Veras 5.3 NODES guide: Build an architectural visualization workflow

Introduced with Veras 5.3, NODES is a new workspace in Chaos’s Veras software for building image-generation, analysis, video and parametric geometry workflows in a single node graph. According to the product announcement published by Chaos on 19 October 2026, the feature is in Beta. This guide explains how to set up a workflow from design visuals to massing studies, and how to send the result to Revit, Rhino or SketchUp, using only documented functionality.

1. Define the workflow’s goal and node types

1. First, plan which inputs your graph will use and what kind of result it should produce. Input nodes include Image, Images, Video, 3D Model (.glb) and Text. Number, Toggle, Choice, Seed and Math can be used to manage values.

2. Choose generation and analysis nodes as needed. Image Generator and Video Generator handle image and video generation; Describe Image, Depth Map, Canny Edges, Detect Objects and LLM handle analysis tasks. The Building, Box, Extrude, Boolean, Array and Transform nodes in the Geometry section can create and edit simple 3D geometry.

Breaking the graph into stages by function can help keep it manageable rather than making it complex all at once. For example, you can analyze an image input and pass it to another node, or connect geometry to an image-generation step. Since each node performs a specific task, you can also use Watch to track what each stage produces.

2. Add and connect nodes

1. Add a node by dragging it from the NODES list into the workspace or clicking its entry in the list. Right-clicking or double-clicking an empty area also opens the Add menu, which contains search and recently used nodes. To use an image or video from the workspace as an input, drag its thumbnail directly into the graph.

2. Drag a wire from a node’s output to connect it to the next step. When you drop the wire in an empty area, Veras lists nodes that accept that data type, so you can choose from compatible connection options. To organize long wires, click one and add a Reroute point. You can use a Watch node to view text, numbers, images, videos or models in the workflow.

3. Once the graph is ready, run it with RUN GRAPH. Results are added to the workspace as nodes finish. If a node fails, the error message at the bottom shows the node’s name and the reason; Show takes you to the relevant node, while Copy copies the error information.

3. Manage parameters with controls and create massing studies

1. Pin frequently changed settings to the CONTROLS section. Hover over a setting and click the ⊕ icon that appears to add it, or drag the node into the CONTROLS area. Use ✎ to rename or group a control, set its width, range and step, or hide it in the OUTPUT view.

This setup lets you change key values in one place instead of repeatedly editing a graph. When a wire is connected to a setting, the setting uses the incoming value. The Math node can calculate using up to four inputs; for example, it can multiply a number and then add a value.

1. For massing variations, move parameters such as the Building node’s width, depth and height into CONTROLS. Geometry nodes run live on your computer for free, and changes to settings can be reflected in the geometry immediately. Inspect the model in the node’s viewer with 3D Preview. Double-click to enlarge the preview, then connect the view you’ve rotated as a camera input to other nodes.

2. Capture an image of the geometry with Capture View and connect its output to Image Generator. One use case cited by Chaos is generating massing-study visuals while changing parameters. This lets you link geometry settings and image-generation steps in the same graph.

4. Track costs, review the result and send it to a model

RUN GRAPH shows an estimated cost before running a job and asks you to confirm expensive runs. Nodes can also show their costs individually. When you use Nodes Agent to build a graph, the agent asks for confirmation before a run costing 25 credits or more, or for operations that would exceed the session budget. It’s important not to confuse these two confirmation behaviors.

Veras reuses the last results from unchanged nodes. Changing a prompt near the end of the graph can let you continue without rerunning unaffected earlier steps. A node whose input has changed is marked Stale. If you need to start from scratch, select Run all from the RUN GRAPH menu. Up to four cloud jobs can run at once; additional jobs are queued.

1. Review the result at full size in the OUTPUT view. The output can be an image, a video or a 3D view that you can rotate in Shaded, Arctic Clay or Wireframe mode. Choose the main output from the relevant node’s menu, compare it with the source image using Show original, and download the result from the toolbar.

2. To send geometry to an open model, use the bake node for the relevant host application. Bake to Revit places the model as a family at the internal origin. Bake to Rhino adds the model at the origin as a block, either as full geometry or a lightweight proxy. Bake to SketchUp also places full geometry or a proxy at the origin. In Revit and Rhino, you can keep the model’s original size or scale it to a specified height. Running the node again replaces the previous baked result rather than duplicating it. Each bake node is listed only in its own host application.

Using NODES in architectural and visualization workflows

These features may be useful for teams preparing alternative massing visuals, generating variations from reference images, or sending generated geometry to design software. In particular, changing geometry parameters through controls and connecting Capture View to image generation makes it possible to review options in one workflow. However, NODES is in Beta; test the workflow and the result of the transfer before using it in a project.

For licensing and costs, review estimates for cloud nodes before running them; Post Process is a free node that runs on your computer. The documentation does not specify hardware requirements; it only says that live geometry nodes run on your computer. For host compatibility, make sure the bake node appears in the relevant application. The Veras 5.3 SketchUp plugin includes a fix for an error that occurred during baking after opening the Veras window a second time in SketchUp.

Common mistakes

• Not checking the data type before connecting wires: When you drop a wire in an empty area, only nodes that accept that input are listed.

• Rerunning the entire graph after every change: Results from unchanged nodes are reused; use Run all for a full reset only when needed.

• Overlooking the four-cloud-job limit: Additional jobs wait in the queue until others finish.

• Looking for a bake node in the wrong application: The node appears only in its own host application; the output is also placed at the origin.

• Not testing the Beta feature and transfer result before production: First verify the workflow with a small graph and a model you can inspect.