Glossary
Plain-language definitions for the words you'll hear. You don't need to memorize these — the AI handles the technical side — but they help when reading previews or talking to other artists.
TouchDesigner basics
TouchDesigner (TD) : The software you're building visuals in. It's "node-based": you connect little boxes (operators) to build an effect.
Operator (OP) : One box/node in TouchDesigner. Each does one job — make noise, blur an image, read audio, etc. You wire them together.
Network : A bunch of connected operators. Your whole visual is a network.
Parameter : A setting on an operator — a number, a color, a toggle. The "knobs" you tweak.
Cook : TouchDesigner's word for "compute this frame". A slow visual has expensive cook times; optimizing means making cooking cheaper.
Textport : TouchDesigner's built-in console (menu Dialogs → Textport and DATs). You paste the one-line bridge installer there.
Operator families
You'll see these short names in previews and explanations:
TOP : Texture Operator — anything image/video (noise, blur, feedback, the picture itself).
CHOP : Channel Operator — numbers/signals over time (audio, animation, MIDI, an LFO).
SOP : Surface Operator — 3D geometry (shapes, meshes, particles).
COMP : Component — a container that holds a whole network, and the panels/knobs you perform with.
DAT : Data Operator — text and tables (scripts, data, the bridge's callbacks).
MAT : Material — how 3D surfaces are shaded/lit.
Performance & live terms
Feedback : Feeding a frame back into itself so it evolves — the basis of tunnels, trails and many hypnotic looks.
LFO : Low-Frequency Oscillator — a slow, automatic wave that moves a knob for you (gentle pulsing, sweeping, breathing).
Preset : A saved snapshot of your knob settings you can recall instantly.
Cue : A named look you can jump or smoothly morph to during a performance.
Tempo / BPM sync : Locking movement to a musical tempo so it pulses on the beat.
GLSL / shader : Code that runs on the graphics card to draw an image pixel-by-pixel — used for the fastest, most custom effects.
Inputs & outputs
OSC / MIDI : Common ways to control parameters from hardware or other apps (a fader, a pad, a DAW).
DMX / Art-Net : Protocols for controlling stage lighting and LED fixtures.
NDI / Syphon / Spout : Ways to send your video to other software (e.g. OBS, Resolume) over the network or locally.
Projection mapping : Warping your visual so it lines up with a physical surface a projector points at.
tdmcp terms
MCP (Model Context Protocol) : The open standard that lets an AI assistant use external "tools". tdmcp is an MCP server.
The bridge : The small piece that runs inside TouchDesigner so the AI can actually create and preview nodes. You switch it on once (see Install).
Recipe : A pre-built, tested network you can ask for by name — see the Recipe gallery.
Vault : An Obsidian folder of notes tdmcp can read and write — recipes, setlists, moodboards, presets and a show diary.
.mcpb : The single extension file (MCP Bundle) you install in Claude Desktop. The tdmcp server is bundled inside it. Formerly called .dxt — older .dxt files still install, but .mcpb is the current format.
.tox : A TouchDesigner component file you can drag into any project — including a reusable copy of the bridge.