Documentation

Core Concepts

Understand how ComfyControl's components work together to manage your AI workflows

How ComfyControl Works

1. Setup Runners

Connect ComfyUI instances

2. Create Templates

Reusable workflows

3. Run Workflows

Execute on runners

4. View Gallery

All your outputs

Runners

ComfyUI instances that execute your workflows

Runners are ComfyUI instances that ComfyControl connects to for workflow execution. Each runner represents a separate ComfyUI installation that can process your AI generation tasks.

Key Features:

  • State Management: Active runners accept new workflows, inactive runners don't
  • Tags: Organize runners and control workflow placement based on hardware or specialization
  • Authentication: Support for custom headers to access protected ComfyUI endpoints
  • Automatic Health Checks: ComfyControl monitors runner availability and connection status

Templates

Reusable ComfyUI workflows with dynamic placeholders

Templates are ComfyUI workflows exported as JSON files that can include special placeholders for dynamic values. They enable you to create reusable workflow patterns that can be executed with different parameters.

Placeholder Types:

$text(key)

Text input parameter for prompts and strings

$file(name)

File upload reference for images and assets

$random()

64-bit random value for seeds and noise

$timestamp()

Current timestamp in Unix milliseconds

Example Template:

{
  "6": {
    "inputs": {
      "text": "$text(prompt)",
      "seed": "$random()",
      "steps": 20
    }
  },
  "10": {
    "inputs": {
      "image": "$file(input_image.png)",
      "filename_prefix": "$timestamp()"
    }
  }
}

Workflows

Executable instances created from templates or JSON files

Workflows are execution instances that can be created from templates or standalone JSON files. They represent actual jobs that get processed by your runners and generate outputs.

Key Characteristics:

  • Tag-based Scheduling: Workflows with tags only run on runners with matching tags
  • Persistent Outputs: Results are stored independently of runner lifecycle
  • Re-execution: Change parameters and run again with different inputs
  • Status Tracking: Real-time monitoring of execution progress and state

Workflow Execution Flow:

1 Placeholder replacement happens before submission
2 Runner is selected based on tags and availability
3 Workflow executes on the selected runner
4 Outputs are copied and stored persistently

Gallery

Centralized view of all generated outputs

The Media Gallery provides a unified interface to view, download, and manage all outputs generated by your workflows across all runners. It serves as your central repository for all AI-generated content, including images, videos, and other media files.

Features:

  • Unified View: See outputs from all workflows in one place
  • Download Support: Direct download of images, videos, and generated files
  • Workflow Traceability: Link back to the workflow that created each output
  • Search & Filter: Find specific outputs quickly

Marketplace

Curated template discovery and workflow sharing

The Marketplace is a central hub for discovering high-quality ComfyUI workflows. It accelerates workflow development by providing access to curated templates with clear requirements and examples. Access requires authentication for security and tracking.

Key Features:

  • Template Discovery: Browse curated workflows by category, tags, and popularity
  • Star & Fork System: Show appreciation and create personal copies of templates
  • Requirement Documentation: Clear listing of required models and custom nodes
  • Category Organization: Curated templates organized by use case (Image Generation, Editing, Video)
  • Search & Filter: Find specific workflows using keywords and filters

How It Works:

Star Templates

Show appreciation for useful workflows and help others discover quality content

Fork & Customize

Create personal copies of templates to modify and use in your workflows

Understanding the Relationships

One-to-Many

  • • One Runner → Many Workflows
  • • One Template → Many Workflows
  • • One Workflow → Many Outputs

Key Relationships

  • • Runners execute Workflows
  • • Templates create Workflows
  • • Gallery shows all Outputs
  • • Marketplace enables Template discovery

Community Flow

  • • Browse Curated Templates
  • • Fork interesting Templates
  • • Customize for your needs