Manage ComfyUI using ComfyUI Launcher

ComfyUI Launcher is the core management tool for ComfyUI administrators. Use it to control the ComfyUI service across the cluster, and manage models, plugins, the runtime environment, and network settings.

This guide walks you through using ComfyUI Launcher for service management and routine maintenance.

Learning objectives

In this guide, you will learn how to:

• Start and stop the ComfyUI service for all users in the cluster.
• Verify and adjust network settings so GitHub, PyPI, and Hugging Face are accessible.
• Add models in different ways and understand where models are stored in Olares Files.
• Manage plugins from the ComfyUI Launcher library or install them from GitHub.
• Manage Python dependencies by installing, updating, removing packages, and analyzing missing dependencies for plugins.
• Customize launch options to configure startup parameters.
• Troubleshoot common issues using logs and safely reset ComfyUI to its initial state when necessary.

Start and stop the service

As the administrator, you must start the ComfyUI service before you or other members can access it via the client interface.

• Start ComfyUI service

  Go to Home and click the START button in the upper-right corner.

  Notes on first run

  • Initial startup of ComfyUI Launcher typically takes 10-20 seconds for environment initialization.
  • If the system prompts that essential models are missing, you can click START ANYWAY. However, workflows may fail without these base models. Download the required models before starting the service.

• Stop ComfyUI service

  Go to Home and click the STOP button when ComfyUI is not in use. This releases VRAM and memory resources for other applications.

Configure network

ComfyUI needs access to GitHub for plugins, PyPI for Python packages, and Hugging Face for models. Before installing any of these, check the connection status in Network Manager.

1. Go to Network.

2. Check the connectivity to GitHub, PyPI, and Hugging Face.

3. If any service shows Inaccessible, fix your network or proxy settings, and then click SAVE & CHECK to test again.

4. Repeat until the status of each service becomes Accessible.

Manage files and directories

ComfyUI Launcher provides quick access to key directories and uses a shared model folder so models can be reused across ComfyUI and SD Web UI.

Access file locations

On the Home tab, the File Type section provides direct access to the main directories used by ComfyUI:

Entry	Location in Files	Description
Root	/Files/External/olares/ai/ comfyui/ComfyUI	Root directory of the ComfyUI installation.
Plugin	/Files/External/olares/ai/ comfyui/ComfyUI/custom_nodes	Stores installed plugins (custom nodes and extensions).
Model	/Files/External/olares/ai/model	Centralized storage for AI models shared by ComfyUI and other AI apps.
Output	/Files/External/olares/ai/ output/comfyui	Default destination for images and other assets generated by ComfyUI.
Input	/Files/External/olares/ai/ comfyui/ComfyUI/input	Folder for source images used in image-to-image or in-painting workflows.

Clicking any of these entries opens the Files app directly in the corresponding directory.

Understand the model directory structure

ComfyUI in Olares uses a file structure that differs from the standard installation. This change allows models to be shared between ComfyUI and SD Web UI.

When uploading external models manually or selecting a destination in Custom Download, place files into the correct subfolder.

TIP

Make sure the model type matches the target folder so ComfyUI can detect and use the files correctly.

Standard ComfyUI directory	Directory in Files	Model type
checkpoints/	main/	Base checkpoints (SD 1.5, SDXL, Flux)
loras/	lora/	LoRA weights
vae/	vae/	VAE models
embeddings/	embeddings/	Textual Inversion embeddings
hypernetworks/	hypernetworks/	Hypernetwork weights
controlnet/	controlnet/	ControlNet models
clip_vision/	clip_vision/	CLIP Vision models (used for IP-Adapter)
style_models/	style_models/	Style or effect models
upscale_models/	upscale_models/	Upscalers (ESRGAN, SwinIR)
ipadapter/	ipadapter/	IP-Adapter models
facerestore_models/	facerestore_models/	Face restoration models (GFPGAN, CodeFormer)
inpaint/	inpaint/	Inpainting-specific models
text_encoders/	clip/, text_encoders/	Text encoder models (for example, CLIP and T5 encoders)
diffusion_models/	unet/, diffusion_models/	Diffusion model weights, including UNet-based models

Manage models

ComfyUI supports multiple ways to add models. Choose the method that best matches the model source and your workflow.

Method	Use this when	Notes
ComfyUI Launcher	The model is a public Hugging Face model that does not require login or a token.	In most cases, this is the easiest way to download the model directly to Olares.
Upload local models	The model requires login, a token, approval, or manual download, or it comes from a source not supported by ComfyUI Launcher.	Download the model file to your local device first, then upload it through Files or LarePass.
Downloader nodes	A custom node provides its own model downloader.	Follow the custom node documentation for setup, storage location, and model requirements.

Download with ComfyUI Launcher

Use this method for public Hugging Face models that do not require login or a token.

ComfyUI Launcher provides three common ways to download models directly to Olares.

Download a resource package

Use this method when you want to install a ready-to-use package provided by Olares, such as a starter bundle or a workflow-specific package.

1. Go to Home > Resource Package.
2. Find the package you want, then click VIEW.
3. On the Package Details page, click GET ALL to download all required files. You can track the progress in the status bar.

Download from the model library

Use this method when you want to download an individual public model directly in ComfyUI Launcher.

1. Go to Models > Model library, then scroll to Available models.
2. Search for the model by name, or browse by category.
3. Find the model you want, then click the download button to download it.

Download by direct URL

Use this method when you already have a direct download URL for a model file that ComfyUI Launcher can access directly.

1. Go to Models > Custom Download.

2. Paste the model URL.

3. Select the destination path based on the model type. If you're not sure which folder to choose, see Understand the model directory structure.

4. Click DOWNLOAD MODEL.

   

Upload local models

Use this method when the model requires login, a token, approval, or manual download, or when the model source is not supported by ComfyUI Launcher.

1. Download the model file to your local device. If needed, see How do I download a model outside of ComfyUI Launcher.
2. Open Files from the Launchpad.
3. Navigate to External/olares/ai/model.
4. Open the folder that matches the model type. If you're not sure which folder to use, see Understand the model directory structure.
5. Upload the model file to the target folder.

Use downloader nodes

Some custom nodes can download models automatically.

Follow the documentation provided by the node author for setup, storage location, and model requirements.

If the workflow still reports a missing model after download, check whether the file was saved to the expected location and whether it matches the model type expected by the workflow.

Delete models

To delete a model:

1. Go to Models > Model library.
2. Under the Installed models section, find the model you want to delete, and click the delete icon.

Manage plugins

ComfyUI Launcher provides flexible ways to manage plugins in Plugins.

Manage available plugins

To manage available plugins registered in ComfyUI Launcher:

1. Go to Plugins > Plugin library.
2. Under Available Plugins, find the plugin you want.

For any plugin, you can:

• Click the visibility button to view plugin details.
• Visit the GitHub repository if it is available.

Depending on the plugin status, different actions are available:

• Not installed: Click Install to get the latest version, or Switch version to choose a specific one.
• Installed: Disable, Uninstall, or Switch version.
• Disabled: Click Enable to reactivate it, or Uninstall to remove it.

At the top of the section, you can also:

• Click UPDATE ALL PLUGINS to update all installed plugins.
• Click REFRESH to refresh the plugin list.

Install plugins from GitHub

To install plugins directly from GitHub repositories:

1. Go to Plugins > Custom Install.
2. Enter the GitHub repository URL of the plugin.
3. (Optional) Specify the branch. If unsure, keep the default.
4. Click INSTALL PLUGIN.

Manage environment

ComfyUI runs on a set of Python libraries. Manage them on the Environment page.

Install Python packages

1. Go to Environment > INSTALL NEW PACKAGE.
2. In the pop-up window, enter the package name and version number (optional), and then click INSTALL.

Manage installed Python packages

1. Go to Environment.
2. Under the Installed Python packages tab, find the Python library you want to manage.
3. Click the arrow_upward button on the right to update the library, or the delete button to remove it.

Analyze dependency installation status

1. Go to Environment > Dependency analysis.
2. Click ANALYZE NOW to start analyzing.
3. From the plugins list on the left, find the problematic plugin highlighted in red, and click on it.
4. From Dependency list, find the missing library for the plugin, and click the Install button on the right. You can also click FIX ALL to automatically install all missing libraries.

Configure ComfyUI launch options

The Lab page lets you customize how ComfyUI starts. You can view the current launch command and modify startup parameters using two methods: editing arguments manually or selecting from the preset list.

View launch command

The Current full launch command section displays the complete command used to start ComfyUI, including all enabled options. Click content_copy to copy it for sharing or documentation.

Edit launch options

You can modify launch parameters using either of the following methods.

Method 1: Manually edit extra arguments

Use this method when you need to add custom arguments not available in the preset list.

1. In Manually edit extra arguments, enter your additional arguments in the text field (separated by spaces).
2. Click SAVE MANUAL ARGS.
3. Go to Home and click RESTART to apply the changes.

Method 2: Use the launch options list

Use this method to select parameters from a predefined list and set their values.

INFO

Some options (such as --port and --front-end-version) are fixed by the system and cannot be modified.

To configure using the list:

1. In the Launch options list, find the option you want to configure.
2. Check the Enable checkbox to add the option to the launch command.
3. If the option requires a value, enter it in the Value field.
4. Click SAVE LIST ARGS to save your changes.
5. Go to Home and click RESTART to apply the changes.

Restore to defaults

If incorrect launch parameters are causing issues, restore all options to their defaults.

1. Click RESTORE DEFAULT.
2. Go to Home and click RESTART to apply the changes.

Troubleshoot and maintain ComfyUI

ComfyUI Launcher provides tools to help diagnose issues and maintain the ComfyUI service.

Gather diagnostic information

When something goes wrong, collect the following information to help identify the root cause.

Export ComfyUI logs

Export logs to check ComfyUI's running status:

1. Go to Home and click more_vert in the upper-right corner, then click View logs.

2. Click the refresh button to refresh the log, and the download button to download the log.

Check dependency conflicts

If a workflow that previously worked starts failing after installing new plugins, the issue is likely caused by dependency conflicts. Run a dependency analysis to identify and fix the problem. See Analyze dependency installation status for detailed steps.

Get launch parameters

If the service fails to start or behaves unexpectedly, check the current launch parameters:

1. Go to Lab.
2. Copy the current launch parameters for reference or sharing with support.
3. (Optional) If you suspect launch parameters are causing issues, click RESTORE DEFAULT to reset them.

Get workflow error details

If a workflow fails during execution, retrieve the error details from the ComfyUI client:

1. In the ComfyUI client, click Active to open the Job Queue.
2. Select the failed task from the list.
3. Click Report error, then click Show Report to expand details.
4. Take a screenshot of the error report for troubleshooting or sharing.

Reset ComfyUI configuration

If troubleshooting does not resolve the issue, reset ComfyUI to its initial state.

Perform with caution

Resetting ComfyUI is irreversible. All plugins, custom configurations, and Python dependencies will be removed. Models stored in the shared model folder are not affected.

To reset ComfyUI:

1. Go to Home and click more_vert in the upper-right corner, then click Wipe and restore.
2. In the prompt window, click WIPE AND RESTORE.
3. Enter CONFIRM, then click CONFIRM.

After the reset is complete, restart ComfyUI for the changes to take effect.

Reinstall ComfyUI completely

If the issue persists after the wipe and restore, uninstall and reinstall ComfyUI completely.

1. Go to Market > My Olares.
2. Click the dropdown arrow next to ComfyUI's operation button and select Uninstall.
3. In the Uninstall window, select Also remove all local data, then click Confirm.
4. Open Files from the Launchpad and navigate to External/olares/ai.
5. Delete the comfyui folder.
6. Reinstall ComfyUI from Market.
7. Once installation is complete, open ComfyUI Launcher and start the service.

FAQ

How do I download a model outside of ComfyUI Launcher?

If a model cannot be downloaded in ComfyUI Launcher, you can usually find the download link in one of the following ways.

Method 1: Check the template notes or Model Links section

Some official templates include notes or a Model Links section that lists:

• the required model file
• the download URL
• the expected storage location

If available, you can use this information to copy the download URL or open the model page directly.

Method 2: Use a browser helper extension

If the template shows a missing-model dialog but does not expose the full URL clearly, you can use a browser helper extension.

For example, with WAN Download URL Helper:

1. Open the missing-model dialog in ComfyUI.

2. Hover over a download icon.

3. Right-click the icon and choose Show download URL.

4. Copy the URL, then use it in your downloader or save it for manual download.

Method 3: Inspect the page in browser developer tools

If the URL is not shown in the template notes or dialog, inspect the page in your browser developer tools and look for network requests triggered by the template or missing-model dialog.