Adding Custom Nodes¶

Learn how to install custom nodes from the ComfyUI registry, GitHub repositories, and local development directories.

Overview¶

ComfyGit provides several ways to add custom nodes to your environment:

Registry lookup - Search the official ComfyUI registry by name
GitHub URLs - Install directly from any GitHub repository
Development nodes - Track local nodes you're actively developing
Batch installation - Add multiple nodes in one command

Prerequisites¶

Before adding nodes, make sure you have:

An active environment (created with cg create or set with cg use)
Internet connection for downloading repositories
Registry cache downloaded (runs automatically on first use)

Check registry status

cg registry status

If the registry cache is outdated or missing, update it:

cg registry update

Adding nodes from the registry¶

The ComfyUI registry contains hundreds of community-maintained custom nodes. ComfyGit searches this registry to find the correct GitHub repository.

Basic installation¶

cg node add comfyui-impact-pack

What happens:

Registry lookup - ComfyGit searches for "comfyui-impact-pack" in the registry
Package download - Downloads pre-packaged node archive from ComfyUI Registry CDN to custom_nodes/ (or clones from GitHub if CDN package unavailable)
Dependency installation - Scans for requirements.txt or install.py and installs Python packages
Configuration update - Adds the node to .cec/pyproject.toml

Example output:

📦 Adding node: comfyui-impact-pack
✓ Node 'ComfyUI-Impact-Pack' added to pyproject.toml

Run 'cg -e my-env env status' to review changes

Specifying versions¶

Install a specific version using the @version syntax:

# Install specific release version
cg node add comfyui-impact-pack@1.2.0

# Install from a branch
cg node add comfyui-impact-pack@main

# Install from a commit hash
cg node add comfyui-impact-pack@abc1234

Version resolution

For registry nodes: ComfyGit queries the registry API for the specific version (if available in the registry's CDN)

For GitHub nodes: ComfyGit passes the version/ref to git during clone. Works with:

Release tags: @v1.0.0, @1.0.0
Branches: @main, @develop
Commit hashes: @abc1234 (short or full)

How registry lookup works¶

When you provide a registry ID like comfyui-impact-pack:

ComfyGit checks the local registry cache (if prefer_registry_cache=true in config)
If not found or cache disabled, queries the live ComfyUI registry API
Retrieves the node's download URL (CDN package) and metadata
Downloads the pre-packaged node from the registry CDN to your environment's custom_nodes/ directory
If no CDN package is available, falls back to cloning from the node's GitHub repository

Registry ID vs. repository name

Registry IDs are usually lowercase with hyphens (e.g., comfyui-impact-pack), while repository names may have different casing (e.g., ComfyUI-Impact-Pack). ComfyGit handles this automatically.

Adding nodes from GitHub¶

Install directly from any GitHub repository without registry lookup:

Full GitHub URLs¶

cg node add https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack

This bypasses the registry entirely and clones directly from GitHub using git (not the CDN download method).

GitHub URLs with versions¶

# Specific branch
cg node add https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack@main

# Specific tag
cg node add https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack@v1.2.0

# Specific commit
cg node add https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack@abc1234

When to use GitHub URLs

Use GitHub URLs when:

The node isn't in the registry yet
You want to install from a fork
You need a specific branch or commit that isn't packaged in the registry
The registry ID is ambiguous

Note: GitHub URLs use git clone, while registry IDs typically use faster CDN downloads. Registry installation is usually preferred when available.

Batch installation¶

Add multiple nodes in a single command:

cg node add comfyui-impact-pack comfyui-controlnet-aux comfyui-video-helper-suite

Output:

📦 Adding 3 nodes...
  [1/3] Installing comfyui-impact-pack... ✓
  [2/3] Installing comfyui-controlnet-aux... ✓
  [3/3] Installing comfyui-video-helper-suite... ✓

✅ Installed 3/3 nodes

Run 'cg -e my-env env status' to review changes

Handling batch failures¶

If some nodes fail during batch installation:

📦 Adding 3 nodes...
  [1/3] Installing comfyui-impact-pack... ✓
  [2/3] Installing invalid-node... ✗ (Node not found in registry)
  [3/3] Installing comfyui-controlnet-aux... ✓

✅ Installed 2/3 nodes

⚠️  Failed to install 1 nodes:
  • invalid-node: Node not found in registry

Run 'cg -e my-env env status' to review changes

ComfyGit continues installing other nodes even if one fails.

Development nodes¶

Track local nodes you're actively developing without managing them as regular installed nodes.

What are development nodes?¶

Development nodes are:

Local directories in custom_nodes/ that you're editing
Tracked separately from regular nodes in pyproject.toml
Not managed by ComfyGit (you handle git operations yourself)
Dependency-aware - ComfyGit syncs their requirements.txt to your environment

Adding a development node¶

If you have a local node directory in custom_nodes/my-custom-node/:

cg node add my-custom-node --dev

What happens:

ComfyGit scans custom_nodes/my-custom-node/requirements.txt
Installs Python dependencies to the environment
Marks the node as development in pyproject.toml
Does not git clone or manage updates

Example output:

📦 Adding development node: my-custom-node
✓ Development node 'my-custom-node' added and tracked

Run 'cg -e my-env env status' to review changes

Development node workflow¶

# 1. Clone your node repo manually
cd ~/comfygit/environments/my-env/ComfyUI/custom_nodes/
git clone https://github.com/you/your-custom-node

# 2. Track it as a development node
cg node add your-custom-node --dev

# 3. Edit code locally
cd your-custom-node
# ... make changes ...

# 4. Update dependencies if you change requirements.txt
cg node update your-custom-node

# 5. When done, commit your environment
cg commit -m "Added dev node: your-custom-node"

Why use development nodes?

Development nodes let you:

Work on node code while using it in ComfyUI
Keep your own git workflow separate from ComfyGit
Have ComfyGit manage Python dependencies automatically
Track which dev nodes are part of the environment

Advanced options¶

Force overwrite¶

Replace an existing node directory:

cg node add comfyui-impact-pack --force

This removes the existing custom_nodes/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack/ directory and re-downloads/re-installs the node.

Destructive operation

--force deletes the existing directory. Any uncommitted local changes will be lost. Use with caution.

Skip resolution testing¶

By default, ComfyGit tests that the node's dependencies can be resolved. Skip this with:

cg node add comfyui-impact-pack --no-test

Useful when:

You know the dependencies are fine
You want faster installation
The node has complex dependencies that may show false conflicts

What gets tracked¶

When you add a node, ComfyGit updates .cec/pyproject.toml:

[tool.comfygit.nodes]
"comfyui-impact-pack" = {name = "ComfyUI-Impact-Pack", repository = "https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack", version = "abc1234", source = "registry"}

This tracks:

name - The node's directory name in custom_nodes/
repository - The git repository URL
version - The git commit hash (for reproducibility)
source - Where it came from (registry, git, or development)

Dependency installation¶

ComfyGit automatically handles node dependencies:

requirements.txt¶

If the node has requirements.txt:

# custom_nodes/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack/requirements.txt
opencv-python>=4.5.0
pillow>=9.0.0

ComfyGit runs:

uv add opencv-python pillow

These get added to your environment's pyproject.toml under a dedicated dependency group.

install.py scripts¶

Some nodes have install.py scripts for custom installation. ComfyGit:

Scans for requirements.txt first
If install.py exists, does not run it automatically
You may need to run it manually:

cd ~/comfygit/environments/my-env/ComfyUI/custom_nodes/node-name
python install.py

Why not auto-run install.py?

ComfyGit doesn't run arbitrary scripts for security reasons. Review the script first, then run manually if needed.

How node caching works¶

ComfyGit uses a two-stage installation process for efficiency:

Download to global cache - Nodes are first downloaded to a workspace-level cache directory
Copy to environment - The cached node is then copied to your environment's custom_nodes/ directory

Benefits of caching:

Fast reinstallation - Reinstalling the same node version is instant (no re-download)
Shared across environments - Multiple environments can share the same cached node files
Preserved on removal - Removing a node from an environment doesn't delete the cached copy
Reduced bandwidth - CDN packages are only downloaded once per workspace

Cache location:

~/comfygit/cache/custom_nodes/
  ├── ComfyUI-Impact-Pack@abc1234/
  ├── ComfyUI-ControlNet-Aux@def5678/
  └── ...

Quick reinstallation

If you remove a node and then re-add it (same version), ComfyGit will copy it from cache instantly instead of re-downloading.

Avoiding ComfyUI-Manager¶

Don't install ComfyUI-Manager

ComfyGit replaces ComfyUI-Manager's functionality. Installing comfyui-manager can cause conflicts because both tools manage custom nodes.

Instead of ComfyUI-Manager:

Use cg node add to install nodes
Use cg node update to update nodes
Use cg node list to see installed nodes
Use cg workflow resolve to resolve workflow dependencies

Common patterns¶

Installing from a requirements file¶

If you have a list of nodes:

# nodes.txt
comfyui-impact-pack
comfyui-controlnet-aux
comfyui-video-helper-suite

Install them all:

cg node add $(cat nodes.txt)

Or manually:

cg node add comfyui-impact-pack comfyui-controlnet-aux comfyui-video-helper-suite

Installing a fork¶

# Install from your fork instead of the original
cg node add https://github.com/yourusername/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack

Installing a specific commit for stability¶

# Pin to a known-working commit
cg node add comfyui-impact-pack@abc1234567890abcdef

Troubleshooting¶

Node not found in registry¶

✗ Failed to add node 'unknown-node'
   Node not found in registry

Solutions:

Check spelling and try again

Use the GitHub URL directly:

cg node add https://github.com/user/repo

Update the registry cache:

cg registry update
cg node add unknown-node

Registry cache unavailable¶

✗ Cannot add node - registry data unavailable
  Cache location: ~/comfygit/comfygit_cache/registry/

To fix this issue:
  1. Download registry data:
     → cg registry update

  2. Check download status:
     → cg registry status

Follow the suggested commands to download the registry.

Directory already exists¶

✗ Cannot add node 'comfyui-impact-pack'
  Directory custom_nodes/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack already exists
  Filesystem: https://github.com/user/fork
  Registry:   https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack

Suggested actions:
  1. Remove existing node
     → cg node remove comfyui-impact-pack

  2. Force overwrite existing directory
     → cg node add comfyui-impact-pack --force

Choose one of the suggested actions based on what you want.

Dependency conflicts¶

If a node has conflicting dependencies:

✗ Failed to add node 'problematic-node'
   Dependency conflict: torch==2.0.0 (required) conflicts with torch>=2.1.0 (installed)

See Node Conflicts for detailed conflict resolution strategies.

Next steps¶

Managing Nodes

List, update, remove, and prune installed nodes
Node Conflicts

Resolve dependency conflicts between nodes
Workflows

Automatically resolve node dependencies from workflows