What is ComfyUI Manager?

ComfyUI Manager is a tool developed by ltdrdata for managing custom node installation, updates, and related tasks in one place.

It became so common in many setups that it was almost treated like a default feature. As ComfyUI development moved under Comfy.Org, Manager has now also been incorporated as an official feature.

New and Legacy Manager

Confusingly, the current ComfyUI Manager has two versions: the new Manager and the older Manager, also called the legacy UI.

The new Manager has a cleaner UI and focuses on custom node management. On the other hand, convenient features that existed in the legacy version, such as restarting ComfyUI itself, updating ComfyUI, and downloading models, have been removed.

Considering Comfy.Org's direction, the new Manager should be the recommended one, but many people may continue using the legacy version.

Installation and Enabling

Manager does not appear just because it is installed.
You also need to add a command line argument when launching ComfyUI.

Desktop Version

If you use ComfyUI Desktop, ComfyUI Manager is already included.

No additional installation is required.

Portable Version

  1. Open the ComfyUI_windows_portable folder.

  2. Right-click inside the folder and choose Open in Terminal.

  3. Run the following command.

    .\python_embeded\python.exe -m pip install -r ComfyUI\manager_requirements.txt

    This installs the libraries required by ComfyUI Manager.

  4. Right-click run_nvidia_gpu.bat and choose Edit.

  5. Add --enable-manager to the end of the line that runs main.py.

    .\python_embeded\python.exe -s ComfyUI\main.py --windows-standalone-build --enable-manager

ComfyUI Manager will be enabled the next time you launch ComfyUI.

Manual Installation Version

For manual installation, work inside the ComfyUI folder with the virtual environment activated.

  1. Activate the virtual environment.

    On Windows:

    venv\Scripts\activate

    On Linux/macOS:

    . venv/bin/activate

  2. Install the libraries required by ComfyUI Manager.

    pip install -r manager_requirements.txt

  3. Add --enable-manager when launching ComfyUI.

    python main.py --enable-manager

Opening ComfyUI Manager

If installation and enabling succeeded, the Extensions button appears in the upper right.

Click it to open the Manager screen.

Launching the Legacy UI

If you want to use the old ComfyUI Manager, add --enable-manager-legacy-ui together with --enable-manager.

For the portable version:

.\python_embeded\python.exe -s ComfyUI\main.py --windows-standalone-build --enable-manager --enable-manager-legacy-ui

For manual installation:

python main.py --enable-manager --enable-manager-legacy-ui

If the new Manager UI is enough, start with --enable-manager only. If you need features that remain in the legacy version, such as update and model management, enable the legacy UI as needed.

Installing Custom Nodes

Current UI

  1. Enter the node name in the search bar.
  2. Click Install.
  3. Click Apply Changes, or restart ComfyUI manually.

Legacy UI

  1. Click Custom Nodes Manager.
  2. Enter the node name in the search bar.
  3. Click Install (usually latest is fine for the version).
  4. Click Restart, or restart ComfyUI manually.

Updating Custom Nodes

Current UI

Go to the Updates Available tab.

Nodes that can be updated appear here.

  • Use the Update button in the upper right to update them all at once.
  • Select a target and use Update in the sidebar to update it individually.

Legacy UI

  1. Click Custom Nodes Manager.
  2. Set Filter to Installed to show only installed nodes.
  3. Click Try Update on the custom node you want to update.

References