Nodes and types

Nodes are grouped into categories:

inputs, operators, constructors, math, trig, vector, derivative, interpolation, color, blend, uv, procedural, random, oscillators, conditional, filter.

A few worth knowing:

• Switch, under conditional, picks one of up to four inputs by index, starting at 0.
• Filters blur, sharpen, find edges and more; see Filters.

The picker also has:

• value nodes (float, vec2, vec3, vec4, color, bool, uint) and the output node;
• texture nodes for images, videos and the webcam;
• Repeat and Feedback, to loop or remember the last frame; see Loops and feedback;
• Named output, to give a shader extra outputs; see Named outputs;
• presets, ready-made effects;
• frames, to group nodes.

Types

Every input and output has a type: float, vec2, vec3, vec4, color, uint, bool or texture. Some accept any.

You can only connect compatible types, and the editor tells you when a wire isn't allowed. Good to know:

• A single number fills every part of a vector, so a float connects to a vec3.
• color works wherever a vec3 or vec4 does.
• Dragging from .x, .r and similar handles gives you a single float.
• A texture gives you a vec4 colour, and its uv input takes a vec2.

floatvec2vec3vec4coloruintbooltexture

float

color

#f472b6

UV

vec2

x

y

Cross

a

b

vec3

x

y

z

Checker

uv

float

Oscillator: Sine

t

float

floatvec3

colorvec3

xfloat

colorvec2

Port values

An input with no wire shows a control for its type, so you rarely need a value node for a constant:

• a number you can type, or drag the port's label to scrub;
• x, y, z and w fields for vectors;
• a swatch for colours, and a switch for bool.

Wiring the port hides the control. The value is kept, and comes back if you remove the wire. Double-click the label to reset it to its default.

Ports that take a position, like a texture's uv, Checker's uv or a noise's position, read the screen uv while unwired and show a muted uv hint, so you don't need a UV node in front of them. The same goes for every preset's uv.

Drag a wire out of an unwired port and drop it on empty canvas to create what it reads: an Input node with its value, or a UV node for a position, already wired.