Installation

Install ComfyUI and connect the MCP server — local, remote, or Comfy Cloud.

1. Install ComfyUI

ComfyUI Desktop

The easiest way to get a managed install on macOS / Windows.

From source

Clone and run manually — or use the install_comfyui tool.

2. Add the MCP server

ComfyUI MCP ships on npm as comfyui-mcp and runs via npx — no global install needed.

Local ComfyUI

The server auto-detects a local install and its port. Add it to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comfyui": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "comfyui-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Remote ComfyUI

Point at any reachable instance with --comfyui-url. No local install is required for HTTP-based tools (generation, queue, workflows, models search, etc.). When the host is non-loopback, the server enters remote mode and skips COMFYUI_PATH auto-detection so a stale local install can’t silently absorb uploads.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comfyui": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "comfyui-mcp", "--comfyui-url", "https://my-comfy.example.com"]
    }
  }
}

Most tools work fine against a remote ComfyUI — installing custom nodes included, via the ComfyUI-Manager HTTP API. What genuinely needs a local install path is installing ComfyUI itself, comfy-cli-backed operations, reading logs, and removing model files; those return a clear error in remote mode. See How it works.

Comfy Cloud

Target Comfy Cloud by setting COMFYUI_API_KEY. The server enters cloud mode: HTTP primitives route via cloud.comfy.org with X-API-Key authentication. WebSocket-bound and local-FS/process tools throw a clear CLOUD_UNSUPPORTED error.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comfyui": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "comfyui-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "COMFYUI_API_KEY": "your-comfy-cloud-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cloud mode skips local COMFYUI_PATH auto-detection and uses the cloud’s own model library. Tools that reach for a local process or the filesystem throw CLOUD_UNSUPPORTED; others degrade instead of throwing — list_local_models returns an empty list, and apply_manifest reports per-item skipped/failed rather than erroring outright. See the Configuration page for the full feature-parity matrix.

Cloud-only? Comfy-Org’s Comfy Cloud MCP (public beta) is the canonical choice — see Local vs. Comfy Cloud. Use comfyui-mcp’s cloud-mode if you want a single MCP across local / remote / cloud, or you need cloud support today.

Managed / enterprise Claude Code

On an organization-managed Claude Code there is no claude CLI to run claude mcp add with, and the administrator-controlled Managed MCP servers list will test a server successfully and then refuse to save it. Developer settings → Edit config opens a claude_desktop_config.json that the Code tab never reads. Two routes do work.

Option A — HTTP. Run the server yourself and add it as a remote connector:

npx -y comfyui-mcp@latest --http

That serves streamable-HTTP at http://127.0.0.1:9100/mcp — override the bind with --host / --port. Add that URL as a remote connector, transport HTTP, authentication none. The process must keep running for as long as you use the tools, and a managed org list may still refuse to persist the entry — if it does, use Option B.

Option B — stdio from your user config. Claude spawns the server itself, so nothing has to stay running. Install it globally with Claude Code fully closed, or Windows holds the files open and leaves a half-deleted package that npm ls -g reports with no version:

npm install -g comfyui-mcp
npm root -g

Then add a top-level mcpServers block to ~/.claude.json — on Windows, C:\Users\YOUR_NAME\.claude.json — pointing node at the path npm root -g printed:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comfyui": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/Users/YOUR_NAME/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/comfyui-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Code completely, including the system-tray icon — otherwise the config is never re-read.

Verify by asking the agent what tools it has. On a managed build no UI surface reliably reflects a working MCP server, so the functional test is the only one that does not lie.

The Claude-side menu names and paths above were observed on one managed build — treat them as what to look for, not as exact labels. Keep the HTTP endpoint on loopback: if you bind it to a non-loopback host, the server refuses to start unless you set a shared secret with --token. See Remote connector.

Then run /mcp in Claude Code to connect.

3. Starting the panel orchestrator

Only needed for the sidebar panel. Skip this if you are driving ComfyUI from Claude Code or another MCP client — that path uses the MCP server configured above.

The panel is a pure-frontend ComfyUI extension: it cannot start a process on your machine, so you start the orchestrator yourself and the panel connects to it.

npx -y comfyui-mcp@latest connect

That is sugar for --panel-orchestrator. It auto-targets the ComfyUI your browser is on, serves the bridge on ws://127.0.0.1:9199 (override with COMFYUI_MCP_BRIDGE_PORT), and must keep running while you use the panel. Then open the Agent tab, pick a provider, and click Connect.

Driving a remote ComfyUI — a cloud pod or another box on your LAN? Run the same command on your own machine, not the remote one, and pass the URL:

npx -y comfyui-mcp@latest connect https://your-pod-url

Your provider login and the agent stay local; nothing is installed on the remote host. See Cloud deployment for the tunnel details.

4. (Optional) Tokens

Some tools use API tokens. Set them in the server’s env block (see Configuration):

• CIVITAI_API_TOKEN — gated CivitAI downloads
• HUGGINGFACE_TOKEN — higher HuggingFace rate limits
• GITHUB_TOKEN — skill generation / node metadata fetches
• COMFY_API_KEY — hosted comfy.org API nodes

Local development

The project uses npm link so npx comfyui-mcp resolves to your local build:

git clone https://github.com/artokun/comfyui-mcp
cd comfyui-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm link

After code changes: npm run build, then /mcp to reconnect.