> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://comfytv.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Slit Scan
> Time-smears a clip so different rows/columns come from different moments — the classic slit-scan look, in one ▶ Run.
## What this node does
**Slit Scan** rebuilds each output frame from different points in time across the video: one band of the image reads "the past," another reads "the future," so motion drips and stretches through the frame. It runs on **▶ Run** and writes a new `COMFYTV_VIDEO` snapshot.
The offset can sweep **horizontal**ly, **vertical**ly, or follow a grayscale **map** image you supply (dark = one time, bright = another). Wiring an image into **retime\_image** automatically switches the node into `map` mode.
In and out are `COMFYTV_VIDEO`; the optional map is `COMFYTV_IMAGE`. To feed native ComfyUI nodes, insert a **Bridge** — see the [bridge guide](https://github.com/jtydhr88/ComfyTV/blob/main/docs/bridges.md).
## When to use it
* Get the signature "time slice" / smear effect on a moving subject.
* Make a waterfall of motion where the top and bottom of the frame are seconds apart.
* Drive a custom retime pattern from a grayscale map (e.g. a gradient or shape).
## Parameters
### mode
How the per-pixel time offset is laid out. Options: `horizontal`, `vertical`, `map`. Default `horizontal`. If a **retime\_image** is wired, the node forces `map` mode; if you pick `map` with no image wired, Run errors and asks for a map.
### gain
Time-spread strength, `-120`–`120` (step `1`), default `24.0`. Larger magnitude pulls the frame's rows/columns further apart in time; negative flips which end is "past."
### offset
Baseline time shift, `-60`–`60` (step `0.5`), default `0.0`. Slides the whole slit window earlier or later.
### filter\_mode
How in-between times are sampled. Options: `nearest` (snap to the closest frame — sharper, blockier) or `linear` (blend between frames — smoother). Default `linear`.
### invert
Flips the direction of the time gradient (swaps past/future ends, or inverts the map reading). Default off.
### retime\_image (optional, `COMFYTV_IMAGE`)
A grayscale map that assigns a time offset per pixel. Wiring it switches the node to `map` mode automatically. Required if **mode** is `map`.
## Outputs
| Output | Type | Meaning |
| --------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| **video** | `COMFYTV_VIDEO` | The slit-scanned clip as a new project snapshot |
## Tips
* The effect only shows where there's motion — a static shot barely changes.
* Use `linear` **filter\_mode** for smooth smears, `nearest` for a crisper, stepped time-slice.
* For **map** mode, feed a clean grayscale image; its brightness picks the time per pixel, so gradients give sweeping smears and shapes give localized ones.
## Related nodes
* **Feedback FX** — recursive echo/vertigo trails, another temporal look.
* **Strobe** — hold or flash frames on an interval.