{"slug": "touchdesigner", "name": "TouchDesigner", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 6, "warners": 0, "score": 4.138, "rising": 1.35, "first": "2026-01-27", "latest": "2026-09-13", "why": "TouchDesigner helped me bridge tech and interactives in the best way", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 1, "compare": 1, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "TouchDesigner helped me bridge tech and interactives in the best way", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://derivative.ca", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["TouchDesigner"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 794988576, "item_id": 49686786, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49686786", "by": "mickeyvanolst", "date": "2026-09-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Think of it as a happy marriage between the interface of TouchDesigner", "excerpt": "I've been working on a collection of native AI/ML operators for TouchDesigner on macOS. Think of it as a happy marriage between the interface of TouchDesigner but with some of the features you know from ComfyUI. https://www.patreon.com/MickeyvanOlst/posts/meet-aml-macos-167645742 Typically TD for the Mac has always been a bit underserved, by leaning into some of the frameworks that exclusively exist on macOS I'm hopi", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"}, {"id": 791477696, "item_id": 49467356, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49467356", "by": "jareklupinski", "date": "2026-08-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "TouchDesigner helped me bridge tech and interactives in the best way", "excerpt": "> I'd seen that effect a bajillion times without really looking too hard at it. It's just what television does. But during one of my infamous 2am can\u2019t-sleep iPhone research sessions, I learned it actually has a name: a squeezeback. reminded me why i love hanging out with media folks: TouchDesigner helped me bridge tech and interactives in the best way, letting them tell me exactly whats going on in their head using ", "context": "", "use_case": "interactive media design", "switched_from": "", "story": "The broadcast squeezeback, rebuilt with CSS Grid and WebVTT"}, {"id": 775542610, "item_id": 48471413, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48471413", "by": "geokon", "date": "2026-06-09", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "no written programming language seems to hit the same level of productivity.", "excerpt": "Hopefully people see this comment b/c mine was a bad/incorrect summary :) I real liked the orgmode workflow b/c the code was self documenting in a sense. I had a very similar workflow for many years (though I've since stopped) But I do remember that in the leiningen days when I was first learning Clojure, the idea of tangling and attaching my own fork was just too intimidating and confusing. With the deps.edn workflo", "context": "", "use_case": "visual programming", "switched_from": "", "story": "Thi.ng \u2013 open-source building blocks for computational design and art"}, {"id": 748639712, "item_id": 46789982, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46789982", "by": "vesterde", "date": "2026-01-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "bring more TouchDesigner concepts into it", "excerpt": "Hah this is the 3rd fun app like this I've seen lately. I really like yours! I also built one! In mine you can compose effects using a graph, I've gotten carried away and now I keep wanting to bring more TouchDesigner concepts into it. It's far off, but so much fun! The best feedback on these kinds of apps is if you put it in camera mode and on a TV, and let a kid dance around in front of it. https://vester.si/motion", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": null}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["interactive media design", "visual texture generation", "visual programming"], "compared": [{"slug": "comfyui", "name": "ComfyUI", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49686380", "title": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49466902", "title": "The broadcast squeezeback, rebuilt with CSS Grid and WebVTT", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48939524", "title": "$100 AI Music Video: Claude Fable 5 vs. GPT-5.6 Sol", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48437743", "title": "Thi.ng \u2013 open-source building blocks for computational design and art", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47700460", "title": "Ask HN: What are you building that's not AI related?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46781090", "title": "item 46781090", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"compare": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 794988576, "item_id": 49686786, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49686786", "by": "mickeyvanolst", "date": "2026-09-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Think of it as a happy marriage between the interface of TouchDesigner", "excerpt": "I've been working on a collection of native AI/ML operators for TouchDesigner on macOS. Think of it as a happy marriage between the interface of TouchDesigner but with some of the features you know from ComfyUI. https://www.patreon.com/MickeyvanOlst/posts/meet-aml-macos-167645742 Typically TD for the Mac has always been a bit underserved, by leaning into some of the frameworks that exclusively exist on macOS I'm hopi", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"}, {"id": 791477696, "item_id": 49467356, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49467356", "by": "jareklupinski", "date": "2026-08-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "TouchDesigner helped me bridge tech and interactives in the best way", "excerpt": "> I'd seen that effect a bajillion times without really looking too hard at it. It's just what television does. But during one of my infamous 2am can\u2019t-sleep iPhone research sessions, I learned it actually has a name: a squeezeback. reminded me why i love hanging out with media folks: TouchDesigner helped me bridge tech and interactives in the best way, letting them tell me exactly whats going on in their head using ", "context": "", "use_case": "interactive media design", "switched_from": "", "story": "The broadcast squeezeback, rebuilt with CSS Grid and WebVTT"}, {"id": 783087008, "item_id": 48942938, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48942938", "by": "xfeeefeee", "date": "2026-07-16", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "created in TouchDesigner", "excerpt": "Not a fan really. There are certainly uses for AI, but this is lacking something. Personally I think it works best as a filter or applying a style or effect that is difficult otherwise, or generating fancy ambient or abstract textures etc. People constantly think the music video I created for Zingara's Unlock Your Keys [1] is AI, but it really is just real footage all around, except for a handful of lines / pulse tex", "context": "", "use_case": "Visual texture generation", "switched_from": "", "story": "$100 AI Music Video: Claude Fable 5 vs. GPT-5.6 Sol"}, {"id": 775542610, "item_id": 48471413, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48471413", "by": "geokon", "date": "2026-06-09", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "no written programming language seems to hit the same level of productivity.", "excerpt": "Hopefully people see this comment b/c mine was a bad/incorrect summary :) I real liked the orgmode workflow b/c the code was self documenting in a sense. I had a very similar workflow for many years (though I've since stopped) But I do remember that in the leiningen days when I was first learning Clojure, the idea of tangling and attaching my own fork was just too intimidating and confusing. With the deps.edn workflo", "context": "", "use_case": "visual programming", "switched_from": "", "story": "Thi.ng \u2013 open-source building blocks for computational design and art"}, {"id": 763285506, "item_id": 47705344, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47705344", "by": "joenot443", "date": "2026-04-09", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "aimed somewhere between the Resolume and TouchDesigner market", "excerpt": "I'm still working on Nottawa (https://nottawa.app) - free live audioreactive visuals for everyone. It's a node based workstation for generating live visuals using shaders, webcams, local files, and more. 100+ effects and source types. Nottawa's aimed somewhere between the Resolume and TouchDesigner market. VJs and musicians who are interested in live visuals but don't have the time or funds to dive into a pro setup. ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you building that's not AI related?"}, {"id": 748639712, "item_id": 46789982, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46789982", "by": "vesterde", "date": "2026-01-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "bring more TouchDesigner concepts into it", "excerpt": "Hah this is the 3rd fun app like this I've seen lately. I really like yours! I also built one! In mine you can compose effects using a graph, I've gotten carried away and now I keep wanting to bring more TouchDesigner concepts into it. It's far off, but so much fun! The best feedback on these kinds of apps is if you put it in camera mode and on a TV, and let a kid dance around in front of it. https://vester.si/motion", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": null}]}