Nodes

Nodes

Every node you can put on a flow, what it takes in and what it gives back.

Generated from the vocabulary itself — the sentences here are the ones the app shows on the node. Editing this page by hand edits a copy; run npm run dev:node-manual in the repo instead.

Home is the page to read first: what a flow is, how you wire one, and how a set becomes a show. This is the reference you come back to.

The three signals

A cord carries one of three things, and an inlet only takes its own kind.

signal	is
point	where in the frame you are looking
number	anything scalar — one you set, a meter, the beat
colour	a picture

Every number inlet can be set on the node itself, so a flow works before anything is wired into it. The starts on column is what it holds until you say otherwise; two of them start on something alive rather than a number, and a drag catches that signal and holds it where it was.

Every node

node	family	what it does
array	geometry	Repeat the space a picture is read in, and say which copy this point falls in.
blend	transform	Combine a base picture and a top picture into one frame.
colorway	draw	The colourway that is up, as five colours named for the job each does.
displace	geometry	Move the point by what a picture says, rather than by a fixed shape.
field	draw	A bounded procedural picture whose fixed work is charged before the graph reaches the GPU.
figure	geometry	How far this point is from a shape, and how far along that shape it lies.
flow	draw	Another saved flow, used whole as one picture inside this graph.
form	draw	A shape standing in space, lit by its own glow and drawn from a moving eye.
fractal	draw	A bounded iterative picture with an explicit GPU budget, offered as Mandelbrot or Julia.
give	the end	A signal this flow hands out. Used inside another flow, it becomes a named outlet on that face.
glow	draw	Turn a number that is near at zero into a lit stroke, with a halo around it.
grade	transform	Change the colour already at this point without moving the picture.
halftone	transform	Throw brightness away in a pattern that keeps the picture readable.
image	draw	A still image from the server media folder, uploaded once while its flow is drawn.
last	draw	The frame this flow drew last time, fading as it ages.
lens	geometry	Move the point a picture is read at, or apply a geometry effect at that moved point.
lfo	numbers	A low-frequency oscillator that follows straight note divisions or runs freely in hertz.
light	draw	A bounded 2D light hung in the frame — a lamp, a beam, shafts, or caustics — priced like a field.
math	numbers	Combine two numbers with one arithmetic operation.
model	draw	A reusable setup made from an inspected GLB in the model library.
out	the end	The finished picture that leaves this flow for the wall or another flow.
place	geometry	Turn horizontal and vertical numbers into one position in the frame.
playback	Ableton	Live numbers describing where the music is right now.
point	geometry	The position currently being drawn: zero in the middle, with distance and direction around it.
polar	geometry	Split a position into its distance from the centre and direction around it.
read	numbers	Take one number off a picture, so what is drawn can drive what happens next.
shade	draw	Turn a number into a colour by walking it along the colourway.
song	Ableton	A musical or structural fact about the song that is playing.
source	draw	A generated picture, drawn at a point and animated by the room.
spread	transform	Read the picture several times around each point to blur, bloom, outline, or split it.
take	numbers	A number this flow asks for. Used inside another flow, it becomes a named inlet on that face; here it is the number set on it.
track	Ableton	One named track in the set, read as a meter, fader position, or playing gate.
tracks	draw	Every playing track in the Live set, drawn in its assigned colour and mixed into one picture.
value	numbers	One reusable number that changes every inlet it is wired to.
vary	numbers	Turn a copy number or a position along a curve into a stable number per copy.
video	draw	A muted video from the server media folder, decoded only while this flow is being drawn.

geometry

Moving the point a picture is read at

array

Repeat the space a picture is read in, and say which copy this point falls in.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
row	Copies side by side across the frame, numbered from left to right.	count
grid	Copies in a grid of cells, each cell holding a stable number of its own.	count
ring	Copies turned around the centre, each in its own wedge.	count, turn
mirror	The same ring, with every other copy reflected so the seams close.	count

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — row, grid, ring, mirror. Wire a number to move between them.
p	point	—	The position to repeat.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
count	number	0.25	How many copies the space is repeated into.
count	number	0.3	How many copies the space is repeated into.
count	number	0.35	How many copies the space is repeated into.
turn	number	0	How far the whole arrangement is turned.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
p	point	The position within the copy this point falls in.
which	number	A number naming the copy this point falls in.

displace

Move the point by what a picture says, rather than by a fixed shape.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
map	Push the point by a picture’s red and green, the way a displacement map is read.	—
curl	Push the point in the direction a picture’s brightness names.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — map, curl. Wire a number to move between them.
p	point	—	The position to displace.
field	colour	—	The picture whose colour decides which way this point moves.
amount	number	0.3	How strongly the point or colour is changed.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
p	point	The displaced position.

figure

How far this point is from a shape, and how far along that shape it lies.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
circle	A ring at a radius from the centre.	size
box	The outline of a square, with its corners as round as you want them.	size, corner
line	A straight segment through the centre, at an angle.	turn, span
arc	Part of a circle, opened about straight up.	size, sweep
polygon	The outline of a regular polygon, from a triangle to a twelve-sided figure.	size, sides
star	A star whose radius falls from each point to the valley beside it.	size, points, spike
rose	A rhodonea: petals wound out of the centre by a cosine of the angle.	size, petals
lissajous	A closed figure traced by two crossing oscillations, walked segment by segment.	size, ratio, turn

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — circle, box, line, arc, polygon, star, rose, lissajous. Wire a number to move between them.
p	point	—	The position to measure from the shape.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
size	number	0.45	How far the shape reaches from the centre.
corner	number	0.2	How rounded the corners of the square are.
turn	number	0	How far the shape is turned around the centre.
span	number	0.5	How far the segment runs either side of the centre.
sweep	number	0.35	How much of the circle the arc covers.
sides	number	0.2	How many sides the polygon has, from three to twelve.
points	number	0.25	How many points the star has, from three to twelve.
spike	number	0.5	How deep the valleys between the points cut.
petals	number	0.3	How many petals wind out of the centre.
ratio	number	0.35	How the two oscillations divide against each other.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
d	number	The distance from the shape, at zero on it.
along	number	How far around or along the shape the nearest part of it lies.

Costs up to 32 of the 64 a flow may spend, depending on the mode.

lens

Move the point a picture is read at, or apply a geometry effect at that moved point.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
zoom	Read the picture closer to or farther from its centre.	by
swirl	Rotate the picture increasingly as it moves away from the centre.	turn
fold	Mirror the picture into repeated sides around the centre.	sides
wobble	Displace the picture with crossing waves.	amount
tile	Repeat the picture across the frame.	count
mirror	Reflect the picture across a movable line.	line, angle
kaleido	Fold the picture into wedges and rotate them with the beat.	energy, segments, spin
twist	Turn the picture more strongly toward its edges and sway it with the beat.	energy, turn, sway
ripple	Send a wave from the centre that displaces the picture as it passes.	energy, waves, depth, speed
slice	Cut the picture into horizontal bands and throw them sideways.	energy, bands, throw
pixelate	Break the picture into blocks that resolve across the bar.	energy, blocks, resolve
creep	Zoom continuously at a speed, for a point fed back into its own picture.	grow

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — zoom, swirl, fold, wobble, tile, mirror, kaleido, twist, ripple, slice, pixelate, creep. Wire a number to move between them.
p	point	—	The position to transform.
c	colour	—	The picture to read through the transformed position.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
by	number	0.5	How far the picture is zoomed in or out.
turn	number	0.5	How far, and in which direction, the picture rotates.
sides	number	0.2	How many mirrored sides the point is folded into.
amount	number	0.3	How strongly the point or colour is changed.
count	number	0.3	How many times the picture repeats across the frame.
line	number	0.5	Where the mirror line crosses the frame.
angle	number	0.5	The angle of the mirror line around the frame.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.
segments	number	0.5	How many mirrored wedges make up the kaleidoscope.
spin	number	0.5	How much the kaleidoscope turns with the beat.
sway	number	0.5	How much the twist rocks back and forth with the beat.
waves	number	0.5	How many wave fronts cross the picture.
depth	number	0.5	How far the ripple displaces the picture beneath it.
speed	number	0.5	How quickly each ripple travels away from the centre.
bands	number	0.5	How many horizontal bands the picture is cut into.
throw	number	0.5	How far each sliced band is pushed sideways.
blocks	number	0.5	How large the pixel blocks become.
resolve	number	0.5	How far the blocks resolve back into the picture.
grow	number	0.5	How fast the picture grows or shrinks, per second rather than per step.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
p	point	The transformed position.
c	colour	The input picture read at the transformed position.

place

Turn horizontal and vertical numbers into one position in the frame.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
x	number	0.5	The horizontal position: zero at the left, one at the right.
y	number	0.5	The vertical position: zero at the bottom, one at the top.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
p	point	The position described by x and y.

point

The position currently being drawn: zero in the middle, with distance and direction around it.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
p	point	The current position in the frame.

polar

Split a position into its distance from the centre and direction around it.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	The position to measure from the centre.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
radius	number	The distance from the centre, from zero to one.
angle	number	The direction around the centre, wrapped from zero to one.

transform

Everything that takes a picture and gives one back where it is

blend

Combine a base picture and a top picture into one frame.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
over	Place the top picture over the base according to its opacity.	—
add	Sum both pictures, making overlaps brighter.	—
screen	Combine both pictures while rolling bright overlaps toward white.	—
multiply	See the base through the top, making overlaps darker.	—
stencil	Keep the base only where the top picture is bright.	—
cut	Keep the base only where the top picture is dark.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — over, add, screen, multiply, stencil, cut. Wire a number to move between them.
base	colour	—	The picture underneath.
top	colour	—	The picture placed over, combined with, or carved out of the base.
amount	number	1	How much of the blended result replaces the base.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The combined picture.

grade

Change the colour already at this point without moving the picture.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
levels	Raise or lower the picture’s brightness and its darkest colours.	gain, lift
saturate	Drain the colour out toward grey, or push it past where it was.	amount
hue	Rotate every colour while leaving the picture in place.	shift
tint	Recolour the picture from its own brightness, ending at the room’s colour.	amount, bias
posterize	Reduce continuous colour into a small number of flat bands.	steps
solarize	Fold everything brighter than a pivot back down the other side.	pivot, amount
channels	Swap the red, green and blue channels around each other.	rotate
invert	Turn the colours into their opposites on a musical pulse.	energy, hold, rate
highlights	Roll the brightest colours off into white instead of letting them clip.	knee, amount

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — levels, saturate, hue, tint, posterize, solarize, channels, invert, highlights. Wire a number to move between them.
c	colour	—	The picture whose colours will be changed.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
gain	number	0.5	How strongly the resulting colour or edge is amplified.
lift	number	0.5	How much brightness is added to the darkest colours.
amount	number	0.5	How strongly the point or colour is changed.
shift	number	0.5	How far every hue rotates around the colour wheel.
amount	number	0.3	How strongly the point or colour is changed.
bias	number	0.5	Where the recolouring lands: down in the shadows or up in the highlights.
steps	number	0.78	How aggressively the colours are reduced to flat bands.
pivot	number	0.5	How bright a colour must be before it is folded back down.
rotate	number	0.5	Which way round the red, green and blue channels are swapped.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.
hold	number	0.5	How long the inverted state is held.
rate	number	0.5	Which musical division drives the change.
knee	number	0.65	How bright a colour must be before it starts rolling off.
amount	number	0.55	How strongly the point or colour is changed.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The colour-adjusted picture.

halftone

Throw brightness away in a pattern that keeps the picture readable.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
dots	Reduce the picture to a screen of dots that grow with its brightness.	tilt
lines	Reduce the picture to ruled lines that thicken with its brightness.	tilt
dither	Reduce the picture to a fixed pattern of lit and unlit points.	—
scanlines	Dim alternating rows, the way a tube draws a picture.	weight

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — dots, lines, dither, scanlines. Wire a number to move between them.
c	colour	—	The picture to reduce to a pattern.
size	number	0.5	How coarse the pattern is, from a fine screen to a few large marks.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
tilt	number	0.5	The angle the screen is laid across the frame at.
weight	number	0.6	How far the dimmed rows fall below the lit ones.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The patterned picture, transparent between its marks.

spread

Read the picture several times around each point to blur, bloom, outline, or split it.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
bloom	Add nearby copies of bright areas back over the picture.	energy, reach, floor
smear	Blend nearby samples into a short radial blur.	reach, drive
edge	Keep the changes between nearby samples and throw the fill away.	width, gain
shift	Separate the colour channels, opening on transients and closing in gaps.	energy, split, drive
streak	Smear the bright parts sideways, the way an anamorphic lens flares.	energy, reach, gain
disperse	Split the picture into its spectrum along the line out from the centre.	energy, split, drive

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — bloom, smear, edge, shift, streak, disperse. Wire a number to move between them.
c	colour	—	The picture to sample around each point.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.
reach	number	0.5	How far from this point the surrounding picture is sampled.
floor	number	0.5	How bright something must be before it blooms.
drive	number	0.5	How strongly the room energy drives the effect.
width	number	0.5	How far apart the samples used to find an edge are.
gain	number	0.5	How strongly the resulting colour or edge is amplified.
split	number	0.5	How far the colour channels separate.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The picture made from the surrounding samples.

draw

Everything that makes a colour out of nothing

colorway

The colourway that is up, as five colours named for the job each does.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
amount	number	0.5	The brightness and opacity of every colour taken from here.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
primary	colour	The colour that carries the picture. What every generator starts from.
secondary	colour	The neighbour in the harmony — beside the primary without fighting it.
complement	colour	The opposing colour, taken loud, so a frame is never one colour.
accent	colour	For what is small and wants to be seen.
chalk	colour	Light and coloured, for reading edges against. The palette's answer to white.

field

A bounded procedural picture whose fixed work is charged before the graph reaches the GPU.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
cells	Distance to the nearest jittered feature point in a bounded cellular field.	weave
clouds	Four fixed octaves of gradient noise drifting as one continuous field.	weave
metaballs	Two to seven independently orbiting Gaussian fields that merge into soft shapes.	balls, apart

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the procedural field to read.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
weave	number	where you are	How tightly the pattern is woven.
balls	number	0.4	How many metaballs are active, from two through the bounded ceiling of seven.
apart	number	0.5	How far the metaballs separate, ending in a fully spaced elliptical ring.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The generated field picture.

Costs up to 16 of the 64 a flow may spend, depending on the mode.

flow

Another saved flow, used whole as one picture inside this graph.

Names one of your own flows, used whole.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the nested flow to read.
~inner	colour	—	The nested flow output supplied internally by the compiler.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The picture produced by the nested flow.

form

A shape standing in space, lit by its own glow and drawn from a moving eye.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
torus	One ring of tube, seen from wherever the eye is.	—
rings	Three rings on their own axes, precessing through each other on the beat.	apart
frame	The twelve edges of a cube, drawn as rounded tubes.	size
lattice	That cube repeated through space, so the eye flies through a scaffold of it.	apart
weave	Rounded rectangular loops layered through three planes and tumbled as one object.	apart, corner, tumble
loom	Bundles of rounded loops repeated through space while the eye travels inside them.	apart, cells, travel
orbits	Nested rings on fixed crossing planes, enclosed by one large orbit.	nest, tumble
relief	A wall of bevelled frames, U modules, hooks and paired arcs while the eye travels over it.	tiles, raise, travel
iris	A lens-shaped shell enclosing a bank of parallel edge-on ribs.	ribs, open, phase
truss	Parallel rounded-rectangle rails crossing around three planes as one cuboid armature.	apart, corner, tumble
rotor	Open swept blades repeated around the throat of a double-domed turbine cage.	blades, sweep, tumble
armillary	A dark central body inside a precessing nested ring bank and three gimbal hoops.	ribs, nest, tumble
gyre	Paired nested rounded hoops turning through each other as a symmetric chrome gyroscope.	nest, corner, tumble
astrolabe	Three to seven flat metal gimbals locked into one rigidly tumbling sculpture.	members, spread, tumble
rosette	Circular hoops hinged around one axis, opening from a radial wreath into crossed petals.	petals, spread, tumble
corolla	Coaxial banks of tangent rounded loops and circular hoops opening into a layered flower.	petals, corner, open
spindle	Open coaxial hoop rails widening away from a narrow waist while their gaps circulate.	ribs, reach, phase
meridian	Two pole-sharing banks of complete elliptical rails in permanent vertical planes.	ribs, bow, phase
vault	Perpendicular dense stacks of broad and portrait rounded loops forming a vault and arcade.	ribs, arch, phase
graticule	A prolate cage of complete meridians enclosing an inset equatorial hoop barrel.	ribs, belt, phase
tube	A helix winding away down a corridor the eye is inside.	coil, radius, travel

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the frame the ray is cast from.
turn	number	the beat	Where the eye stands around the form, or its roll on a travelling form.
tilt	number	0.7	How high the eye stands, or how its travelling path leans.
dolly	number	0.4	How far back the eye stands, or its offset from a travelling path.
thick	number	0.3	How thick the tube the form is drawn out of is.
flare	number	0.4	How far the light bleeds off the tubes as the ray passes them.
chrome	number	0	How much the surface reflects the room instead of glowing.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
apart	number	0.4	How far the rings spread out of each other.
size	number	0.45	How large the cube is around the eye.
apart	number	0.4	How far apart the cells of the scaffold sit.
apart	number	0.45	How far the parallel rectangular loops sit from each other.
corner	number	0.55	How round each rectangular loop becomes.
tumble	number	0	How far the complete woven object has tumbled.
apart	number	0.45	How far the parallel members in every bundle sit apart.
cells	number	0.52	How far apart the repeated woven cells sit.
travel	number	0	How far the eye has travelled through the repeating loom.
nest	number	0.55	How far the inner orbit radii step down from the enclosing one.
tumble	number	0	How far the complete orbital object has tumbled.
tiles	number	0.48	How tightly the relief modules repeat across the plane.
raise	number	0.5	How deeply the bevelled modules are extruded.
travel	number	0	How far the eye has travelled around its closed path.
ribs	number	0.58	How tightly the parallel rings fill the shell.
open	number	0.55	How far the internal rings open inside the shell.
phase	number	0	Where the ribs sit between their edge-on bank and crossed pair.
apart	number	0.45	How far the four rails of each rectangular face sit apart.
corner	number	0.55	How round the rectangular face rails become.
tumble	number	0	Where the complete truss sits on its closed rigid oscillation.
blades	number	0.55	How many open blades repeat around the rotor throat.
sweep	number	0.65	How far the blade sides curl and rise through the double dome.
tumble	number	0	Where the complete rotor sits on its closed rigid tumble.
ribs	number	0.62	How many coplanar hoops fill the nested central bank.
nest	number	0.62	How far the bank extends from its dark central body.
tumble	number	0	Where the bank and three gimbals sit on their closed precession.
nest	number	0.52	How far the nested rounded hoops step down inside each other.
corner	number	0.68	How round the gyroscope hoops become.
tumble	number	0	Where the paired hoop families sit on their closed counter-motion.
members	number	0.58	How many fixed circular gimbals are present.
spread	number	0.48	How quickly the nested gimbal radii step down.
tumble	number	0	Where the sculpture sits on its closed rigid tumble.
petals	number	0.42	How many permanent hinged hoops repeat around the axis.
spread	number	0.35	How far hinges open outward as the hoops shrink into a wreath.
tumble	number	0	Where the shared hinge mechanism sits on its closed cycle.
petals	number	0.58	How many permanent members repeat in each coaxial bank.
corner	number	0.48	How round or faceted the outer bank loops become.
open	number	0	Where both hinge banks sit on their closed compact-to-flower cycle.
ribs	number	0.58	How many permanent open hoops are stacked around the waist.
reach	number	0.62	How far the outer hoop radii expand beyond the waist.
phase	number	0	Where the open ends sit on their closed circulation.
ribs	number	0.58	How many permanent planes meet at each lobe pair of poles.
bow	number	0.7	How far each complete rail bows sideways between its shared poles.
phase	number	0	Where the upper and lower banks sit in their counter-rotation.
ribs	number	0.62	How many permanent rounded loops fill each perpendicular stack.
arch	number	0.68	How round and tall the vault and central arcade become.
phase	number	0	Where the two complete loop stacks sit on their closed counter-rock.
ribs	number	0.58	How many permanent meridians and latitude hoops construct the globe.
belt	number	0.52	How far the finite inner hoop barrel spreads away from the equator.
phase	number	0	Where the meridian planes and rail lighting sit in their closed cycle.
coil	number	0.35	How tightly the helix winds as it goes away.
radius	number	0.35	How far the helix runs from the corridor axis.
travel	number	the beat	How far the eye has travelled through the repeating helix.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The form, as a picture.

Costs 32 of the 64 a flow may spend.

fractal

A bounded iterative picture with an explicit GPU budget, offered as Mandelbrot or Julia.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
mandelbrot	The classic connected escape-time set, bounded to a safe amount of detail.	—
julia	A related escape-time set whose shape control moves through useful Julia seeds.	shape

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the fractal plane to read.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.
zoom	number	0	How deeply the fractal is magnified, on a bounded logarithmic scale.
turn	number	0.5	How far, and in which direction, the picture rotates.
detail	number	0.35	How many bounded orbit steps are used to reveal fine structure.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
shape	number	0.5	Which Julia-set seed is traced around the useful connected region.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The generated fractal picture.

Costs 32 of the 64 a flow may spend.

glow

Turn a number that is near at zero into a lit stroke, with a halo around it.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
neon	A blown white filament inside a coloured halo, the way a lit tube reads.	core, halo
soft	A plain falloff that keeps its colour, with no filament in the middle.	halo
band	Brightest at a distance from the shape rather than on it, standing an outline off it.	away, halo

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — neon, soft, band. Wire a number to move between them.
d	number	where you are	How far this point is from the thing being lit. Nothing at zero.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
core	number	0.35	How much of the light is blown filament against outer halo.
halo	number	0.35	How far the light carries, from a hairline to a soft wash.
halo	number	0.45	How far the light carries, from a hairline to a soft wash.
away	number	0.25	How far off the shape the brightest part of the band stands.
halo	number	0.3	How far the light carries, from a hairline to a soft wash.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The light this distance makes, as a picture.

image

A still image from the server media folder, uploaded once while its flow is drawn.

Names a image from your media folder.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
cover	Fill the frame without distortion, cropping the image at its long edges.	—
contain	Show the whole image without distortion, leaving uncovered space transparent.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the image to read.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The selected image in the chosen framing mode.

Costs 1 of the 64 a flow may spend.

last

The frame this flow drew last time, fading as it ages.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the previous frame to read.
fade	number	0.45	How long what was drawn survives, from a flicker to a couple of seconds.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The previous frame, dimmed by its age.

Costs 1 of the 64 a flow may spend.

light

A bounded 2D light hung in the frame — a lamp, a beam, shafts, or caustics — priced like a field.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
lamp	A soft point of light in haze — a hot core over an inverse-square halo.	from, carry, soft
beam	A stage spotlight cone with dust drifting through it, aimed about straight down.	from, aim, spread
shafts	Crepuscular rays fanning down from a hanging point, streaked and slowly marching.	from, blades, haze
caustics	Sunlight through water: two drifting cellular layers whose crossings glint.	weave, glint

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the frame the light is read.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
from	point	—	Where the light hangs.
carry	number	0.5	How far the light carries before it dies away.
soft	number	0.4	How much of the light is hot core against outer halo.
aim	number	0.5	Which way the beam points, swung about straight down.
spread	number	0.35	How wide the cone opens.
blades	number	0.5	How many distinct rays streak the fan.
haze	number	0.5	How far the rays carry through the air.
weave	number	where you are	How tightly the pattern is woven.
glint	number	0.6	How sharply the bright crossings flash.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The light, as a picture.

Costs up to 18 of the 64 a flow may spend, depending on the mode.

model

A reusable setup made from an inspected GLB in the model library.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the rendered model picture to read.
color-a	colour	—	The setup’s first externally controllable material colour.
color-b	colour	—	The setup’s second externally controllable material colour.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The depth-rendered model as a colour source.

Costs 1 of the 64 a flow may spend.

shade

Turn a number into a colour by walking it along the colourway.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
across	Walk the whole colourway, from the first role through to the last.	—
heat	Out of the dark, through the colour, into the accent and up to white.	—
filament	One colour from unlit to blown out, so the number reads as how hard it is lit.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — across, heat, filament. Wire a number to move between them.
n	number	0.5	The number to look the colour up with.
amount	number	1	The brightness and opacity of the colour that comes out.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The colour this number lands on.

source

A generated picture, drawn at a point and animated by the room.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
solid	The active colour, breathing over the bar and brightening with the room.	—
bars	Vertical bars whose heights form a bar of music, swept by the playhead.	columns
rings	Rings launched on the beat and expanding away from the centre.	flight
noise	A drifting field that thickens with the room. Weather rather than a metronome.	weave, cover
strobe	Whole-frame flashes on the beat, with no shape competing for attention.	pulse
grid	A field of cells, each lighting on its own beat.	tiles
tunnel	A corridor rushing toward the viewer on the beat.	spokes
plasma	A full-frame wash made by crossing four moving sine fields.	weave
spiral	Arms winding out of the centre and turning on the beat.	arms, coil
scan	Horizontal lines with a bar of light sweeping down them.	lines
sparks	A field of cells that fire on their own beats and drift as they fade.	shower
checker	Alternating square tiles that flip on a musical division.	tiles
rays	Alternating angular beams turning around the centre on the beat.	spokes
traces	Connected rounded paths with pockets of light chasing through the field.	tiles

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — solid, bars, rings, noise, strobe, grid, tunnel, plasma, spiral, scan, sparks, checker, rays, traces. Wire a number to move between them.
p	point	—	Where in the generated picture to read.
energy	number	the room	How strongly the room drives this movement or brightness.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
columns	number	where you are	How many columns divide the bar.
flight	number	where you are	How far each ring flies before it dies.
weave	number	where you are	How tightly the pattern is woven.
cover	number	where you are	How much of the frame the field covers.
pulse	number	where you are	Which musical division the flash lands on.
tiles	number	where you are	How many tiles divide the frame.
spokes	number	where you are	How many spokes fan around the centre.
arms	number	where you are	How many arms wind out of the centre.
coil	number	where you are	How tightly the arms coil as they leave the centre.
lines	number	where you are	How many lines rule the frame.
shower	number	where you are	How thickly the sparks fill the frame.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The generated picture.

tracks

Every playing track in the Live set, drawn in its assigned colour and mixed into one picture.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
by name	Draw every playing track from the visual hint in that track’s name.	—
solid	Draw every playing track as a breathing field of its assigned colour.	—
bars	Draw every playing track as vertical musical bars.	—
rings	Draw every playing track as expanding rings.	—
noise	Draw every playing track as a drifting noise field.	—
strobe	Draw every playing track as a full-frame beat flash.	—
grid	Draw every playing track as a pulsing grid.	—
tunnel	Draw every playing track as a rushing tunnel.	—
plasma	Draw every playing track as a moving plasma wash.	—
spiral	Draw every playing track as a turning spiral.	—
scan	Draw every playing track as sweeping scan lines.	—
sparks	Draw every playing track as a drifting field of sparks.	—
checker	Draw every playing track as alternating square tiles.	—
rays	Draw every playing track as rotating angular beams.	—
traces	Draw every playing track as connected rounded paths with chasing light.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — by name, solid, bars, rings, noise, strobe, grid, tunnel, plasma, spiral, scan, sparks, checker, rays, traces. Wire a number to move between them.
p	point	—	Where in the combined set picture to read.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The combined picture of every playing track.

video

A muted video from the server media folder, decoded only while this flow is being drawn.

Names a video from your media folder.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
loop	Play continuously, returning to the first frame at the end.	pace, freeze
once	Play once and hold the final decoded frame.	pace, freeze
scrub	Stop playing and sit wherever the position inlet points, one pass across the whole clip.	position

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
p	point	—	Where in the video frame to read.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
pace	number	0.5	Playback speed from half speed through double speed.
freeze	number	0	Hold the current frame while this is over a half, and run again when it falls.
position	number	0	Where in the clip to sit, from its first frame to its last.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
c	colour	The current decoded video frame.

Costs 1 of the 64 a flow may spend.

the end

What leaves the flow

give

A signal this flow hands out. Used inside another flow, it becomes a named outlet on that face.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
number	Give one number — a reactive value other flows wire like any other signal.	in
point	Give a point, for a flow that computes a position.	in
colour	Give a picture, without putting it on the wall.	in

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — number, point, colour. Wire a number to move between them.

Inlets a mode brings with it

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
in	number	where you are	The number this flow gives.
in	point	—	The point this flow gives.
in	colour	—	The picture this flow gives.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out

out

The finished picture that leaves this flow for the wall or another flow.

Inlets

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
c	colour	—	The finished picture this flow produces.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out

numbers

Numbers, and the arithmetic between them

lfo

A low-frequency oscillator that follows straight note divisions or runs freely in hertz.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
sine	Rise and fall in one smooth sine wave.	—
triangle	Rise and fall linearly with no jump at the cycle boundary.	—
saw	Rise linearly and jump back to zero at the cycle boundary.	—
ramp	Fall linearly and jump back to one at the cycle boundary.	—
square	Stay at zero for half a cycle and one for the other half.	—
pulse	Strike at the cycle boundary and decay away, like something hit.	—
noise	Drift smoothly between random values rather than stepping between them.	—
sample-hold	Choose one deterministic random value and hold it for a complete cycle.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — sine, triangle, saw, ramp, square, pulse, noise, sample-hold. Wire a number to move between them.
clock	number	the beat	The phase to run on. The beat, until something else is wired here.
rate	number	0.5	The note period the clock is divided into when synced, or frequency from 0.05 to 20 Hz when free.
sync	number	1	Divide the clock at one; ignore it and run on elapsed seconds at zero. (a switch)
phase	number	0	Offset the oscillator by zero to one complete cycle.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The oscillator value from zero to one.

math

Combine two numbers with one arithmetic operation.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
add	Add both numbers and stop at one.	—
subtract	Subtract the second number from the first and stop at zero.	—
multiply	Multiply both numbers. The result may be greater than one.	—
min	Use whichever of the two numbers is lower.	—
max	Use whichever of the two numbers is higher.	—
average	Use the midpoint between both numbers.	—
curve	Bend the first number toward one end of its travel. The second is the amount, straight at the middle.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — add, subtract, multiply, min, max, average, curve. Wire a number to move between them.
a	number	0.5	The first number in the operation.
b	number	0.5	The second number in the operation.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The result of the selected operation.

read

Take one number off a picture, so what is drawn can drive what happens next.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
luma	How bright the picture is here, weighted the way an eye reads it.	—
red	How much red the picture has here.	—
green	How much green the picture has here.	—
blue	How much blue the picture has here.	—
alpha	How much of the frame the picture actually covers here.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — luma, red, green, blue, alpha. Wire a number to move between them.
c	colour	—	The picture to measure.
p	point	—	Where in the picture to measure. The point being drawn, unwired.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The measured number, from zero to one.

take

A number this flow asks for. Used inside another flow, it becomes a named inlet on that face; here it is the number set on it.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The number taken in, or the one set here until something supplies it.

value

One reusable number that changes every inlet it is wired to.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The number set on this node.

vary

Turn a copy number or a position along a curve into a stable number per copy.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
even	Every copy as likely to land high as low.	—
few	Most copies near nothing and a few of them right up, the way a bank of lights has favourites.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — even, few. Wire a number to move between them.
n	number	0.5	The number naming the copy, or the position along the curve.
steps	number	0	How many copies to cut the number into before rolling. At zero every value gets its own.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The number this copy was dealt, the same on every frame.

Ableton

Three questions you can ask the set, and nothing else can answer

playback

Live numbers describing where the music is right now.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
level	The room's master meter, from silence to its current loudness.	—
beat	Continuous musical beats. Wire it into an lfo when you need a repeating shape.	—
phase	The current position through the bar, from its first beat to its last.	—
pulse	A hit at the start of each beat that decays before the next one.	—
time	Seconds since the renderer opened, for motion that should not lock to the music.	—
random	A stable random number that changes once on every beat.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — level, beat, phase, pulse, time, random. Wire a number to move between them.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The selected playback reading.

song

A musical or structural fact about the song that is playing.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
seed	A stable different number for every song, for free per-song variation.	—
tempo	The song's stated tempo, normalized to a number the graph can use.	—
key	The song's musical key as a position around the chromatic scale.	—
section	Where the playing section sits among the sections used by this set.	—
sections	How many distinct sections the current set uses.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — seed, tempo, key, section, sections. Wire a number to move between them.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The selected fact about the current song.

track

One named track in the set, read as a meter, fader position, or playing gate.

Names a track in your set.

Modes

mode	what it does	inlets of its own
level	The track's output meter, with the node's smoothing applied.	—
fader	The current position of the track's volume fader.	—
playing	One while this track has a playing clip, and zero while it does not.	—

Inlets, on every mode

inlet	signal	starts on	what it is for
mode	number	where you are	Which mode this is in — level, fader, playing. Wire a number to move between them.

Outlets

outlet	signal	what comes out
n	number	The selected live reading from this track.