Build a TouchDesigner network from a tox in the project

What it does

This MCP server runs inside TouchDesigner. The README's quick start is to drag td_mcp_server.tox into the project. The server listens on port 9988. Point an MCP client at http://localhost:9988/mcp. The tox is self-contained. There is no path to configure and no extra install inside TouchDesigner.

The tools in the README are run (execute Python; expressions return values, multi-line code captures stdout), inspect (channels, parameters, errors, connections), set (parameters as constants or expressions), create (an operator with position, parameters, expressions and wiring in one call; nodeX and nodeY are required), wire (batch connections, with input indexes that increment), read, write and edit for Text DATs, list (operators under a container, filterable by family or pattern), docs (parameters, menus, defaults and connectors for an operator type), observe (a PNG snapshot or an animated GIF of the current output), render (an MP4 through TouchDesigner's own recording, with optional audio and an automatic or manual start and stop) and map (a text map of the network with connections, positions and non-default parameters).

It implements MCP Streamable HTTP as JSON-RPC POST on a Web Server DAT. The README says there are no external dependencies, and the root operator is found with me.parent(). A manual setup, if you skip the tox, is a Web Server DAT on port 9988 set Active, a Text DAT filled from scripts/td_mcp_server.py, and the Web Server DAT callbacks pointed at that Text DAT. Requirements are TouchDesigner 2024 or newer and any MCP client. The README's license section says MIT.

The repo also ships a Claude Code skill at .claude/skills/touchdesigner-building/ that the README says loads for operator, shader and parameter work when you are in this project. Copy that folder into another project's .claude/skills/ if you want the same notes there, and point that project's .mcp.json at the running server.

How to set it up

1. Install TouchDesigner 2024 or newer and open the project you want the assistant to edit.
2. Drag td_mcp_server.tox from the repo into the network. The README says the server starts on port 9988 by itself.
3. In the MCP client, set the server URL to http://localhost:9988/mcp. The README links the Claude Code, Cursor and Windsurf MCP setup pages for where that URL goes. Restart the client if it only reads servers at launch.
4. Ask for list or map before create. create needs nodeX and nodeY. run executes Python in the project, so keep the first prompts to inspection until you trust the session.
5. Use observe to pull a PNG or GIF of the output back into the chat, and render when you want an MP4 from TouchDesigner's recorder. Stop the tox, or turn the Web Server DAT off, when you do not want a client on that machine creating operators.

Source project: johnsabath/touchdesigner-mcp

FAQ

Does this replace Derivative's TDMCP or a bridge that runs outside TouchDesigner?

No. Those are other servers. This one is a component inside the .toe. Quit TouchDesigner and the port goes with it.

What leaves the machine?

The README serves MCP on localhost port 9988. observe returns an image of the current output to the client, and run can execute whatever Python the client sends. Do not publish that port.

Which TouchDesigner builds does the README claim?

TouchDesigner 2024 or newer. The manual path uses a Web Server DAT, which is part of TouchDesigner, and the README says the tox adds no external dependencies.