The Info Node Addon

Documenting complex Geometry Nodes setups is often a tedious process involving overlapping frames, manual line-by-line positioning, and visual workarounds. 

The Info Node provides a streamlined, native solution for commenting and organizing your node trees. Designed for clarity, it acts as a unified rich-text container node, to explain complex logic to collaborators, clients, or your future self. (The last update, v1.2, introduces the first true WISIWIG Rich-Text editor workflow in Blender - so you can edit your nodes conveniently, elegantly, and fast.) 

Add your InfoNode, or wrap your selected Node Group into one. Type your comment, guide, list. Edit it any time. Thats' it !

    LATEST UPDATE (v1.2)

• Double click on InfoNode to edit instantly (No need to open N-Panel)
• Lightning-fast Rich-Text
• Math formula bar added
• Graph Outline - A complete map of all InfoNodes in the side panel
• Checklist feature
• The new WISIWIG Rich-Text editor workflow

This addon is a structured rich-text documentation and automated layout organization tool for Blender Node Editors (Geometry Nodes, Shader, Compositor). Built on native elements—files saved with InfoNode open and display in standard Blender installations without requiring the add-on.

▶ Video Demos (v1.18): Demo (YouTube)

▶ Video Demo (v1.1): Demo (YouTube) 

The goal is to provide a fast, structured, and entirely native documentation tool for Blender node editors.

Features

1. In-Viewport WYSIWYG Editor

• Unified Creation & Editing: Triggered by double-click on the InfoNode, Shift+A > Info Node or the N-Panel (Info Node tab). Spawns as a standalone note at the cursor or automatically wraps selected nodes.
• Live Rich-Text Rendering: Formats Bold (Ctrl+B), Italic (Ctrl+I), bullet lists, numbered lists, and horizontal dividers directly on the editor canvas without visible Markdown syntax. 
• Interactive Checklists (☐ / ☑): Dedicated and fast checklist creation. Clickable Gutter Checkboxes: In the WYSIWYG Studio, task items render interactive checkboxes in the left gutter—click any checkbox to toggle between ☐ and ☑ (completed tasks tint in a muted green-grey tone). Pressing Enter continues the checklist; Enter or Backspace on an empty task exits back to normal text. Task Progress Badges: Info Nodes containing checklists display a live completion counter ([2/3 ☑]) right in the outline. 
• Hanging-Indent Lists: Automatic left-gutter indentation for wrapped bullet (•) and sequential numbered (1., 2.) lists. Enter continues the list; Enter or Backspace on an empty item exits the list.
• Collapsible ∑ Math Palette: ∑ Math Symbol Bar: Clicking ∑ Math on the Studio ribbon toggles a secondary 20-symbol bar (π, θ, φ, λ, Δ, ∇, ×, ÷, ±, ≈, ≠, ≤, ≥, √, ∞, ∑, ∈, →, ², ³) for 1-click insertion at the cursor.
• Formula & Identifier Safety: Flanking boundary parser protects mathematical operators, exponents, norms, and variable names (r*e^(i*theta), from uninteCollapsible ∑ Math Palettended formatting.
• Standard Editing Controls: Multi-line mouse selection, double-click word selection, Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V (preserving inline styles), Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y undo/redo, and Ctrl+Enter to apply.

2. Dynamic Sizing & Live Text Reflow

• Typography Scale: Quick presets S (14px), M (20px), L (28px), XL (38px), and custom pixel sizing (10–100px).
• Proportional Scaling: Changing text size scales frame width proportionally to maintain line-break structure.
• Live Horizontal Reflow: Dragging a frame's left or right border dynamically reflows word-wrapping and divider widths to match the new dimensions.
• Independent Duplication: Duplicating an Info Node (Shift+D or Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V) automatically assigns a separate Text datablock so copies can be edited independently.

3. Connection-Aware Node Layout (Tidy / Align Contents)

• Topological Column Sorting: Analyzes internal socket links and arranges child nodes left-to-right by dependency rank.
• Wire-Crossing Minimization: Orders nodes vertically within each column using upstream barycenter coordinates and centers columns vertically.
• Unconnected Grid Fallback: Arranges unlinked child nodes into a balanced 2D grid.

4. Visual Organization & Metadata)

• Graph Outline / "Table of Contents" Jumper in N-Panel: Live Graph Outline: The N-Panel automatically lists all Info Nodes in the current node tree, sorted spatially top-to-bottom, left-to-right. 1-Click Jump & Edit: Clicking any entry selects that Info Node and frames the Node Editor viewport onto it (view_selected); clicking the pencil icon on the right jumps to the node and immediately opens the WYSIWYG Studio.
• Color Coding: 5 built-in color presets (Dark, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue) plus 5 persistent user palette slots accessible in both the WYSIWYG editor and N-Panel.
• Reference Links: Optional URL field per node with a one-click Open Link button in the sidebar.
• Custom Hotkey: Bindable quick-add shortcut directly inside the N-Panel.

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Update arrives regularly. Works in Blender 4.4 - 5.2. Enjoy!

NOTE! Blender 5.3 is slated to introduce a comment node natively. It is a similar solution for commenting. This addon was finished before announcement, and it has multiple advantages. You dont have to wait for 5.3. It has compatibility from 4.4 to 5.2 and above. It has online links, more customization, and will be updated with new features. In any case, right now it is a commenting solution, from 5.3, it is only an alternative.

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💡 Companion Addon Tip — Pair with InfoNode:
ImageNode is purpose-built for placing standalone visual cards—equations, graphs, diagrams, and illustrations—next to your nodes. Used together, ImageNode and InfoNode turn Blender's Node Editor into a complete, self-documenting visual notebook. In addition, if you want to instantly share node groups or trees online, directly from the node editor, check out TeleportNode !

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Release Notes

What's New in v1.2.0

• Canvas Double-Click to Edit: Double-clicking any Info Node on the Node Editor canvas opens the WYSIWYG editor directly while passing double-clicks on child nodes or empty canvas through untouched.
• Interactive Task Checklists (☐ / ☑): Added a ☑ Task list mode with clickable gutter checkboxes in the WYSIWYG editor, hanging indents, Enter/Backspace list continuation, and native rendering on the node frame.
• Collapsible ∑ Math Symbol Palette: Added a toggleable 20-button mathematical and Greek symbol bar (π, θ, φ, λ, Δ, ∇, ×, ÷, ±, ≈, ≠, ≤, ≥, √, ∞, ∑, ∈, →, ², ³) inside the WYSIWYG editor.
• Collapsible Graph Outline (Table of Contents): Added a collapsible Graph Outline section in the N-Panel listing all Info Nodes in the current graph with live task completion counters ([done/total ☑]), 1-click viewport framing, and 1-click jump-and-edit.
• Zero-Lag Font Binding: Bound the WYSIWYG editor directly to Blender's bundled NotoSansMath font table, eliminating first-use fallback font decompression delays when formatting Bold/Italic text.
• Unified WYSIWYG Workflow & Layout Fixes: Replaced the legacy popup dialog, added in-editor color swatches, live horizontal border-drag text reflow, proportional font-size width scaling, child node layout preservation, and independent Shift+D node duplication.

What's New in v1.18.0

• Unified WYSIWYG Workflow: Replaced the legacy 8-line popup dialog. Shift+A > Info Node, Add Info Node, and Edit Info Node now open the floating GPU/BLF WYSIWYG editor directly.
• In-Editor Color Swatches: Added built-in and custom preference color swatches to the WYSIWYG editor header bar.
• Clean Cancel & Empty-Note Handling: Cancelling (Esc) or applying an empty note during creation exits without leaving an empty frame on the graph. Clearing all text on an existing node removes it.
• Live Horizontal Resize Reflow: Resizing an Info Node horizontally now reflows wrapped text and dividers across all font sizes.
• Proportional Width Scaling: Switching between S / M / L / XL scales frame width proportionally.
• Child Node Layout Preservation: Selecting, resizing, or editing an Info Node no longer snaps or shrinks frame bounds around manually arranged child nodes (snapping occurs only on initial wrap or when running Tidy / Align Contents).
• Independent Node Duplication: Duplicating an Info Node in the node tree automatically decouples its underlying Text datablock from the original node.
• Sidebar Auto-Collapse: Automatically hides the N-Panel while the WYSIWYG editor is open (restoring it on close), with an N-Panel (Alt+N) toggle in the editor header.

What's New in v1.14

• This release brings full formula and mathematical expression support, dynamic auto-fitting for standalone notes, respect for manual resizing, and an intelligent word-wrapping engine that completely eliminates viewport text clipping.
• Full Math & Formula Protection (Zero Syntax Clashes): Document technical nodes and complex formulas with complete freedom. Characters like multiplication asterisks (w = r*e^(i*theta)), norms/pipes (||g||^2), powers (^), and underscores in variable names (var_name_1) are now preserved as literal text. Markdown formatting (*bold*, _italic_) strictly follows CommonMark flanking rules, preventing math symbols from triggering unwanted style formatting.
• Dynamic Standalone Auto-Fit (No Viewport Clipping): Newly created standalone InfoNodes now automatically compute an initial width that matches your longest title or content line (comfortably bounded up to 550px). Long equations and sentences spawn with plenty of room, preventing Blender's C++ viewport from clipping your text.
• Interactive Manual Resizing Respected: You retain full layout freedom. If you click and drag an InfoNode's borders in the canvas to fit a specific area in your node tree, the add-on remembers your custom size. Opening the Edit Text popup will never overwrite or reset your manual dimensions.
• Refined In-App Help Guide: The built-in Help Guide has been streamlined with minimalist, icon-free guidance covering math symbol rules, auto-fit behaviors, and multi-line drafting.

What's New in v1.121.

• Standalone InfoNode Creation: Add standalone Info Nodes directly to the node canvas without needing a dummy node first.
• Canvas Cursor Snapping: Nodes spawn directly beneath the cursor in the node editor view or centered in the active viewport.
• Refined Dialogue UI & Typography: Streamlined interface improvements.
• Intuitive Naming: Renamed header field to Label and first content line to Title (with full rich-text bold/italic support).
• Blank Slate: Removed pre-filled placeholder text so new nodes spawn completely clean.
• 1-Click Text Sizing: Segmented size pills for S (14), M (20), L (28), XL (38), and Custom slider—eliminating the need to visit Blender’s native "Node" tab.
• Topological "Tidy Contents" Graph Engine: Connection-Aware Circuit Flow. Replaced the 1D horizontal flattener with a multi-column topological graph layout engine.
• Left-to-Right Data Flow: Organizes nodes into sequential dependency columns based on internal wires.
• Barycenter Crossing Minimization: Aligns downstream inputs with upstream parent outputs to prevent tangled cables.
• Balanced 2D Grid Fallback: Loose, unconnected nodes automatically arrange into a proportional grid (ceil(sqrt(N)) columns) rather than stretching into an endless line.
• Clean Architecture & Performance: InfoNode is now 100% offline and lightweight (~40 KB).

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⚙️ How to Install

• Standard Preferences Install (Same as before):

  • Blender 4.2 – 5.2+: Go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons (or Get Extensions), click the top-right dropdown arrow (⌄) →\rightarrow→ Install from Disk..., and select InfoNode_vX.X.zip.
  • Blender 4.0 – 4.1: Go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Install... and select InfoNode_vX.X.zip.
  • 
    

• New Drag-and-Drop Install (Blender 4.2 – 5.2+):

  • Because of the extension format, you can simply drag InfoNode_vX.X.zip from File Explorer and drop it anywhere into the Blender window. Blender will immediately pop up an confirmation dialog to install and enable it in one click.