TouchDesigner Operator Reference

Operator Families Overview

TouchDesigner has 6 operator families. Each family processes a specific data type and is color-coded in the UI. Operators can only connect to others of the SAME family (with cross-family converters as the bridge).

TOPs — Texture Operators (Purple)

2D image/texture processing on the GPU. The workhorse of visual output.

Generators (create images from nothing)

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Noise TOP	noiseTop	type (0-6), monochrome, seed, period, harmonics, exponent, amp, offset, resolutionw/h	Procedural noise textures — Perlin, Simplex, Sparse, etc. Foundation of generative art.
Constant TOP	constantTop	colorr/g/b/a, resolutionw/h	Solid color. Use as background or blend input.
Text TOP	textTop	text, fontsizex, fontfile, alignx/y, colorr/g/b	Render text to texture. Supports multi-line, word wrap.
Ramp TOP	rampTop	type (0=horizontal, 1=vertical, 2=radial, 3=circular), phase, period	Gradient textures for masking, color mapping.
Circle TOP	circleTop	radiusx/y, centerx/y, width	Circles, rings, ellipses.
Rectangle TOP	rectangleTop	sizex/y, centerx/y, softness	Rectangles with optional softness.
GLSL TOP	glslTop	dat (points to shader DAT), resolutionw/h, outputformat, custom uniforms	Custom fragment shaders. Most powerful TOP for custom visuals.
GLSL Multi TOP	glslmultiTop	dat, numinputs, numoutputs, numcomputepasses	Multi-pass GLSL with compute shaders. Advanced.
Render TOP	renderTop	camera, geometry, lights, resolutionw/h	Renders 3D scenes (SOPs + MATs + Camera/Light COMPs).

Filters (modify a single input)

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Level TOP	levelTop	opacity, brightness1/2, gamma1/2, contrast, invert, blacklevel/whitelevel	Brightness, contrast, gamma, levels. Essential color correction.
Blur TOP	blurTop	sizex/y, type (0=Gaussian, 1=Box, 2=Bartlett)	Gaussian/box blur.
Transform TOP	transformTop	tx/ty, sx/sy, rz, pivotx/y, extend (0=Hold, 1=Zero, 2=Repeat, 3=Mirror)	Translate, scale, rotate textures.
HSV Adjust TOP	hsvadjustTop	hueoffset, saturationmult, valuemult	HSV color adjustments.
Lookup TOP	lookupTop	(input: texture + lookup table)	Color remapping via lookup table texture.
Edge TOP	edgeTop	type (0=Sobel, 1=Frei-Chen)	Edge detection.
Displace TOP	displaceTop	scalex/y	Pixel displacement using a second input as displacement map.
Flip TOP	flipTop	flipx, flipy, flop (diagonal)	Mirror/flip textures.
Crop TOP	cropTop	cropleft/right/top/bottom	Crop region of texture.
Resolution TOP	resolutionTop	resolutionw/h, outputresolution	Resize textures.
Null TOP	nullTop	(none significant)	Pass-through. Use for organization, referencing, feedback delay.
Cache TOP	cacheTop	length, step	Store N frames of history. Useful for trails, time effects.

Compositors (combine multiple inputs)

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Composite TOP	compositeTop	operand (0-31: Over, Add, Multiply, Screen, etc.)	Blend two textures with standard compositing modes.
Over TOP	overTop	(simple alpha compositing)	Layer with alpha. Simpler than Composite.
Add TOP	addTop	(additive blend)	Additive blending. Great for glow, light effects.
Multiply TOP	multiplyTop	(multiplicative blend)	Multiply blend. Good for masking, darkening.
Switch TOP	switchTop	index (0-based)	Switch between multiple inputs by index.
Cross TOP	crossTop	cross (0.0-1.0)	Crossfade between two inputs.

I/O (input/output)

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Movie File In TOP	moviefileinTop	file, speed, trim, index	Load video files, image sequences.
Movie File Out TOP	moviefileoutTop	file, type (codec), record (toggle)	Record/export video files.
NDI In TOP	ndiinTop	sourcename	Receive NDI video streams.
NDI Out TOP	ndioutTop	sourcename	Send NDI video streams.
Syphon Spout In/Out TOP	syphonspoutinTop / syphonspoutoutTop	servername	Inter-app texture sharing.
Video Device In TOP	videodeviceinTop	device	Webcam/capture card input.
Feedback TOP	feedbackTop	top (path to the TOP to feed back)	One-frame delay feedback. Essential for recursive effects.

Converters

Operator	Type Name	Direction	Use
CHOP to TOP	choptopTop	CHOP -> TOP	Visualize channel data as texture (waveform, spectrum display).
TOP to CHOP	topchopChop	TOP -> CHOP	Sample texture pixels as channel data.

CHOPs — Channel Operators (Green)

Time-varying numeric data: audio, animation curves, sensor data, control signals.

Generators

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Constant CHOP	constantChop	name0/value0, name1/value1...	Static named channels. Control panel for parameters.
LFO CHOP	lfoChop	frequency, type (0=Sin, 1=Tri, 2=Square, 3=Ramp, 4=Pulse), amp, offset, phase	Low frequency oscillator. Animation driver.
Noise CHOP	noiseChop	type, roughness, period, amp, seed, channels	Smooth random motion. Organic animation.
Pattern CHOP	patternChop	type (0=Sine, 1=Triangle, ...), length, cycles	Generate waveform patterns.
Timer CHOP	timerChop	length, play, cue, cycles	Countdown/count-up timer with cue points.
Count CHOP	countChop	threshold, limittype, limitmin/max	Event counter with wrapping/clamping.

Audio

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Audio File In CHOP	audiofileinChop	file, volume, play, speed, trim	Play audio files.
Audio Device In CHOP	audiodeviceinChop	device, channels	Live microphone/line input.
Audio Spectrum CHOP	audiospectrumChop	size (FFT size), outputformat (0=Power, 1=Magnitude)	FFT frequency analysis.
Audio Band EQ CHOP	audiobandeqChop	bands, gaindb per band	Frequency band isolation.
Audio Device Out CHOP	audiodeviceoutChop	device	Audio playback output.

Math/Logic

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Math CHOP	mathChop	preoff, gain, postoff, chanop (0=Off, 1=Add, 2=Subtract, 3=Multiply...)	Math operations on channels. The Swiss army knife.
Logic CHOP	logicChop	preop (0=Off, 1=AND, 2=OR, 3=XOR, 4=NAND), convert	Boolean logic on channels.
Filter CHOP	filterChop	type (0=Low Pass, 1=Band Pass, 2=High Pass, 3=Notch), cutofffreq, filterwidth	Smooth, dampen, filter signals.
Lag CHOP	lagChop	lag1/2, overshoot1/2	Smooth transitions with overshoot.
Limit CHOP	limitChop	type (0=Clamp, 1=Loop, 2=ZigZag), min/max	Clamp or wrap channel values.
Speed CHOP	speedChop	(none significant)	Integrate values (velocity to position, acceleration to velocity).
Trigger CHOP	triggerChop	attack, peak, decay, sustain, release	ADSR envelope from trigger events.
Select CHOP	selectChop	chop (path), channames	Reference channels from another CHOP.
Merge CHOP	mergeChop	align (0=Extend, 1=Trim to First, 2=Trim to Shortest)	Combine channels from multiple CHOPs.
Null CHOP	nullChop	(none significant)	Pass-through for organization and referencing.

Input Devices

Operator	Type Name	Use
Mouse In CHOP	mouseinChop	Mouse position, buttons, wheel.
Keyboard In CHOP	keyboardinChop	Keyboard key states.
MIDI In CHOP	midiinChop	MIDI note/CC input.
OSC In CHOP	oscinChop	OSC message input (network).

SOPs — Surface Operators (Blue)

3D geometry: points, polygons, NURBS, meshes.

Generators

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Grid SOP	gridSop	rows, cols, sizex/y, type (0=Polygon, 1=Mesh, 2=NURBS)	Flat grid mesh. Foundation for displacement, instancing.
Sphere SOP	sphereSop	type, rows, cols, radius	Sphere geometry.
Box SOP	boxSop	sizex/y/z	Box geometry.
Torus SOP	torusSop	radiusx/y, rows, cols	Donut shape.
Circle SOP	circleSop	type, radius, divs	Circle/ring geometry.
Line SOP	lineSop	dist, points	Line segments.
Text SOP	textSop	text, fontsizex, fontfile, extrude	3D text geometry.

Modifiers

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Transform SOP	transformSop	tx/ty/tz, rx/ry/rz, sx/sy/sz	Transform geometry (translate, rotate, scale).
Noise SOP	noiseSop	type, amp, period, roughness	Deform geometry with noise.
Sort SOP	sortSop	ptsort, primsort	Reorder points/primitives.
Facet SOP	facetSop	unique, consolidate, computenormals	Normals, consolidation, unique points.
Merge SOP	mergeSop	(none significant)	Combine multiple geometry inputs.
Null SOP	nullSop	(none significant)	Pass-through.

DATs — Data Operators (White)

Text, tables, scripts, network data.

Core

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Table DAT	tableDat	(edit content directly)	Spreadsheet-like data tables.
Text DAT	textDat	(edit content directly)	Arbitrary text content. Shader code, configs, scripts.
Script DAT	scriptDat	language (0=Python, 1=C++)	Custom callbacks and DAT processing.
CHOP Execute DAT	chopexecDat	chop (path to watch), callbacks	Trigger Python on CHOP value changes.
DAT Execute DAT	datexecDat	dat (path to watch)	Trigger Python on DAT content changes.
Panel Execute DAT	panelexecDat	panel	Trigger Python on UI panel events.

I/O

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Web DAT	webDat	url, fetchmethod (0=GET, 1=POST)	HTTP requests. API integration.
TCP/IP DAT	tcpipDat	address, port, mode	TCP networking.
OSC In DAT	oscinDat	port	Receive OSC as text messages.
Serial DAT	serialDat	port, baudrate	Serial port communication (Arduino, etc.).
File In DAT	fileinDat	file	Read text files.
File Out DAT	fileoutDat	file, write	Write text files.

Conversions

Operator	Type Name	Direction	Use
DAT to CHOP	dattochopChop	DAT -> CHOP	Convert table data to channels.
CHOP to DAT	choptodatDat	CHOP -> DAT	Convert channel data to table rows.
SOP to DAT	soptodatDat	SOP -> DAT	Extract geometry data as table.

MATs — Material Operators (Yellow)

Materials for 3D rendering in Render TOP / Geometry COMP.

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Phong MAT	phongMat	diff_colorr/g/b, spec_colorr/g/b, shininess, colormap, normalmap	Classic Phong shading. Simple, fast.
PBR MAT	pbrMat	basecolorr/g/b, metallic, roughness, normalmap, emitcolorr/g/b	Physically-based rendering. Realistic materials.
GLSL MAT	glslMat	dat (shader DAT), custom uniforms	Custom vertex + fragment shaders for 3D.
Constant MAT	constMat	colorr/g/b, colormap	Flat unlit color/texture. No shading.
Point Sprite MAT	pointspriteMat	colormap, scale	Render points as camera-facing sprites. Great for particles.
Wireframe MAT	wireframeMat	colorr/g/b, width	Wireframe rendering.
Depth MAT	depthMat	near, far	Render depth buffer as grayscale.

COMPs — Component Operators (Gray)

Containers, 3D scene elements, UI components.

3D Scene

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Geometry COMP	geometryComp	material (path), instancechop (path), instancing (toggle)	Renders geometry with material. Instancing host.
Camera COMP	cameraComp	tx/ty/tz, rx/ry/rz, fov, near/far	Camera for Render TOP.
Light COMP	lightComp	lighttype (0=Point, 1=Directional, 2=Spot, 3=Cone), dimmer, colorr/g/b	Lighting for 3D scenes.
Ambient Light COMP	ambientlightComp	dimmer, colorr/g/b	Ambient lighting.
Environment Light COMP	envlightComp	envmap	Image-based lighting (IBL).

Containers

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Container COMP	containerComp	w, h, bgcolor1/2/3	UI container. Holds other COMPs for panel layouts.
Base COMP	baseComp	(none significant)	Generic container. Networks-inside-networks.
Replicator COMP	replicatorComp	template, operatorsdat	Clone a template operator N times from a table.

Utilities

Operator	Type Name	Key Parameters	Use
Window COMP	windowComp	winw/h, winoffsetx/y, monitor, borders	Output window for display/projection.
Select COMP	selectComp	rowcol, panel	Select and display content from elsewhere.
Engine COMP	engineComp	tox, externaltox	Load external .tox components. Sub-process isolation.

Cross-Family Converter Summary

From	To	Operator	Type Name
CHOP	TOP	CHOP to TOP	choptopTop
TOP	CHOP	TOP to CHOP	topchopChop
DAT	CHOP	DAT to CHOP	dattochopChop
CHOP	DAT	CHOP to DAT	choptodatDat
SOP	CHOP	SOP to CHOP	soptochopChop
CHOP	SOP	CHOP to SOP	choptosopSop
SOP	DAT	SOP to DAT	soptodatDat
DAT	SOP	DAT to SOP	dattosopSop
SOP	TOP	(use Render TOP + Geometry COMP)	—
TOP	SOP	TOP to SOP	toptosopSop