Manager and ecosystem

The repositories surrounding comfyanonymous/ComfyUI and how they relate.

Sibling repos

graph TB
    Core[comfyanonymous/ComfyUI<br/>this repo<br/>Python core]
    Frontend[Comfy-Org/ComfyUI_frontend<br/>Vue/TS UI bundle]
    LegacyFE[Comfy-Org/ComfyUI_legacy_frontend<br/>pre-Aug-2024 UI]
    Templates[Comfy-Org/workflow_templates<br/>stock workflow JSON]
    Desktop[Comfy-Org/desktop<br/>Electron app]
    Manager[Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager<br/>custom-node manager]
    Cloud[comfy.org/cloud<br/>hosted offering]

    Core -.pinned via requirements.txt.-> Frontend
    Core -.pinned via requirements.txt.-> Templates
    Core -.optional --enable-manager.-> Manager
    Desktop --bundles--> Core
    Desktop --bundles--> Frontend
    Cloud --runs--> Core

ComfyUI-Manager

When --enable-manager is set, ComfyUI integrates with Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager. The Manager handles:

• Browsing a curated index of custom nodes (the "ComfyUI Registry")
• Installing, updating, and uninstalling custom nodes
• Security scans on installed nodes
• Scheduled installation completion (e.g., a node that requires a restart)

Setup

pip install -r manager_requirements.txt
python main.py --enable-manager

manager_requirements.txt is a one-liner: comfyui-manager.

Flags

Flag	Effect
--enable-manager	Required to enable the Manager at all
--enable-manager-legacy-ui	Use the legacy Manager UI (mutually exclusive with --disable-manager-ui)
--disable-manager-ui	Hide the Manager UI but keep background features (security checks, scheduled installs)

Hooks into the runtime

The Manager hooks the prestartup and startup phases via main.py:

• comfyui_manager.prestartup() — runs before custom-node prestartup scripts.
• comfyui_manager.start() — runs after the server is built but before it's serving.
• comfyui_manager.should_be_disabled(module_path) — consulted to skip blocked custom nodes.

The runtime tries to handle the absence of the package gracefully — see handle_comfyui_manager_unavailable in main.py: if --enable-manager is set but comfyui-manager isn't installed, the runtime logs a clear "install with this command" hint and falls back to running without the Manager.

Comfy Desktop

Comfy-Org/desktop is the Electron-based desktop app for Windows and macOS. It bundles:

• A pinned ComfyUI core release
• A pinned frontend release
• Python distribution + dependencies
• An installer experience that handles model downloads and folder layout

Releases are cut from stable tags of this repo. The desktop pipeline is downstream — there is no desktop-specific code in this repository.

Comfy Cloud

comfy.org/cloud is the official hosted offering. It runs the same core code with a managed model library and pre-warmed GPUs. The tag-dispatch-cloud.yml workflow in .github/workflows/ triggers cloud builds on new tags.

comfy-cli

Comfy-Org/comfy-cli is a separate command-line tool (pip install comfy-cli) that wraps installation, updating, and running ComfyUI. The README points users at it as an easier on-ramp than git-clone-and-pip-install.

Comfy API

The --comfy-api-base flag (default https://api.comfy.org) points at the Comfy Org-hosted API service used by API nodes for billing, request signing, and provider proxying. Users authenticate with an API key threaded through prompts as api_key_comfy_org.

Release coordination

The README's "Release Process" section formalizes the cadence:

• Core — weekly stable tags (v0.20.1, v0.20.0, …). Patch versions for backports onto the current stable. Master between tags can break custom nodes.
• Desktop — builds against the latest stable core.
• Frontend — daily releases in its own repo; merges into core every 2+ weeks. Features are frozen for the next core release.

This means: the frontend pinned in requirements.txt here is always 1-2 weeks behind the latest daily frontend; users who want the latest can opt in via --front-end-version Comfy-Org/ComfyUI_frontend@latest.

Where to start a change

• Add Manager-aware behavior to a custom node: detect --enable-manager via args.enable_manager and consult comfyui_manager.should_be_disabled(module_path) in your prestartup script.
• Add a new sibling integration: open a PR that hooks at the same lifecycle points the Manager uses (comfy_api.latest, nodes.init_extra_nodes).
• Bump the cloud or desktop dependency: tag-dispatched workflows in .github/workflows/ drive downstream rebuilds; update those if the contract changes.