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Beta Features

Beta features are new features that aren't ready to be on for everyone yet. You can turn them on to try them early, and turn them off again at any time. They're managed from the Beta Features page in the editor's settings.

Beta Features

Turning a beta feature on or off

Open the Settings menu in the editor's header, choose All Settings, and click Beta Features at the bottom of the list on the left. Each feature is listed with a short description of what it changes and where, and a toggle to turn it on or off. Your choice is saved with the rest of your settings, so it stays the same the next time you open the editor.

Features are grouped by where they come from:

  • Editor features change how the editor looks or behaves.
  • Engine features change what happens behind the scenes, such as how workflows run. They come from the engine you're connected to, so the list can differ between engines and engine versions.

Node libraries can offer beta features too. These are listed in the Engine group, next to the engine's own features. They usually add or change something on that library's nodes, and their description says which. They appear when the library is loaded and disappear when it's removed.

To go back to the standard behavior for everything, click Reset all. Every feature returns to its default, which is almost always off.

Turning all beta features off at once

The Enable beta features switch turns every beta feature off in one step, including editor, engine, and library features. You'll find it at the top of the Beta Features page, and in the popover that opens when you click the flask icon in the editor's header.

Turning the switch off doesn't forget your choices. Each feature keeps the setting you gave it, and turning the switch back on restores them all. While the switch is off, every beta feature is off, including the few that are on by default. Use this when something behaves unexpectedly and you want to rule out beta features without changing each one.

Nodes already on the canvas

A library feature that adds or hides settings on a node shows the change on nodes you add after turning it on or off. Nodes already on the canvas keep the settings they were created with. To update one, refresh the node, delete it and add it again, or save and reopen the workflow.

When a toggle can't be changed

A toggle is greyed out when something outside your own settings is choosing that feature's value. This happens when a project, a workspace, or an environment variable sets it. A note under the toggle says which one. Change the value there, or remove it, to control the feature from this page again.

What to expect from a beta feature

  • Beta features can change or disappear. Each one is either made a standard part of Griptape Nodes or removed within a few months. When that happens, it drops off this page, and your saved choice for it has no effect.
  • Your workflows are safe either way. A beta feature never changes what gets saved in a workflow. A workflow opens the same way whether a feature is on or off, so you can share workflows with people who have different features turned on.
  • Rough edges are expected. If something behaves unexpectedly, turn the feature off to get the standard behavior back.

Setting beta features without the editor

Your choices are saved in the beta_features section of your griptape_nodes_config.json file, keyed by each feature's id:

{
    "beta_features": {
        "canvas_toolbar_placement_button": true
    }
}

Library features are saved in library_beta_features, under the library's name in lowercase with spaces and punctuation turned into underscores. For a library called "Acme Image Tools":

{
    "library_beta_features": {
        "acme_image_tools": {
            "sharpen_after_upscale": true
        }
    }
}

Only true or false counts. Any other value, such as "yes", is ignored with a warning in the engine log, and the feature uses its default. A mistake here never affects your other settings.

The Enable beta features switch is saved as enabled in the same beta_features section. Only false turns everything off. If it's missing or set to anything else, each feature follows its own setting:

{
    "beta_features": {
        "enabled": false
    }
}

You can also turn a feature on for a single session with an environment variable. Put the feature's id, in capitals, after GTN_CONFIG_BETA_FEATURES__:

GTN_CONFIG_BETA_FEATURES__PARALLEL_BRANCH_RESOLUTION=true gtn

For a library feature, use GTN_CONFIG_LIBRARY_BETA_FEATURES__, then the library's key in capitals, two underscores, and the feature's id:

GTN_CONFIG_LIBRARY_BETA_FEATURES__ACME_IMAGE_TOOLS__SHARPEN_AFTER_UPSCALE=true gtn

To turn every beta feature off for a single session:

GTN_CONFIG_BETA_FEATURES__ENABLED=false gtn

The feature and library names used above are examples. To add beta features to a library you're building, see Authoring Libraries. See Engine Configuration for how config files and environment variables are loaded.