TDX Launcher Ultra by Function Store
FOR TOUCHDESIGNER

Mission control for
TouchDesigner projects.

TDXLU (TDX Launcher Ultra) is a desktop app for everything around your .toe files: control over running sessions, a palette with a favorites Toolbox, git and backup panels, media collection, a crash watchdog, and a companion TOX that drives a live session from outside. It also launches projects — with the build they were saved in, installed on demand.

Download TDX Launcher Ultra → Open the browser demo →
  • Free download
  • Windows & macOS
  • Self-updating
  • Browser demo — no install
TDXLU main window — Recent tab in gallery view
The Recent tab in gallery view — project previews play on hover.

Install it. It already knows your projects.

No setup files, no importing. The Recent tab merges TouchDesigner's own recent list with the launcher's history, so your projects are there on first open.

  1. Install — grab the installer for your platform below
  2. Take the tour — the first-run tour drives the app while it talks, then a short setup wizard covers theme, .toe file association, the companion TOX, and tray behavior. Both rerun anytime from Help
  3. Pick a project — select it to see the TD build it was saved with (read from the file itself, via Derivative's toeexpand)
  4. Missing that build? TDXLU offers the matching Derivative download and runs the installer for you
  5. Launch — or just double-click .toe files in your file manager once the association is set

The tabs

  • RecentMerged TD + launcher recents; version panel, tags, per-project README, media browser
  • CurrentTouchDesigner sessions running right now — including ones opened outside the launcher
  • TemplatesStarter .toe files, reorderable, with a default TD version for the whole tab
  • PaletteDerivative palette + custom folders, with a pinned favorites Toolbox on top; drag straight into TD
  • PatreonBrowse .tox components from creators you support and load one into a running session
Companion TOX

Drive the running session from the launcher

A small .tox that lives in your project and listens on a TCP bus. With it in place, the launcher can save the project remotely, capture thumbnails and preview clips, load components into the network editor, and consolidate external media — while TD keeps running. When the bus is down, actions fall back to Envoy's execute_python.

Bundled with the installer — one click in the setup wizard puts it in your palette.

What's in TDX Launcher Ultra.

Everything ships in the free download — the full list, not the highlights.

Launching

Find the project, get the build it needs, go.

⌁
Merged recentsTD's own recent list and the launcher's history in one place — nothing to import.
⚙
Build detectionReads the exact TD build a .toe was saved with, straight from the file.
⇩
Version installIf the required build isn't installed, offers the matching Derivative download and runs the installer.
▦
Gallery & list viewsIcon/hero grid by default — tiles with a preview clip play it on hover. Classic list one toggle away.
⧉
TemplatesStarter .toe files, reorderable, with a default TD version for the whole tab.
✦
.toe associationDouble-click a project in your file manager and it routes through the launcher.

Quick launch

A hotkey palette over everything — TD fullscreen included. Try it in the browser demo →

⌨
Summon anywhereOne global hotkey opens a small search box over whatever you're doing. Type a few letters, hit Enter.
⚡
Everything in one listProjects launch with the right build, running sessions focus, palette / Toolbox / Patreon components place into the live session, templates start new projects.
›
Commands> shows verb-first commands per session — Focus, Save, Snapshot, Relaunch, Kill. Destructive ones always ask for a second Enter.
§
Field filters/folder browses a palette folder, Toolbox category or your Patreon cache, grouped under headers; #tag filters by project tag — mixed freely with search words.
⠿
Drag outAny .tox row drags straight into a TouchDesigner network — the palette waits for the drop, then gets out of the way.

Phone Remote

Run the show from your pocket — FOH without leaving the floor. Try it in the browser demo →

▣
One-tap pairingTap 📱, scan a QR, done — LAN access flips on and a touch remote opens on your phone (same Wi-Fi). Add it to the home screen; the pairing survives restarts.
◉
Sessions as tabsEvery session — live or ended — is a tab: facts, heartbeat status, live perf readout, and Focus / Save / Snapshot / Record / Relaunch / Kill. Ended sessions relaunch with one tap.
✊
Hold-to-confirmKill and Relaunch arm on press-and-hold with a filling bar and a haptic buzz — release early to cancel. Nothing destructive fires from a stray tap.
⚙
Live parametersThe companion's exposed controls, with their parameter pages as tabs, pinned favourites, nudge steppers and search. Expose more COMPs from the phone via a lazy network-tree browser.
🔒
Client linkA second pairing code for clients and operators: only the controls you authored — no session actions, no launching, no browsing. Enforced by the server, not hidden in the page.
⏻
Yours to runStart, stop, change the port (rebinds live), or regenerate the pairing codes to cut off every shared link — all from Settings.

Projects & metadata

Everything the launcher knows lives next to the .toe — no database.

⑂
Project versionsName.2.toe increments, Backup/ saves and crash autosaves fold into one card. A versions drawer launches any copy, restores one as the head (the old head is preserved, never overwritten), or prunes to the recycle bin.
#
TagsHierarchical with / (e.g. show/live); filter and edit from the toolbar.
Per-project READMEShown and edited in-app — notes travel with the project.
▣
Project mediaAuto-scans a media folder beside the .toe; fullscreen browse, videos stream on hover.
⌗
Sidecar metadataOne {stem}.tdxlu.json per project — title, description, tags, hero image. Plain JSON, yours to edit.

Running sessions

The Current tab is a session inspector, not a launcher.

◉
Session discoveryFinds every running TD process — including projects opened outside the launcher. Shows version, PID, Envoy port, uptime.
⌖
Session controlFocus the TD window, reveal the .toe, relaunch with a different version, or kill the process.
♥
Heartbeat watchdogTray watchdog on TCP pulses from the companion; multi-project, SMTP alerts on stall or relaunch.
⌂
Tray & loginClose-to-tray, quit-after-launch, start at login (minimized to the tray) — all Settings toggles.

Companion actions

What the companion TOX unlocks on a selected running session.

✎
Save, snapshot, recordSave the .toe in place; capture a thumbnail or a preview clip (up to 30s) — the gallery picks them up automatically.
⇊
CollectScan for external media refs, copy them into the project, relink relative — dry-run checklist first, per-file opt-out, expression refs frozen to constant paths (or not, your call). Also works standalone inside TD, no launcher needed.
⊕
Load componentsSend a .tox into the network editor — from a local file, any URL, a GitHub release, or a package index.
⬡
Python envPackage installs go through uv into the project's .venv; Ensure env sets one up via TDPyEnvManager.
⟳
In-place utility updatesWhen a session runs an older companion, one click updates it live — parameter values survive the reload.
λ
Envoy fallbackDetects a project's .mcp.json, reports the Envoy port, and uses execute_python when the TCP bus is unavailable.

Palette & Toolbox

Your components, one drag from any network.

▤
Palette browserDocuments/Derivative/Palette plus any custom folders — drag a .tox straight into a TD network.
☆
ToolboxA pinned favorites shelf in categories you define. Lives in the launcher config, so it's the same set no matter which folders are scanned.
☁
Tools from anywherePin local paths, direct URLs, or owner/repo GitHub releases — ⟳ re-fetches, so a GitHub tool tracks its latest release. Package specs too.
↳
Load into sessionA target bar names the running session with the companion — send any .tox into its network editor without dragging.
⊳
Drop to pinDrop a .tox from Explorer or the palette tree onto the Toolbox — onto a category row to pin it there.

Git & backup

Side panels for keeping projects safe — versioned or copied.

⎇
Git panelChanges and history, diffs, stage/commit, branch, pull/push — GitHub PAT in Settings.
⇄
Backup panelProject folder ↔ USB or synced folder; include/exclude globs and a max file size; backup, restore, sync — no deletes, ever.
◍
Direct cloudConnect Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box: a one-time rclone download, sign in via your browser, then it's a backup destination.

Getting oriented

The app explains itself, then gets out of the way.

✧
First-run tourA spotlight walkthrough that drives the app as it talks — switching tabs, narrating what lives where. Replay from the header anytime.
◗
First-encounter tipsThe first time you open a tab or panel, a small non-blocking bubble explains it. Once each, ever.
⚑
Setup wizardTheme, view mode, .toe association, companion install, tray behavior — right after the tour, rerunnable from Help.
⟳
Self-updatingA quiet check at startup plus About → Check for updates; an available update offers Install & Relaunch.

Free. Download and launch.

Grab the installer for your platform. No account, no license key.

Want to look around first? The browser demo is the real TDXLU UI running on mock data — click through every tab, panel, and dialog. Nothing to install, nothing touches your machine.
Open the browser demo →
Windows

Installer

Signed updater builds as .msi / .exe — install, done. Windows 10 and up.

Download for Windows →
macOS

Disk image

A .dmg for Apple Silicon. Builds aren't notarized yet, so clear the quarantine flag once after copying to Applications:

xattr -cr "/Applications/TDX Launcher Ultra.app"
Launches and in-app updates are unaffected after that.

Download for macOS →

After that, it keeps itself current: installed copies check quietly at startup and offer Install & Relaunch when there's something new — you shouldn't need this page twice.

Launch something.

Install it and take the thirty-second tour — launching is just the front door. The sessions, the Toolbox, the git and backup panels, and the companion are why it stays in the tray.

Download TDX Launcher Ultra → Open the browser demo →