Models & Providers

AI models and local vs cloud options.

Local vs. Cloud

NodeTool runs AI models locally or through cloud APIs.

Local Models

Pros:

  • 🔒 Private – Data stays local
  • 💰 Free – No usage costs
  • 📶 Offline – Works without internet

Cons:

  • 💾 Requires space – 4-20 GB per model
  • ⚡ Needs hardware – Faster with GPU
  • ⏳ Initial download – One-time setup

Cloud Models

Pros:

  • 🚀 Fast – No downloads
  • 💻 Any hardware – Works on older machines
  • 🆕 Latest models – Access newest capabilities

Cons:

  • 💵 Usage costs – Pay per task
  • 🌐 Requires internet
  • 📤 Data sent externally

Combine local and cloud:

  • Speech recognition – local for privacy
  • Image generation – cloud for quality
  • Document processing – local for confidential files

Cloud Models for Creative Workflows

NodeTool provides access to high-quality generative AI models through cloud providers:

Top 3D Generation Models

Model Provider Capabilities Key Features
Hunyuan3D V2/3.0 Hunyuan T2M/I2M High-quality 3D meshes and textures
Trellis 2 Trellis T2M/I2M Consistent geometry with textured output
TripoSR Tripo I2M Fast image-to-3D reconstruction
Shap-E OpenAI T2M/I2M Text or image prompt to 3D assets
Point-E OpenAI T2M Point cloud generation
Meshy AI Meshy T2M/I2M Textured mesh generation
Rodin AI Rodin T2M/I2M High fidelity 3D creation

Top Video Generation Models

Model Provider Capabilities Key Features
OpenAI Sora 2 Pro OpenAI T2V/I2V up to 15s Realistic motion, refined physics, synchronized native audio, 1080p output
Google Veo 3.1 Google T2V/I2V with references Upgraded realistic motion, extended clip length, multi-image references, native 1080p with synced audio
xAI Grok Imagine xAI T2V/I2V/T2I Multimodal text/image to short video with coherent motion and synchronized audio; also text-to-image
Alibaba Wan 2.6 Alibaba Multi-shot T2V/I2V Affordable 1080p with stable characters and native audio; reference-guided generation
MiniMax Hailuo 2.3 MiniMax High-fidelity T2V/I2V Expressive characters, complex motion and lighting effects
Kling 4.0 Kling T2V/I2V with audio Text/image to synchronized video with speech, ambient sound, and effects; strong audio-visual coherence

Top Image Generation Models

Model Provider Capabilities Key Features
Black Forest Labs FLUX.2 BFL T2I with control Photoreal images, multi-reference consistency, accurate text rendering, flexible control
Google Nano Banana Pro Google High-res T2I Sharper 2K output, 4K upscaling, improved text rendering, better character consistency

Using These Models

Access these models through NodeTool’s generic nodes:

  1. For Video: Use nodetool.video.TextToVideo or nodetool.video.ImageToVideo
  2. For Images: Use nodetool.image.TextToImage
  3. For 3D: Use nodetool.3d.TextTo3D or nodetool.3d.ImageTo3D
  4. Select Provider: Click the model dropdown in the node properties
  5. Configure API: Add provider API keys in Settings → Providers

Access via kie.ai (recommended for broad model support): Many of these models are available through kie.ai, an AI provider aggregator that often offers competitive or lower pricing compared to upstream providers.

  • Configure using KIE_API_KEY in Settings → Providers

Access via fal.ai:

  • Configure using FAL_API_KEY in Settings → Providers

Cost Considerations: Cloud models typically charge per generation. Check each provider’s pricing before extensive use. Local models are free after download but require capable hardware.

Getting Started

  1. Open Models → Model Manager in NodeTool
  2. Install these starter models:
    • GPT-OSS (~4 GB) – Text generation and chat
    • Flux (~12 GB) – High-quality image generation
  3. Wait for downloads to complete
  4. Run templates – they’ll work offline!

Option 2: Start with Cloud Providers

  1. Get an API key from a provider:
  2. In NodeTool, go to Settings → Providers
  3. Paste your API key
  4. Select the provider when using AI nodes

Detailed Guides

General

Local AI

Cloud AI

Advanced