Selects the sticky target and probes identity. (fork)
create_td_project	Copies the MCP project template; assigns a port. Does not start TD. (fork)
start_td_project	Spawns TD on an owned toe, waits for the bridge, selects it. (fork)
stop_td_project	Soft-quit then kill an owned instance. Refuses lab. (fork)
create_td_node	Creates a new node.
delete_td_node	Deletes an existing node.
describe_td_tools	Manifest of registered tools (optional filter).
exec_node_method	Calls a Python method on a node.
execute_python_script	Executes an arbitrary Python script in TouchDesigner.
get_td_module_help	Gets Python help() documentation for TouchDesigner modules/classes.
get_td_class_details	Gets details of a TouchDesigner Python class or module.
get_td_classes	Gets a list of TouchDesigner Python classes.
get_td_info	Gets information about the sticky TouchDesigner target.
get_td_node_errors	Checks for errors on a specified node and its children.
get_td_node_parameters	Gets the parameters of a specific node.
get_td_nodes	Gets nodes under a parent path, with optional filtering.
get_toe_digest	Alpha. Offline ToeDigest via toeexpand (modes include brief, stats, extensions). (fork) See docs/toe-digest.md.
get_toe_node	Alpha. Offline inspect of one expand-relative node/COMP. (fork)
get_top_image	Captures a TOP as a JPEG image content block.
update_td_node_parameters	Updates the parameters of a specific node.

Prompts

Prompts provide instructions for AI agents to perform specific actions in TouchDesigner.

Prompt Name	Description
Search node	Fuzzy searches for nodes and retrieves information based on name, family, or type.
Node connection	Provides instructions to connect nodes within TouchDesigner.
Check node errors	Checks for errors on a specified node, and recursively for its children.

Resources

Not implemented.

Developer Guide

Looking for local setup, client configuration, project structure, or release workflow notes? See the Developer Guide for all developer-facing documentation.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting version compatibility

The MCP server uses semantic versioning for flexible compatibility checks

MCP Server	API Server	Minimum compatible API version	Behavior	Status	Notes
1.3.x	1.3.0	1.3.0	✅ Works normally	Compatible	Recommended baseline configuration
1.3.x	1.4.0	1.3.0	⚠️ Warning shown, continues	Warning	Older MCP MINOR with newer API may lack new features
1.4.0	1.3.x	1.3.0	⚠️ Warning shown, continues	Warning	Newer MCP MINOR may have additional features
1.3.2	1.3.1	1.3.2	❌ Execution stops	Error	API below minimum compatible version
2.0.0	1.x.x	N/A	❌ Execution stops	Error	Different MAJOR = breaking changes

Compatibility Rules:

• ✅ Compatible: Same MAJOR version AND API version ≥ 1.3.0 (minimum compatible version)

• ⚠️ Warning: Different MINOR or PATCH versions within the same MAJOR version (shows warning but continues execution)

• ❌ Error: Different MAJOR versions OR API server < 1.3.0 (execution stops immediately, update required)

• To resolve compatibility errors:

  1. Download the latest touchdesigner-mcp-td.zip from the releases page.
  2. Delete the existing touchdesigner-mcp-td folder and replace it with the newly extracted contents.
  3. Remove the old mcp_webserver_base component from your TouchDesigner project and import the .tox from the new folder.
  4. Restart TouchDesigner and the AI agent running the MCP server (e.g., Claude Desktop).

• For developers: When developing locally, run npm run version after editing package.json (or simply use npm version ...). This keeps the Python API (pyproject.toml + td/modules/utils/version.py), MCP bundle manifest, and registry metadata in sync so that the runtime compatibility check succeeds.

For a deeper look at how the MCP server enforces these rules, see Version Compatibility Verification.

Troubleshooting connection errors

• TouchDesignerClient caches failed connection checks for 60 seconds. Subsequent tool calls reuse the cached error to avoid spamming TouchDesigner and automatically retry after the TTL expires.
• When the MCP server cannot reach TouchDesigner, you now get guided error messages with concrete fixes:
  • ECONNREFUSED / "connect refused": start TouchDesigner, ensure the WebServer DAT from mcp_webserver_base.tox is running, and confirm the configured port (default 9981).
  • ETIMEDOUT / "timeout": TouchDesigner is responding slowly or the network is blocked. Restart TouchDesigner/WebServer DAT or check your network connection.
  • ENOTFOUND / getaddrinfo: the host name is invalid. Use 127.0.0.1 unless you explicitly changed it.
• The structured error text is also logged through ILogger, so you can check the MCP logs to understand why a request stopped before hitting TouchDesigner.
• Once the underlying issue is fixed, simply run the tool again—the client clears the cached error and re-verifies the connection automatically.

Contributing

We welcome your contributions!

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature).
3. Make your changes.
4. Add tests and ensure everything works (npm test).
5. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature').
6. Push to your branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature).
7. Open a pull request.

Please always include appropriate tests when making implementation changes.

License

MIT