For digital artists, game designers, advertising creatives, and VFX professionals, the ability to rapidly prototype, customize, and extend generative AI workflows is a game-changer. Griptape Nodes offers a powerful, visual platform for building and sharing creative pipelines—but the real magic happens when you tap into its extensible node libraries. In this guide, we’ll walk through how you can simplify access to Griptape Nodes’ node libraries, and even create your own custom nodes using AI coding assistants like Cursor or Anthropic's Claude Code.
Why Node Libraries Matter for Creative Pros
Node libraries are the backbone of Griptape Nodes’ flexibility. They let you add new capabilities to your creative toolkit, whether you’re leveraging official Griptape nodes, community-contributed libraries, or nodes you author yourself. This means you can:
- Seamlessly integrate new AI models or creative effects.
- Share and reuse custom tools across projects or teams.
- Rapidly iterate on ideas without waiting for official updates.
Let’s dive into how you can get started, extend your workflow, and unlock the full potential of Griptape Nodes. Check out the video below for a complete walkthrough.
Step 1: Set Up Your Environment
Before you start building, make sure you have a clean working directory. If you’re using an AI coding assistant like Cursor, create a dedicated directory for your new node project. This keeps your resources organized and makes it easier for your AI assistant to generate and manage code.
Step 2: Clone the Griptape Nodes Library Template
Griptape provides a template repository that’s packed with resources for node development. Clone this repo to your working directory. Inside, you’ll find example nodes and a README with detailed guidance—perfect for both beginners and seasoned coders. The structure of this template mirrors what Griptape Nodes expects, so you can focus on creativity, not configuration.
Step 3: Load the Node Development Guide
For best results, get your AI agent to grab the comprehensive Node Development Guide from Griptape’s GitHub. This Markdown guide is ideal for providing essential context for your AI-assisted code editor. It provides context, sample code, and best practices. This gives your AI coding assistant the information it needs to generate high-quality, functional nodes.
Step 4: Craft Your Prompt and Let AI Do the Heavy Lifting
With your environment ready, it’s time to write a clear prompt for your AI assistant. For example, if you want to create a color matching node that transfers color palettes between images, specify:
- The functionality you want. For example, in the video in this post, we create a node to transfer color between two images.
- Any third-party libraries you’d like to use.
- The UI parameters and output types.
- Where the new node should be created and the project structure to follow.
Paste your prompt into your AI coding tool, reference the README and Node Development Guide, and let the assistant generate your node code. You can review, tweak, and iterate as needed.
In our walk through, we used this prompt:
Looking at the guidance in @README.md and the node development guide referenced in that file
Create new ColorMatchDemo node for Griptape Nodes
The ColorMatchDemo node transfers color characteristics from a source image to a target image. High-quality and consistent color matching is achieved using advanced color transfer methods, including those proposed by Reinhard et al. and Pitie et al., as well as a multivariate Gaussian distribution (MVGD) transfer combined with classical histogram matching. The node's function is to enable artists to perform efficient color harmonization across different images, improving the visual coherence of their projects.
Use the https://github.com/hahnec/color-matcher library to implement the color transfer methods.
Node parameters (in order of appearance in the node UI)
- Source Image: The image from which the color characteristics will be extracted (accepts an ImageUrlArtifact or ImageArtifact as input)
- Target Image: The image to which the color characteristics will be transferred (accepts an ImageUrlArtifact or ImageArtifact as input)
- Color Transfer Method: The method to use for the color transfer (drop down menu with options mkl (default), hm, reinhard, mvgd, hm-mvgd-hm, and hm-mkl-hm)
- Color Transfer Strength: The strength of the color transfer (float slider with range 0–10, default 1). With the strength set to 1, color should be fully transferred.
- Output Image: The image with the transferred color characteristics (output is an ImageUrlArtifact)
Create the new ColorMatchDemo Node in this directory: /Users/ian/GriptapeNodes/CursorNodeDevelopment/griptape-nodes-library-colormatch-demo
Use the project structure specified in @README.md
Step 5: Add Your Custom Node Library to Griptape Nodes
Once your node is ready, it’s time to bring it into Griptape Nodes:
- Open Griptape Nodes and go to Settings > Libraries.
- Add your new library by selecting the generated library JSON file.
- Click the Refresh Libraries button in the left-hand panel in the editor, and your custom node should now appear, ready to drag onto your canvas.
You can now use your new node alongside existing ones, chaining them together to create advanced custom workflows.
Step 6: Iterate, Share, and Collaborate
One of the biggest advantages of Griptape Nodes is its collaborative environment. You can share your custom node libraries with teammates or the wider community via the Griptape Nodes Directory using GitHub, experiment safely, and track every change via version control.
Ready to Build Your Own Node Library?
Griptape Nodes makes it easier than ever for creative professionals to extend and customize their AI workflows. By combining the power of node libraries with AI-assisted coding tools, you can bring your boldest ideas to life—faster and with less friction.
If you’re ready to take your creative process to the next level, sign up for Griptape Nodes today and start building your own node libraries. Need help or inspiration? Join our Discord community, where you’ll find support from both the Griptape team and fellow creators.