MCP resources
Beyond the tools it can call, tdmcp exposes a library of resources an AI client can read — operator docs, shader snippets, recipes, cheatsheets, a learning path, even a live snapshot of your running project. Resources are how the assistant grounds itself in TouchDesigner facts and in tdmcp's own surface before it builds, instead of guessing.
You rarely address these by hand; a capable client lists and reads them for you. But knowing the families helps you ask better questions — "check the operators resource", "read the GLSL snippet catalog first" — and explains where the assistant's knowledge comes from.
This is the artist-facing map
For the full per-resource reference (every URI template, every parameter), the Architecture and Tools reference pages are the source of truth. This page is the orientation.
Knowledge base (always on)
The committed operator knowledge base, exposed as readable resources:
| Family | URI | What it exposes |
|---|---|---|
| Operators | tdmcp://operators/{name} | Operator catalog — read a category (TOP, CHOP, SOP, DAT, COMP, MAT, POP) to list, or an operator name for full docs. |
| Operator connections | tdmcp://operator-connections/{operator} | Likely upstream/downstream operators, workflow hits and next-operator suggestions grounded in imported operator docs and patterns. |
| Operator examples | tdmcp://operator-examples/{operator} | Stored Python snippets, expressions, generated usage patterns and tips for a specific operator. |
| Python API | tdmcp://python-api/{class_name} | TouchDesigner Python class reference — members and methods. |
| TD versions | tdmcp://td-versions/{version} | Stable TouchDesigner release metadata, Python-version notes, highlights and compatibility changes. |
| Experimental builds | tdmcp://td-experimental/{series_or_category} | Experimental TouchDesigner build-series data, feature flags, new operators and breaking-change notes. |
| Compatibility | tdmcp://compat/operators/{operator}, tdmcp://compat/python/{class_or_member} | Direct operator and Python API compatibility lookups for added/changed/removed version notes. |
| Patterns | tdmcp://patterns/{pattern_name} | Named operator-chain workflow patterns (recommended wiring). |
| GLSL patterns | tdmcp://glsl/{pattern_name} | Named shader techniques with ready-to-use fragment-shader snippets. |
| GLSL snippets | tdmcp://glsl-snippets | A vetted, license-clean catalog of embedded GLSL snippets the agent can assemble without guessing IDs. |
| Technique packs | tdmcp://techniques/{category} | Bottobot technique packs such as audio-visual, GPU compute, machine learning, networking and advanced Python workflows. |
| TD classes | tdmcp://td-classes/{family} | TouchDesigner operator-family class references such as TOP Class, CHOP Class and COMP Class. |
| Recipes | tdmcp://recipes/{recipe_name}, tdmcp://recipes/search/{query} | Pre-validated composite network templates, plus keyword search over built-in and vault recipes. |
| Tutorials | tdmcp://tutorials/{tutorial_name} | Long-form TD fundamentals and workflows. |
Guidance & onboarding (always on)
Compact, KB-grounded guides that help the agent pick the right move:
| Family | URI | What it exposes |
|---|---|---|
| Cheatsheets | tdmcp://cheatsheets | Compact reminders for common workflows (operator families, the debug loop, GLSL-TOP assembly, audio binding, vault library), with links to richer resources. |
| Learning path | tdmcp://learning/touchdesigner | A curated path pairing the teach_touchdesigner prompt with embedded operator and tutorial resources. |
| Cookbook | tdmcp://cookbook, tdmcp://cookbook/{locale} | The prompt cookbook as a resource, in English (en) or Portuguese (pt). |
Surface discovery (always on)
So clients and the local copilot stay in sync with the real registry instead of drifting:
| Family | URI | What it exposes |
|---|---|---|
| Commands | tdmcp://commands | The CLI verbs, generated from the actual dispatcher (safe / mutating / unsafe). |
| Prompts | tdmcp://prompts | The MCP prompts tdmcp offers, generated from the prompt registry. |
| Session profile | tdmcp://session/profile | Your persistent cross-session profile — see Session profile & corpus learning. |
Live project (needs the bridge)
When the bridge is reachable, two resources read your running project. They no-op without a TD client and cache briefly (5 s hot, 1 s offline):
| Family | URI | What it exposes |
|---|---|---|
| Scene summary | tdmcp://scene/{view} | A compact snapshot of the running project — current (topology + perf + errors), operators (full inventory), or errors (clustered list). |
| Graph digest | tdmcp://digest/{path} | A token-cheap (<500 token) structured digest of a subtree: header, family counts, the primary output's upstream chain, and top grouped errors. |
Opt-in libraries (off by default)
Registered only when their feature flags are on — see Session profile & corpus learning:
| Family | URI | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Creative RAG | tdmcp://creative/cards/{id}, tdmcp://creative/search | TDMCP_RAG_ENABLED=1 |
| Project RAG | tdmcp://project/cards/{id}, tdmcp://project/search, tdmcp://project/sources | TDMCP_RAG_ENABLED=1 and TDMCP_PROJECT_RAG_ENABLED=1 |
Both are read-only and carry source URL, license and rights notes on every result.
See also
- Architecture for how resources are registered and served.
- Session profile & corpus learning for the session-profile and RAG resources in depth.