Embody - MCP Server for TouchDesigner

Embody

create at the speed of thought.

embody.tools · Documentation · Manifesto · Changelog

Embot — he hops through your network while Envoy builds

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Embody puts your ideas on screen as fast as you can describe them. Operators, connections, parameters, the works. Want to try a different direction? Spin up a new approach in seconds. Compare attempts side by side. Branch off the one that works. The tool keeps up with you, instead of the other way around.

Four Tools, One Idea

[Envoy](https://dylanroscover.github.io/Embody/envoy/) — *forward velocity.* An embedded MCP server lets Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, and GitHub Copilot (via VS Code) talk directly to your live TouchDesigner session. Create operators, wire them up, set parameters, write extensions, debug errors — by saying what you want. No copy-pasting code. No describing your network in chat. Idea → operators in seconds.

Embody — *lateral velocity.* Tag any operator and Embody externalizes it to files on disk that mirror your network hierarchy. Try a new direction, branch off a good one, restore the state from yesterday — all in seconds. Your externalized files are the source of truth, so every project opens already in flow.

Convoy — *outward velocity.* Convoy-enabled Embody nodes on a trusted LAN discover, inspect, and control each other — one AI session relaying builds, test runs, saves, screenshots, files, and restarts to every machine in the room. A small per-user background app keeps each computer reachable even while TouchDesigner is closed, so a closed project can be started remotely. Convoy guide

[TDXN](https://dylanroscover.github.io/Embody/tdxn/) — *the substrate that makes it all possible.* TouchDesigner networks exported as human-readable YAML. The format is what lets your AI agent understand what's on the screen, what lets you diff one attempt against another, and what lets a network reconstruct itself from text on the next project open. TDXN is what makes the rest of this possible.

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Quick Start

Requirements: TouchDesigner 2025.33230 or later (Windows / macOS). No Python setup needed — Embody builds a per-project Python environment (.venv) matched to TouchDesigner's own interpreter, and your own packages can live in it too. No special folder structure either: Embody works in any project folder, and if you happen to use git, every change is also a clean diff for free.

1. Install

Download the Embody .tox from /release and drag it into your TouchDesigner project. The [Setup Wizard](https://dylanroscover.github.io/Embody/embody/setup-wizard/) opens and walks you through the choices that matter — how much autonomy Embody gets, what to externalize, whether to enable the AI assistant (Envoy) and for which tool, permissions, whether to join a trusted-LAN Convoy, and where config files live. Nothing changes until the final click, and you can re-run it anytime via the Setup Wizard pulse on the Embody COMP.

Updating Embody: Embody updates itself — pulse Check for Update on the About page (or set Auto-Update to check at startup), and a verified release is downloaded, backed up against, and swapped in place. Your settings and tracked externalizations live on disk and survive the update untouched. See the auto-update guide. Manual alternative: delete the old Embody COMP and drag the new .tox in its place — the new version picks up your on-disk state automatically, no re-scan, no files rewritten.

Provisioning a machine with no one at it (a render node, a media server)? The bootstrap installs Embody into a .toe offline with TouchDesigner's own tools, in one line.

2. Tag and Work

1. Tag operators — hover any COMP or DAT and press lctrl twice to open the tagger (pick a strategy for a COMP, a file format for a DAT)
2. Work normally — press ctrl + shift + u to update all externalizations, or ctrl + alt + u to update only the current COMP. Externalized files are written on save; on open, the .toe stays authoritative by default (Export-on-Save), while Roundtrip mode also reconstructs TDXN-strategy COMPs from disk

Tip: Externalization is opt-in — nothing is written to disk until you tag it. To capture your AI assistant's work automatically, set Auto-Externalize New Ops (Envoy parameter page) and everything it creates through Envoy is tagged and externalized as it's built.

For supported formats, folder configuration, duplicate handling, Manager UI, and more — see the Embody docs.

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Envoy MCP Server

Embody includes Envoy, an embedded MCP server that gives AI coding assistants direct access to your live TouchDesigner session.

Setup

1. Pick an AI assistant in the [Setup Wizard](https://dylanroscover.github.io/Embody/embody/setup-wizard/) — it opens on first install, or re-run it anytime (the Setup Wizard pulse on the Embody COMP). Prefer parameters? Toggling Envoy Enable (Envoyenable) does the same thing with your current settings
2. Server starts on 127.0.0.1:9870 (configurable via Envoyport; if the port is taken by another instance, Envoy scans forward automatically)
3. Auto-configuration — Envoy writes a .mcp.json (STDIO bridge, so tools are available even before TD is running) at your AI project root. By default that's the git repo root; the wizard's config-location step — or the Aiprojectroot parameter — can point it at the .toe folder or a custom path instead. Projects without a git repo still get config generated in the .toe folder
4. Connect — open a Claude Code session (or restart your IDE) at that root — it picks up .mcp.json automatically

The generated config runs Envoy's bridged STDIO transport (recommended — it can launch and restart TD for you). If you'd rather wire a client by hand, the direct HTTP transport works whenever TD is running:

{

"mcpServers": { "envoy": { "type": "http", "url": "http://127.0.0.1:9870/mcp" } } }

Tools at a Glance

...and 56 more. See the full tools reference.

When Envoy starts, it always generates an AGENTS.md file in your project root with TD development patterns and project-specific guidance. It also writes a client-specific config for whichever assistant you select in the Aiclient parameter (CLAUDE.md + .claude/ for Claude Code, opencode.json + .claude/ for OpenCode, Cursor/Windsurf rules, Copilot instructions, GEMINI.md for Gemini; Codex and OpenCode read AGENTS.md directly). For OpenCode and local-model setups, see the Local Models & Open Clients guide.

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TDXN Network Format

TDXN (TouchDesigner eXternal Network) is the file format that makes the rest of Embody possible. It exports an entire operator network — operators, connections, parameters, layout, annotations, DAT content — as a single human-readable YAML file. Your AI agent can read it. You can read it. Any text tool can diff it. The network can rebuild itself from it.

This is the substrate. Every other capability — AI-driven building, version control, automatic restoration — builds on top of it.

• Entire project: ctrl + shift + e
• Current COMP: ctrl + alt + e
• Via Envoy: export_network / import_network MCP tools

See the full TDXN specification for format details, import process, and round-trip guarantees.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

| ctrl + shift + c | Copy the select