Some LOPs operators need heavier processing — embeddings, OCR, vision models, music generation. SideCar runs those workloads in a separate Python process so they do not block TouchDesigner.

You do not need to set up SideCar before using LOPs. It activates when you use an operator that requires it.

How It Works

Operator With SideCar ⤢ expand

EnsureSidecarstart / healthHTTP resultupdate

■ tool

Feature Operator

OCR, Florence, Search RAG

▲ process

SideCar

system manager

◇ external

Sidecar Server

separate Python process

● data

Results

DAT / TOP / audio

When an operator needs a service, it asks SideCar for it. If the service is already running, the operator uses it immediately. If not, SideCar exports the server files, creates the environment, starts the process, and dispatches queued work once the service is healthy.

Operators That Use SideCar

• Search RAG — embedding_sidecar for vector indexing and search.
• Florence and OCR — vision sidecar.
• ACE-Step — music generation.

Speech operators may also use local worker processes depending on provider — check the individual operator pages for STT, TTS, and Voice Activity.

Typical Flow

In most cases you interact with SideCar indirectly:

1. Place the operator you need (e.g. Search RAG, Florence).
2. Configure its provider, model, or task settings.
3. Pulse its process / index / generate button.
4. The operator and SideCar handle service startup automatically.
5. Check the operator’s status and logs if the service does not come up.

Manual Management

Open the Settings UI and go to the SideCar tab when you need to troubleshoot or manage services directly. From here you can export service files, check dependencies, start or stop services, change ports, and inspect health tables.

CAUTION Separate environments

SideCar services run in isolated environments. Installing a package in the shared LOPs venv does not install it in a SideCar service, and vice versa.

Troubleshooting

• Service never connects — check if the sidecar process is starting and whether its port is free.
• Dependency install fails — check SideCar logs and confirm UV is available.
• Model fails to load — check GPU/VRAM requirements on the specific operator’s page.
• Embeddings fail — verify the embedding_sidecar is healthy and the embedding provider is configured.