Use from TouchDesigner (LOPs)

dotsimulate's LOPs "MCP Client" runs inside TouchDesigner and can talk to any MCP server. Point it at tdmcp and an agent living in your TD network can build, wire, inspect and preview operators in that same project — closing the loop TD (LOPs MCP Client) → tdmcp server → the tdmcp bridge → your network.

This is not an LLM-backend swap: LOPs brings its own model (OpenAI / Claude / Ollama); tdmcp is the tools it calls, exactly like Claude or Cursor would.

What you get

The LOPs client gets the full tdmcp tool surface — the build/inspect/preview tools plus the knowledge-base tools (get_td_classes, get_td_class_details, get_module_help, search_operators, find_td_nodes). Those KB tools cover part of what dotsimulate's dotContext provides, so you don't need a separate operator-reference layer alongside tdmcp.

When you connect through the recommended launcher (below), tdmcp starts in its safe profile — the destructive tools are hidden so an autonomous in-TD agent can't delete nodes or run unreviewed code by accident.

Prerequisites

• The tdmcp bridge is installed and running inside the same TouchDesigner instance — see install step 3, "turn on the bridge".
• Node.js 20+ on your PATH — LOPs spawns node.
• You have run npm run build in your tdmcp checkout, so dist/index.js exists.
• dotsimulate's LOPs is installed, with the MCP Client component.

Connect (recommended: the launcher)

dotsimulate's servers_config.json documents transport, command, args, cwd and description — but no env field — so we can't set tdmcp's hardening variables through the config directly. tdmcp ships a tiny launcher, scripts/tdmcp-lops.mjs, that sets them for you and then starts the server. Point the LOPs client at it:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tdmcp": {
      "transport": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/abs/path/to/tdmcp/scripts/tdmcp-lops.mjs"],
      "cwd": "/abs/path/to/tdmcp",
      "description": "tdmcp — build & inspect this TouchDesigner project (hardened: safe profile)"
    }
  }
}

Replace /abs/path/to/tdmcp with the folder where you cloned tdmcp (run pwd inside it). Use the full absolute path for both command/args and cwd — LOPs resolves cwd differently than CLI clients, so don't rely on relative paths. The tdmcp-lops.mjs launcher sets the safe profile for you.

Alternative: an env block (if your LOPs build supports it)

dotsimulate's published schema does not document an env field, so the launcher above is the safe default. If your LOPs build happens to pass an env block through, you can instead point args straight at dist/index.js and set the variables yourself:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tdmcp": {
      "transport": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/abs/path/to/tdmcp/dist/index.js"],
      "cwd": "/abs/path/to/tdmcp",
      "env": {
        "TDMCP_RAW_PYTHON": "off",
        "TDMCP_TOOL_PROFILE": "safe"
      },
      "description": "tdmcp — hardened for an in-TD agent"
    }
  }
}

If the env block is ignored (you'll see the destructive tools still listed), fall back to the launcher.

Hardening note

For an autonomous in-TD agent — no human reviewing each call — harden the surface:

• TDMCP_RAW_PYTHON=off removes the two raw-Python tools (execute_python_script, exec_node_method) where the client authors the code. It is not a code-execution kill-switch: many higher-level tools still send their own templated Python to the bridge.
• TDMCP_TOOL_PROFILE=safe goes further and also hides destructive tools (node deletion, DAT rewrites, checkpoint/component/package writes, preview-asset writes, panic controls) — a strict superset of RAW_PYTHON=off. The launcher sets this for you. See Environment variables.
• To truly close code execution, set TDMCP_BRIDGE_ALLOW_EXEC=0 in TouchDesigner's own environment — that is the authoritative, bridge-side gate, and it holds even against a direct network caller.

How it works

Both the LOPs client and the tdmcp bridge live in the same TouchDesigner process. The LOPs client spawns node dist/index.js (the tdmcp server) over stdio; that server then talks HTTP to the bridge on 127.0.0.1:9980 — the very same TD — which manipulates your network. No transport change is needed; stdio is tdmcp's default. The spawned server is short-lived, tied to the MCP client's lifecycle. See Architecture.

This does NOT replace tdmcp chat

The local LLM copilot (tdmcp chat) is a separate surface — tdmcp running its own local model. LOPs is a client that consumes its own model (OpenAI / Claude / Ollama) and calls tdmcp's tools; it is not a swap-in for the copilot's model backend. Use whichever fits your workflow.

Troubleshooting

• "node not found" — LOPs couldn't find Node on its PATH. Install Node.js 20+ and make sure it's on the PATH the TD process inherits.
• "dist/index.js not found" — the launcher prints this to stderr when the build is missing. Run npm run build in your tdmcp folder.
• "bridge not reachable" — the tdmcp bridge isn't running in this TD, or it's on a different host/port. Re-check install step 3 and Troubleshooting.