{ "schemaVersion": "1.0", "description": "TouchDesigner experimental/beta build series tracking. Experimental builds precede stable releases and contain unreleased features, new operators, and Python API additions that may change before stable release.", "trackInfo": { "stable": "Annual numbered releases (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) — production ready", "experimental": "Build-numbered pre-releases with new features under active development. Not recommended for production use. Experimental builds use build numbers beyond the current stable maximum.", "buildNumbering": "TD build numbers are 5-digit integers (e.g. 68000). Experimental builds exceed the current stable maximum. Stable 2024 tops out near build 68000; experimental builds continue upward.", "releaseURL": "https://derivative.ca/download", "changelogURL": "https://docs.derivative.ca/Release_Notes" }, "currentExperimentalSeries": "2025.10000", "buildSeries": [ { "seriesId": "2025.10000", "label": "TouchDesigner 2025 Experimental — Vulkan Renderer GA", "buildRange": { "min": 90000, "max": null }, "basedOnStable": "2024", "releaseYear": 2025, "stabilityStatus": "experimental", "stabilityNotes": "Active experimental series. Vulkan renderer promoted from preview to default code path. Crashes possible with older GPU drivers. Recommended driver: NVIDIA 555+ / AMD Adrenalin 24.5+.", "featureFlags": { "vulkan_renderer_default": true, "vulkan_raytracing": true, "python_312": true, "tdAssets_streaming": true, "pop_gpu_solver": true, "web_gpu_top": false, "neural_render_mat": false }, "newFeatures": [ "Vulkan renderer is now the default renderer — OpenGL remains available via project preference", "Vulkan ray-tracing support via new Render TOP 'Ray Tracing' parameter (RTX cards required)", "Python upgraded from 3.11 to 3.12 — full match support, improved error messages, type parameter syntax", "TD Assets streaming: stream operator networks directly from a remote TD Assets server", "POP GPU Solver — new Point Operator that executes a GLSL compute shader per-particle on the GPU", "Render Pass TOP now supports Vulkan subpass input attachments for deferred shading", "Material SOP: new 'Displacement Map' parameter for geometry displacement in Vulkan", "Improved HDRI environment lighting through Environment Light COMP Vulkan path", "WebSocket DAT: binary frame support and improved reconnect backoff" ], "experimentalOperators": [ { "name": "POP GPU Solver", "family": "POP", "status": "new_experimental", "description": "Executes a GLSL compute shader per particle on the GPU. Inputs: particle state TOP, force field TOP. Output: updated particle state TOP.", "notes": "API surface subject to change before stable release. Parameters: Shader (GLSL DAT ref), Thread Group Size, Boundary Mode." }, { "name": "Ray Trace TOP", "family": "TOP", "status": "new_experimental", "description": "Hardware ray-tracing output for scene graphs. Requires Vulkan renderer and RTX-class GPU.", "notes": "Not yet available in stable. Will replace the legacy Render TOP Ray Tracing mode." } ], "breakingChangesVsStable": [ "Vulkan is now default — operators that rely on OpenGL-specific behavior (glsl_multi_top with OpenGL extensions) may need updating", "Python 3.12: removed distutils module (use setuptools), type alias syntax changes", "Several deprecated OpenGL TOP parameters removed: 'Legacy OpenGL' checkbox no longer present", "Script CHOP / Script TOP: cook() callback signature unchanged, but Python 3.12 walrus operator now fully supported", "Engine COMP: new minimum Python version requirement is 3.12 when using 2025 experimental" ], "pythonApiAdditions": [ { "class": "RenderTOP", "member": "rayTracing", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 90100, "description": "Boolean. Enable hardware ray tracing on this Render TOP (Vulkan + RTX required)." }, { "class": "OP", "method": "asyncCook", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 90200, "description": "asyncCook(waitFrames=0) -> None. Triggers an async cook on the operator, optionally waiting N frames before executing." }, { "class": "POPGPU", "member": "particleCount", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 90000, "description": "int. Current live particle count managed by the POP GPU Solver." }, { "class": "Project", "member": "rendererType", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 90000, "description": "str. Returns 'vulkan' or 'opengl' indicating the active renderer backend." } ], "featureAreas": ["rendering", "Python API", "operators", "networking"] }, { "seriesId": "2024.50000", "label": "TouchDesigner 2024 Experimental — Python 3.11 & Engine COMP Enhancements", "buildRange": { "min": 70000, "max": 89999 }, "basedOnStable": "2023", "releaseYear": 2024, "stabilityStatus": "graduated", "stabilityNotes": "This experimental series graduated to TouchDesigner 2024 stable. Build 68000 was the first stable 2024 release. Features documented here are now available in TD 2024 stable.", "featureFlags": { "python_311": true, "engine_comp_async": true, "touchengine_v2": true, "vulkan_renderer_preview": true, "pop_operators_stable": true, "glsl_multi_compute": true, "web_gpu_top": false }, "newFeatures": [ "Python 3.11 bundled — significant performance improvements (10-60% faster than 3.10)", "Engine COMP async cook mode — run sub-networks on a background thread", "TouchEngine v2 API: improved stability, new touchengine_chop / touchengine_top parameter parity", "Vulkan renderer preview (opt-in) — early access to hardware-accelerated Vulkan path", "POP (Point Operators) promoted from experimental to stable — all 90+ POP operators now fully documented", "GLSL Multi TOP compute shader pass — new 'Compute' output type alongside pixel shader passes", "NDI 5 SDK update — NDI In/Out TOP support for NDI HX3 compressed streams", "WebRTC DAT: improved offer/answer SDP negotiation, WHIP/WHEP server support" ], "experimentalOperators": [ { "name": "TouchEngine CHOP", "family": "CHOP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Run a .tox file as an isolated Engine COMP subprocess and read its CHOP outputs.", "notes": "Graduated to stable in TD 2024 build 68000." }, { "name": "TouchEngine TOP", "family": "TOP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Run a .tox file as an isolated Engine COMP subprocess and read its TOP outputs.", "notes": "Graduated to stable in TD 2024 build 68000." } ], "breakingChangesVsStable": [ "Python 3.11: match statement now fully enforced — ensure existing scripts do not use 'match' as a variable name", "Engine COMP async mode changes default cook ordering — scripts relying on synchronous sub-network execution may produce frame-delayed results", "touchengine_chop parameter 'Legacy Mode' removed in build 74000", "GLSL Multi TOP compute outputs require explicit 'layout(local_size_x = N)' qualifier — implicit size no longer accepted" ], "pythonApiAdditions": [ { "class": "EngineCOMP", "method": "asyncCookStart", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 70500, "description": "asyncCookStart() -> None. Initiates an asynchronous cook cycle on the Engine COMP's sub-network." }, { "class": "EngineCOMP", "method": "asyncCookWait", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 70500, "description": "asyncCookWait(timeout=1.0) -> bool. Blocks until async cook completes or timeout (seconds) expires. Returns True if cook finished." }, { "class": "App", "member": "pythonVersion", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 70000, "description": "str. Full Python version string bundled with this TD build, e.g. '3.11.4'." }, { "class": "WebRTCDAT", "method": "sendOffer", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 72000, "description": "sendOffer(sdp: str) -> None. Send a WebRTC SDP offer to the connected peer." } ], "featureAreas": ["Python API", "operators", "networking", "rendering"] }, { "seriesId": "2023.11000", "label": "TouchDesigner 2023 Experimental — POP System Preview & GLSL Upgrades", "buildRange": { "min": 55000, "max": 69999 }, "basedOnStable": "2022", "releaseYear": 2023, "stabilityStatus": "graduated", "stabilityNotes": "Graduated to TouchDesigner 2023 stable. POP operators were initially experimental in this series and graduated with stability improvements.", "featureFlags": { "pop_operators_preview": true, "glsl_450": true, "python_310": true, "nvidia_dlss_top": true, "nvlink_shared_memory": false, "vulkan_renderer_preview": false }, "newFeatures": [ "Point Operators (POP) system introduced as experimental — 90+ new operators for GPU-accelerated particle and geometry processing", "GLSL 4.50 support in GLSL TOP, GLSL Multi TOP, and GLSL MAT — enables compute shaders, ARB_bindless_texture, multi-draw indirect", "Python 3.10 bundled — structural pattern matching (match/case), parenthesised context managers", "NVIDIA DLSS TOP preview — AI-powered upscaling for real-time renders (RTX GPU required)", "Shared Memory In/Out COMP: new multi-process shared texture format with zero-copy transfer", "CHOP to POP operator: bridge CHOP channel data into POP attribute streams", "SOP to POP operator: convert SOP geometry point clouds into POP particle systems", "Geometry COMP: new 'Instance Transform' parameter for GPU-instancing via POP attribute streams" ], "experimentalOperators": [ { "name": "Point Generator POP", "family": "POP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Generate a field of points with position, normal, color, and custom attributes.", "notes": "Was 'Scatter POP' in early builds. Renamed before stable release." }, { "name": "NVIDIA DLSS TOP", "family": "TOP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "AI-upscaling using NVIDIA DLSS SDK. Input: render at lower resolution. Output: upscaled frame.", "notes": "Requires DLSS-capable RTX GPU. Graduated in TD 2023 build 60010." } ], "breakingChangesVsStable": [ "POP attribute naming convention changed mid-series: 'pos' renamed to 'P', 'col' renamed to 'Cd' (Houdini-style) in build 58000 — scripts written against early POP builds need updating", "GLSL 4.50 strict mode: implicit type promotions (int to float) no longer silently accepted in shader compilation", "Python 3.10: several deprecated aliases removed from collections module (use collections.abc instead of collections.Mapping)", "CHOP to POP: 'Channel Index' parameter renamed to 'Attribute Index' in build 57000" ], "pythonApiAdditions": [ { "class": "POPCOMP", "method": "getAttributeNames", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 55200, "description": "getAttributeNames() -> list[str]. Returns the list of per-point attribute names managed by this POP network." }, { "class": "POPCOMP", "method": "getParticleCount", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 55200, "description": "getParticleCount() -> int. Returns the current live particle count." }, { "class": "TOP", "method": "saveTIF", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 56000, "description": "saveTIF(path: str, depth: int = 16) -> None. Save this TOP's current frame as a TIFF file at the given bit depth." }, { "class": "GLSLTOP", "member": "glslVersion", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 55000, "description": "str. The GLSL version string used when compiling shaders for this operator, e.g. '450'." } ], "featureAreas": ["operators", "rendering", "Python API", "UI"] }, { "seriesId": "2022.32000", "label": "TouchDesigner 2022 Experimental — Engine COMP, USD & NDI 5", "buildRange": { "min": 40000, "max": 54999 }, "basedOnStable": "2021", "releaseYear": 2022, "stabilityStatus": "graduated", "stabilityNotes": "Graduated to TouchDesigner 2022 stable. Engine COMP and USD COMP were the headline features of this experimental series.", "featureFlags": { "engine_comp": true, "usd_comp": true, "ndi_5": true, "python_39": true, "replicator_comp_v2": true, "touchengine_v1": true }, "newFeatures": [ "Engine COMP introduced — run isolated sub-networks on background threads or separate processes", "USD COMP preview — Universal Scene Description (Pixar USD) scene import and traversal", "NDI 5 SDK — improved NDI In/Out TOP with multi-group support and lower latency", "Python 3.9 bundled — dictionary union operators (|), type hint improvements, zoneinfo module", "Replicator COMP v2: improved clone management, new 'Master is Template' parameter, Python callback API overhaul", "TouchEngine v1 preview — load .tox files as isolated processes (precursor to TouchEngine CHOP/TOP)", "WebRTC DAT: initial implementation for real-time peer-to-peer video streaming", "SSAO TOP: screen-space ambient occlusion for Render TOP post-processing" ], "experimentalOperators": [ { "name": "Engine COMP", "family": "COMP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Runs a child network in an isolated thread or process. Enables multi-threaded TD networks.", "notes": "Graduated to stable in TD 2022 build 40000. First available in experimental build 35000." }, { "name": "USD COMP", "family": "COMP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Import and traverse Pixar USD scene hierarchies within TouchDesigner.", "notes": "Graduated to stable in TD 2022 build 42000." }, { "name": "WebRTC DAT", "family": "DAT", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Peer-to-peer data and video streaming over WebRTC.", "notes": "Graduated to stable in TD 2022 build 41000." } ], "breakingChangesVsStable": [ "Engine COMP cook order: sub-network cooks after parent — scripts that relied on implicit synchronous ordering may need explicit dependencies", "Replicator COMP v2: onCloneStart / onCloneEnd callbacks replaced with onCreate / onDestroy — existing callbacks silently ignored (update required)", "USD COMP: initial USD path separator was '/' in early builds, changed to OS-native separator in build 42500", "Python 3.9: removed some deprecated functions from the 'cgi' module; use 'html.parser' instead" ], "pythonApiAdditions": [ { "class": "EngineCOMP", "member": "isRunning", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 40000, "description": "bool. True if the Engine COMP's isolated sub-network is currently executing a cook cycle." }, { "class": "EngineCOMP", "method": "restart", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 40000, "description": "restart() -> None. Terminates and restarts the Engine COMP's isolated execution context." }, { "class": "ReplicatorCOMP", "method": "getClones", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 41000, "description": "getClones() -> list[OP]. Returns a list of all currently active clone operator instances." }, { "class": "USDCOMP", "method": "getPrimPath", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 42000, "description": "getPrimPath(index: int) -> str. Returns the USD prim path at the given index in the scene hierarchy." } ], "featureAreas": ["operators", "networking", "Python API", "rendering"] }, { "seriesId": "2021.15000", "label": "TouchDesigner 2021 Experimental — Vulkan Preview, Body Track & ONNX", "buildRange": { "min": 28500, "max": 39999 }, "basedOnStable": "2020", "releaseYear": 2021, "stabilityStatus": "graduated", "stabilityNotes": "Graduated to TouchDesigner 2021 stable. Body Track CHOP and ONNX machine-learning pipeline were the major experimental additions.", "featureFlags": { "body_track_chop": true, "onnx_runtime": true, "vulkan_preview_v1": true, "python_38": true, "nvidia_flex_solver": true, "ndi_4": true, "kinect_azure": true }, "newFeatures": [ "Body Track CHOP — real-time full-body skeleton tracking using NVIDIA RTX Pose Estimation (33 joints)", "ONNX Runtime integration: Script TOP can run ONNX model inference with GPU acceleration", "Vulkan renderer very early preview (experimental flag, disabled by default) — testing GPU command buffer recording", "Python 3.8 bundled — walrus operator (:=), f-string = specifier for debugging, positional-only parameters", "NVIDIA Flex Solver COMP: position-based dynamics simulation with cloth, fluid, and rigid body support", "NDI 4 SDK update — NDI In/Out TOP with multi-resolution streams and alpha channel support", "Kinect Azure CHOP / TOP: Microsoft Azure Kinect DK depth sensor integration", "ZED 2 CHOP/TOP: Stereolabs ZED 2 stereo camera support with depth estimation" ], "experimentalOperators": [ { "name": "Body Track CHOP", "family": "CHOP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Real-time body skeleton tracking returning 33 joint positions and rotations per person (up to 4 people).", "notes": "Requires NVIDIA RTX GPU with CUDA 11+. Graduated to stable in TD 2021 build 29000." }, { "name": "Kinect Azure CHOP", "family": "CHOP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Microsoft Azure Kinect DK — depth, skeleton, and IMU data.", "notes": "Graduated in TD 2021 build 28800." }, { "name": "NVIDIA Flex Solver COMP", "family": "COMP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "GPU-accelerated position-based dynamics simulation.", "notes": "Graduated in TD 2021 build 30000." } ], "breakingChangesVsStable": [ "Body Track CHOP: channel naming changed from 'joint_N_*' to 'person_N/joint_name_*' format in build 29500 — existing scripts using the old format will break", "Python 3.8: finalized deprecation of implicit namespace package fallback — packages without __init__.py may fail to import in some configurations", "NVIDIA Flex: 'particle_count' parameter renamed to 'Max Particles' and moved from COMP to solver page", "Kinect Azure CHOP: body tracking mode previously default-on; now requires explicit 'Enable Body Track' parameter" ], "pythonApiAdditions": [ { "class": "CHOP", "method": "getBodyTrackSkeleton", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 28500, "description": "getBodyTrackSkeleton(personIndex: int = 0) -> dict. Returns a dict mapping joint names to (tx, ty, tz, rx, ry, rz) tuples for the specified tracked person." }, { "class": "KinectAzureCHOP", "method": "getDepthFrame", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 28800, "description": "getDepthFrame() -> numpy.ndarray. Returns the current depth frame as a 2D float32 numpy array (millimetres)." }, { "class": "TOP", "method": "saveEXR", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 29000, "description": "saveEXR(path: str, multilayer: bool = False) -> None. Save this TOP's current frame as an OpenEXR file." }, { "class": "App", "member": "cudaVersion", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 28500, "description": "str. The CUDA runtime version available to TouchDesigner, e.g. '11.4'." } ], "featureAreas": ["operators", "Python API", "rendering", "UI"] }, { "seriesId": "2020.20000", "label": "TouchDesigner 2020 Experimental — Bullet Physics & Instancing", "buildRange": { "min": 20000, "max": 28499 }, "basedOnStable": "2019", "releaseYear": 2020, "stabilityStatus": "graduated", "stabilityNotes": "Graduated to TouchDesigner 2020 stable. GPU instancing via Geometry COMP and the Bullet physics solver were the main experimental features.", "featureFlags": { "bullet_physics": true, "gpu_instancing_v2": true, "python_37_update": true, "glsl_440": true, "substance_top": true, "notch_top": true }, "newFeatures": [ "Bullet Solver COMP and Bullet Solver CHOP: rigid body and soft body physics simulation integrated into geometry networks", "GPU instancing v2: Geometry COMP 'Instance' parameter now accepts CHOP or SOP inputs directly for per-instance transforms, colors, and custom attributes", "GLSL 4.40 support — bindless textures (ARB_bindless_texture) available in GLSL TOP and GLSL MAT", "Substance TOP: Adobe Substance (.sbsar) material graph evaluation directly in TouchDesigner", "Notch TOP: integration with Notch real-time motion graphics renderer", "Python 3.7.7 patch — security and performance update within the 3.7 series", "Movie File In TOP: hardware-accelerated HEVC/H.265 decode on supported GPUs", "Video Device In TOP: NDI virtual device input support without NDI license" ], "experimentalOperators": [ { "name": "Bullet Solver COMP", "family": "COMP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Bullet physics world manager. Connects to Bullet Solver CHOP outputs for per-object transform data.", "notes": "Graduated in TD 2020 build 22000." }, { "name": "Substance TOP", "family": "TOP", "status": "promoted_to_stable", "description": "Evaluate an Adobe Substance .sbsar graph with parameter overrides, outputting PBR material maps.", "notes": "Graduated in TD 2020 build 24000. Requires separate Substance Engine license for commercial use." } ], "breakingChangesVsStable": [ "GPU instancing: 'Instance SOP' parameter replaced by 'Instance OP' accepting CHOP, SOP, or DAT — scripts constructing instanceSOPPath will silently do nothing", "Bullet Solver: simulation world units changed from metres to centimetres in build 22500 — scale all forces and masses by 0.01 if upgrading from early builds", "GLSL 4.40: strict precision qualifiers now enforced — shaders using 'varying' keyword will fail to compile", "Substance TOP: output slot order standardised (BaseColor=0, Normal=1, Roughness=2, Metallic=3) — may differ from early experimental builds" ], "pythonApiAdditions": [ { "class": "BulletSolverCHOP", "method": "addObject", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 20500, "description": "addObject(sop: SOP, mass: float = 1.0, restitution: float = 0.5) -> int. Adds a SOP geometry as a rigid body to the Bullet world. Returns the new object ID." }, { "class": "BulletSolverCHOP", "method": "setGravity", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 20500, "description": "setGravity(x: float, y: float, z: float) -> None. Set the world gravity vector for this Bullet solver." }, { "class": "GeometryCOMP", "member": "instanceCHOP", "type": "member", "addedInBuild": 20000, "description": "CHOP. The CHOP currently supplying per-instance transform data to this Geometry COMP." }, { "class": "TOP", "method": "saveHDR", "type": "method", "addedInBuild": 21000, "description": "saveHDR(path: str) -> None. Save this TOP's current frame as a Radiance HDR file." } ], "featureAreas": ["rendering", "operators", "Python API", "UI"] } ], "featureAreaIndex": { "rendering": [ "2025.10000", "2024.50000", "2023.11000", "2022.32000", "2021.15000", "2020.20000" ], "Python API": [ "2025.10000", "2024.50000", "2023.11000", "2022.32000", "2021.15000", "2020.20000" ], "operators": [ "2025.10000", "2024.50000", "2023.11000", "2022.32000", "2021.15000", "2020.20000" ], "networking": [ "2024.50000", "2022.32000" ], "UI": [ "2023.11000", "2021.15000", "2020.20000" ] } }