Models

How model files fit into ComfyUI workflows: where they go, how to load them, and common fixes.

Models in plain terms

In ComfyUI, models are the weight files that actually run your workflow—things like checkpoints, VAEs, LoRAs, ControlNets, and upscalers. The app install is small; these files are not included by default. You usually download them from the web, place them under ComfyUI/models/ (or follow a template’s prompts), then choose the file in the right loader node (on the canvas, these often appear as nodes whose names start with Load).

Supported models in ComfyUI

• Built-in / first-party coverage is intentionally limited but grows over time as ComfyUI and the open-source ecosystem evolve. When a model gains first-class support, you will usually see a new entry in the workflow template library that shows the expected graph and model pairing.
• Not every checkpoint or weights file works out of the box. For natively supported models and their common companion weights, keep ComfyUI up to date and confirm the matching workflow exists in the template library before assuming your files are in the wrong place.
• Many other models are enabled through community custom nodes. Paths, loader nodes, and graph layout can differ from this page’s generic ComfyUI/models/ guidance—always follow each project’s README or docs. ComfyUI is highly extensible, so implementations vary by author. For installation and troubleshooting, see How to install custom nodes.

Use models in ComfyUI

1. Get the files into the right place — Download from community sites such as Hugging Face, Civitai, or a project’s page on GitHub, then put them under ComfyUI/models/ in the subfolder for that type (for example checkpoints, loras, vae).
2. Add the matching loader node — Pick the loader for that model type (checkpoint, LoRA, VAE, etc.); in the node list, titles often begin with Load.
3. Pick the file in that loader node’s dropdown.
4. Wire the loader node into the rest of the graph. If you copied files in by hand while ComfyUI was open, restart the app (or refresh as needed) so lists update.

Expect large downloads

A single generative model is often many gigabytes. Budget disk space and time when downloading or syncing.

Beyond the main checkpoint

The main diffusion checkpoint does a lot, but many workflows add smaller helper models, for example:

• LoRA — lightweight add-ons tuned for a style, character, or concept
• ControlNet — extra guidance from edges, depth, pose, etc.
• Inpainting — fill or replace regions inside an existing image

Uninstalling models

There is no “uninstall” button in the UI yet. To remove a model, delete its file (or files) from the folder under ComfyUI/models/ where you put it.

Adding Extra Model Paths

If you want to manage your model files outside of ComfyUI/models, you may have the following reasons:

• You have multiple ComfyUI instances and want them to share model files to save disk space
• You have different types of GUI programs (such as WebUI) and want them to use the same model files
• Model files cannot be recognized or found

We provide a way to add extra model search paths via the extra_model_paths.yaml configuration file

Open Config File

Portable/Manual Install

For the ComfyUI version such as portable and manual, you can find an example file named extra_model_paths.yaml.example in the root directory of ComfyUI:

ComfyUI/extra_model_paths.yaml.example

Copy and rename it to extra_model_paths.yaml for use. Keep it in ComfyUI’s root directory at ComfyUI/extra_model_paths.yaml. You can also find the config example file here

ComfyUI Desktop

If you are using the ComfyUI Desktop application, you can follow the image below to open the extra model config file:

Or open it directly at:

Windows

C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\ComfyUI\extra_models_config.yaml

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/ComfyUI/extra_models_config.yaml

You should keep the file in the same directory, should not move these files to other places.

If the file does not exist, you can create it yourself with any text editor.

Example Structure

Suppose you want to add the following model paths to ComfyUI:

📁 YOUR_PATH/
  ├── 📁models/
  |   ├── 📁 loras/
  |   │   └── xxxxx.safetensors
  |   ├── 📁 checkpoints/
  |   │   └── xxxxx.safetensors
  |   ├── 📁 vae/
  |   │   └── xxxxx.safetensors
  |   └── 📁 controlnet/
  |       └── xxxxx.safetensors

Then you can configure the extra_model_paths.yaml file like below to let ComfyUI recognize the model paths on your device:

my_custom_config:
    base_path: YOUR_PATH
    loras: models/loras/
    checkpoints: models/checkpoints/
    vae: models/vae/
    controlnet: models/controlnet/

or

my_custom_config:
    base_path: YOUR_PATH/models/
    loras: loras
    checkpoints: checkpoints
    vae: vae
    controlnet: controlnet

For the desktop version, please add the configuration to the existing configuration path without overwriting the path configuration generated during installation. Please back up the corresponding file before modification, so that you can restore it when you make a mistake.

Or you can refer to the default extra_model_paths.yaml.example for more configuration options. After saving, you need to restart ComfyUI for the changes to take effect.

Below is the original config example:

#Rename this to extra_model_paths.yaml and ComfyUI will load it


#config for a1111 ui
#all you have to do is change the base_path to where yours is installed
a111:
    base_path: path/to/stable-diffusion-webui/

    checkpoints: models/Stable-diffusion
    configs: models/Stable-diffusion
    vae: models/VAE
    loras: |
         models/Lora
         models/LyCORIS
    upscale_models: |
                  models/ESRGAN
                  models/RealESRGAN
                  models/SwinIR
    embeddings: embeddings
    hypernetworks: models/hypernetworks
    controlnet: models/ControlNet

#config for comfyui
#your base path should be either an existing comfy install or a central folder where you store all of your models, loras, etc.

#comfyui:
#     base_path: path/to/comfyui/
#     # You can use is_default to mark that these folders should be listed first, and used as the default dirs for eg downloads
#     #is_default: true
#     checkpoints: models/checkpoints/
#     clip: models/clip/
#     clip_vision: models/clip_vision/
#     configs: models/configs/
#     controlnet: models/controlnet/
#     diffusion_models: |
#                  models/diffusion_models
#                  models/unet
#     embeddings: models/embeddings/
#     loras: models/loras/
#     upscale_models: models/upscale_models/
#     vae: models/vae/

#other_ui:
#    base_path: path/to/ui
#    checkpoints: models/checkpoints
#    gligen: models/gligen
#    custom_nodes: path/custom_nodes

For example, if your WebUI is located at D:\stable-diffusion-webui\, you can modify the corresponding configuration to

a111:
    base_path: D:\stable-diffusion-webui\
    checkpoints: models/Stable-diffusion
    configs: models/Stable-diffusion
    vae: models/VAE
    loras: |
         models/Lora
         models/LyCORIS
    upscale_models: |
                  models/ESRGAN
                  models/RealESRGAN
                  models/SwinIR
    embeddings: embeddings
    hypernetworks: models/hypernetworks
    controlnet: models/ControlNet

Add Extra Custom Nodes Path

Besides adding external models, you can also add custom nodes paths that are not in the default path of ComfyUI

Please note that this will not change the default installation path of custom nodes, but will add an extra path search when starting ComfyUI. You still need to complete the installation of custom node dependencies in the corresponding environment to ensure the integrity of the running environment.

Below is a simple configuration example (MacOS), please modify it according to your actual situation and add it to the corresponding configuration file, save it and restart ComfyUI for the changes to take effect:

my_custom_nodes:
  custom_nodes: /Users/your_username/Documents/extra_custom_nodes

Common issues

Does ComfyUI support GGUF format models?

ComfyUI does not natively support GGUF format models. To use GGUF models, you need to install community custom nodes such as ComfyUI-GGUF.

Why can't I find my model?

If you’ve installed a model but can’t find it in ComfyUI, try these steps:

• Verify the model is in the correct location:
  • For ComfyUI Desktop: Go to Help menu → Open Folder → Open Model Folder to check the model installation path
  • Ensure your model file is placed in the correct subfolder (e.g., checkpoints, loras, vae)
• Press the r key to refresh node definitions so ComfyUI can detect the model
• Restart ComfyUI
• Ensure the correct model is selected in the loader node

Want a bit more background?

What does “model” mean here?

Here, a model is a data file that encodes what a network learned—enough to turn inputs (like text and noise) into outputs (like an image). Common examples in image workflows are diffusion checkpoints, text/image encoders such as CLIP, and upscalers like RealESRGAN.

Base models and community variants

Large base models from labs and open-source projects are general-purpose. The community often fine-tunes or merges them into new checkpoints and LoRAs that look better for a given style, run a bit lighter, or add new behavior—same idea as picking a favorite checkpoint on Civitai or Hugging Face.