Nodes and connections

A node is one step of a workflow: it does one job, such as writing a script, generating an image or merging a video with its audio. A connection is the line that carries the result of one node into an input of another node. Every workflow in Nodaro is built from these two parts, and the kinds of inputs and outputs decide which nodes can connect.

How a node works

A node receives data through its inputs on the left edge, does its job, and passes its result through its outputs on the right edge. Each input has a name, a colour and an icon.

• The header shows the node's label. On Nodaro Cloud it also shows the node's price in credits, and badges such as x5 when a list makes the node run five times.
• The body shows the node's main content: a prompt, a picker's choice, or the latest result.
• The strip under the node appears when you point at the node or select it. It holds the main settings, such as the model, and the Run button.

A node that makes something new, such as Generate Image, runs a model and costs credits. Other nodes only hold or reshape data, such as Text, List or the pickers, and are free. The node reference documents every node.

Kinds of inputs and outputs

The colour and the icon of an input or an output show the kind of data it carries. A connection is allowed only between an output and an input of a matching kind.

Related kinds share a colour family, and some inputs have their own shade so that you can tell them apart on one node. For example, Generate Video has a pink Start Frame, a teal End Frame and violet Image Refs. When in doubt, read the name of the input.

• An output can feed any number of inputs. One Text node can give the same prompt to ten image nodes.
• Some inputs take several connections. References on Generate Image takes several images. On these inputs the order matters: most models treat the first reference as the most important.
• Some inputs are optional. A node runs with only the inputs it needs, for example Generate Video without an end frame.

Connect two nodes

• Drag from an output to an input. While you drag, the inputs that accept the connection light up.
• Drop the connection on empty canvas. The node picker opens with only the nodes that can connect there. The node you choose is connected for you.
• Add a node from a selected node. Select a node and press Tab. With Auto Connect on in the node picker, a small dialog lets you name the new node and choose how it connects, or choose Don't connect (just add).
• Move a connection. Drag the end of a connection to another input.
• Delete a connection. Click it and press Delete, or click the Delete connection button that appears on it.

Which connections are allowed

• The kinds must match. The editor refuses a connection that does not fit, for example a Character Asset node into a Prompt input. The line flashes and no connection is made.
• No loops. A connection can never lead back to a node that comes before it. The editor refuses a connection that would close a loop, including a connection from a node to itself.
• The model decides some inputs. When the model you chose does not use an input, the input is dimmed and reads "not used by current model". Anything connected to it is ignored at run time.
• Some inputs have a maximum. When an input has more connections than the model accepts, the extra ones are marked "Past model's max — won't be used by the current model". Reorder them, or choose another model.
• Media inputs need real media. When a node receives something that is not a file of the right kind, for example text in a video input, the run is refused before any credits are spent. The message names the node and the value it received.

Manage the connections of an input

Click an input to open its connection menu. The menu shows Nothing connected, the number of connections, or the number out of the model's maximum.

• Focus centers the canvas on a connected node, and Disconnect removes that one connection.
• On inputs where the order matters, drag the rows to change the order. The first row is the main input.
• Optional lists the nodes on the canvas that could connect here. Click Connect to connect one.
• Add opens the node picker with only the nodes that fit, and Disconnect all removes every connection.

Outputs have the same menu: click an output to see which nodes use it, and to connect it to more nodes.

Connection modes

Most outputs carry one result. Some carry several: a List, a Split Text, or a node you ran several times. The connection mode decides what passes through the connection.

Change the mode. Click a connection to select it, then click the small arrow button on it. The Output menu lists the four modes. For Item, type the position in the box beside it.

Choose which items pass. With Each or Bundle, the menu adds two tabs:

• Range has three fields, From, To and Step. For example, From 2 and To last skip the first item, and Step 2 passes every other item.
• List takes a short expression:

An expression that the editor cannot read turns red. The connection then passes every item, so a typing mistake never stops the workflow.

Read the label. A connection in Selected mode usually has no label. In another mode, a label on the connection names the mode, such as each or bundle, and a second label shows the range, such as 2..last.

Watch the credits. Each multiplies the cost of the next node by the number of items. When five items reach a node that costs 4 credits, that node costs 20 credits for the run. The Run button of the node shows the total before you run it.

Tips

• Start simple. Keep every connection in Selected mode until you really have a list to process.
• Change one thing at a time. When a connection does not behave as you expect, change one setting, run the node, and look at the result.
• Match the mode to the next node. A node that transforms one thing wants Each. A node that combines many things wants Bundle. A single choice wants Item.
• Use Item for repeatable picks. 1 or last keeps working when a new run changes how many results there are.
• Share one selection. When several nodes need the same subset of a list, use a Selector node instead of setting the same range on every connection.