My TouchDesigner wiki. Reference notes for visual programming with nodes and real-time interactive media.
Start here: the Learning Path
New here, or want a structured way through? Follow the (y) TouchDesigner Learning Path, one ordered track from zero to gallery-grade, in nine stages. Every page on the track has a collapsible 📚 Learning Path bar at the bottom with prev/next, so you can just keep clicking forward.
Just want to make something now?
Skip straight to the (y-1) Beginner Recipes. You should be making visuals inside ten minutes.
The sections below are the full reference, organized by topic. Browse them directly, or let the Learning Path thread them in order for you.
(y1) Core Concepts
The fundamentals: interface, navigation, and workflow.
- (y) Index: Core Concepts: Chapter hub and navigation.
- (y-) What is TouchDesigner: Overview of TD and its use cases.
- (y-) Interface Overview: Panels, panes, and the main UI.
- (y-) Network Editor: Working in the node graph.
- (y-) Connecting Nodes: Wiring operators together.
- (y-) Parameters: Reading and editing node parameters.
- (y-) Expressions and Parameters: Python expressions in parameters.
- (y-) Viewer Active Mode: Interacting with node viewers.
- (y-) Common Shortcuts: Essential keyboard shortcuts.
(y2) The Operators
The seven operator families are the building blocks of every network.
- (y) Index: The Operators: Chapter hub and navigation.
- (y-) TOPs: 2D image & video processing (GPU).
- (y-) CHOPs: Numeric signals, audio & control data.
- (y-) SOPs: 3D geometry (CPU).
- (y-) COMPs: Containers, 3D objects & UI panels.
- (y-) DATs: Text, tables, scripts & JSON.
- (y-) MATs: Materials & shaders for 3D geometry.
- (y-) POPs: GPU point clouds and particles.
(y3) Rendering & Output
Generating and compositing visuals.
- (y) Index: Rendering & Output: Chapter hub and navigation.
- (y-) Rendering Basics: The Render TOP pipeline.
- (y-) Cameras and Lights: Setting up a 3D scene.
- (y-) Instancing: Rendering thousands of objects efficiently.
- (y-) Feedback Loops: Feeding output back into itself.
(y4) Scripting & Architecture
Python, project structure, and performance.
- (y) Index: Scripting & Architecture: Chapter hub and navigation.
- (y-) Python in TD: Writing Python inside TouchDesigner.
- (y-) The op and me objects: Navigating the network with code.
- (y-) Custom Parameters: Adding your own parameters to COMPs.
- (y-) Modular Design and Toxes: Reusable components (.tox files).
- (y-) Container and Widgets: Building custom UIs.
- (y-) Cooking: How TD decides what to compute.
- (y-) Performance Monitoring: Finding and fixing slowdowns.
(y5) Connectivity & Shaders
External I/O, protocols, and GPU programming.
- (y) Index: Connectivity & Shaders: Chapter hub and navigation.
- (y-) OSC and MIDI: Sending and receiving control messages.
- (y-) NDI and Syphon: Sharing video between applications.
- (y-) DMX and Art-Net: Lighting control protocols.
- (y-) Audio Reactivity: Driving visuals from audio signals.
- (y-) Introduction to GLSL: Writing custom GPU shaders.
(y6) Recipes & Projects
Practical examples and projects categorized by difficulty.
- (y-1) Fundamentals: Core UI, Binding, and basic audio-reactive 3D.
- (y-2) Intermediate: Shaders, PBR Materials, and basic MediaPipe tracking.
- (y-3) Advanced: Fluid simulations, advanced gesture recognition, and fractal math.
- (y) Ready-to-Open Projects: Three verified, self-contained
.toefiles (feedback trails, a 3D render pipeline, and GPU instancing) with renders and notes.
(y7) TouchDesigner Wiki Reference
- (y) Glossary: Core concepts and terminology.
- (y) Tutorials & Links Index: Chapter hub for curated resources.
(y8) Trending: Gallery-Grade 2026
Ten installation-quality projects on what is trending right now: real-time AI (live diffusion, Gaussian splats, AI depth) and camera-only MediaPipe interaction.
- (y8) Trending 2026 Index: Chapter hub for the ten projects.
- (y-) Live AI Painting with TouchDiffusion: Real-time Stable Diffusion repaint of any input.
- (y-) ControlNet Pose-to-Art: AI artwork that forms around your live body pose.
- (y-) Gaussian Splatting Scenes: Photoreal volumetric flythroughs from a phone capture.
- (y-) Depth Anything Parallax Portraits: Turn a flat photo into a living 2.5D scene with AI depth.
- (y-) Interactive Portrait Wall: A portrait that dissolves into particles as you approach.
- (y-) Air-Drawing Light Painting: Pinch in the air to paint glowing ribbons of light.
- (y-) Holistic Magic Mirror: Face, hands, and body tracked at once for a responsive mirror.
- (y-) Reaction-Diffusion Living Canvas: A GLSL system that grows organic textures forever.
- (y-) Volumetric Audio Nebula: A glowing 3D point cloud that breathes with music.
- (y-) Projection-Mapped Memory Garden: Flowers bloom on a real wall when someone walks up.