What are Custom Nodes?

They are sometimes called "MODs" or "plugins" in other software, but they are like plugins that add functions not in default.

It is one of the features that make ComfyUI powerful, such as supporting AI models not usable by default, summarizing complex processing into one node, or making the design cool.

Risks of Custom Nodes

They are very convenient, but you should remember that the probability of encountering trouble increases as you install more.

  • Nodes are incompatible causing errors
  • The author stops updating, and it stops working with new ComfyUI
  • Possibility of containing malicious code (not zero)

Of course, there are many technologies that cannot be used without installing custom nodes, so we will introduce them as appropriate, but please do not forget that "less is better".

Installing Custom Nodes

Basically, install from ComfyUI Manager.

Using ComfyUI Manager (Recommended)

    1. Install ComfyUI Manager
    1. Click Manager in the menu
    1. Click Custom Nodes Manager
    1. Enter the node name in the search bar to search
    1. Click Install (Version is usually latest OK)
    1. Click Restart to restart ComfyUI

Installing Manually

Perform this when it is not in Manager or when you want to use the latest version under development.

    1. Move to ComfyUI/custom_nodes folder in terminal
    1. Download the repository with git clone command
    cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/username/repository-name.git
    1. Install libraries if necessary
    # venv
cd path/to/ComfyUI
venv/Scripts/activate
cd custom_nodes/custom_node
pip install -r requirements.txt

# portable version
cd path/to/ComfyUI/custom_nodes/custom_node
../../../python_embeded/python.exe -s -m pip install -r requirements.txt
    1. Restart ComfyUI

Custom Nodes you should install for now

We basically build with default nodes, but since there are things missing for everyday use, please install the following nodes.

Useful Nodes

ComfyUI Native vs Wrapper

You don't need to remember much, but there are broadly two types of custom nodes.

1. ComfyUI Native

As mentioned a little in What is ComfyUI?, the true value of ComfyUI lies in optimization that allows AI models to run comfortably even on home PCs.

Custom nodes that utilize this core function are called ComfyUI native, and can utilize ComfyUI's strengths.

2. Wrapper

It is a node that wraps external code to run on ComfyUI.

It is often made to run research code etc. as is on ComfyUI. Optimization is often not advanced, and it tends to be unstable, such as being heavy or prone to errors.

Of course, there are many technologies that can only be used with wrappers, and many implementations have their own optimization processing. While being deeply grateful to the developers, it is better to use it as a test operation.