ComfyUI-PreviewImageNode

Standalone version of ComfyUI's PreviewImage and SaveImage nodes, extracted as an independent custom node for easy reuse and customization.

Overview

This package contains standalone versions of two fundamental ComfyUI nodes:

• Preview Image: Display images in the UI without permanently saving them
• Save Image: Save images to the output directory with metadata

These nodes are extracted from ComfyUI's core nodes.py file and packaged as independent custom nodes for better modularity and reusability.

Features

• Fully compatible with ComfyUI's IMAGE type
• Supports batch image processing
• Automatic metadata embedding (prompt, workflow info)
• Configurable compression levels
• Temporary file management for previews
• No external dependencies (uses ComfyUI's built-in systems)

Installation

Method 1: Manual Installation

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/eddyhhlure1Eddy/ComfyUI-PreviewImageNode.git
cd ComfyUI-PreviewImageNode
pip install -r requirements.txt

Method 2: Direct Copy

1. Copy the ComfyUI-PreviewImageNode folder to ComfyUI/custom_nodes/
2. Restart ComfyUI

Nodes

Preview Image (Standalone)

Purpose: Display images in the ComfyUI interface without permanently saving them.

Inputs:

• images (IMAGE): The images to preview

Outputs:

• images (IMAGE): Pass-through of input images for downstream nodes

Behavior:

• Saves images to temp directory
• Uses fast compression (level 1)
• Auto-generates random temporary filenames
• Displays images directly in the node
• Passes images through to next node

Use Cases:

• Quick preview during workflow development
• Intermediate result inspection
• Debug visualization
• Temporary output checking
• Preview and continue processing

Save Image (Standalone)

Purpose: Save images permanently to the ComfyUI output directory.

Inputs:

• images (IMAGE): The images to save
• filename_prefix (STRING): Prefix for saved files (default: "ComfyUI")

Outputs:

• images (IMAGE): Pass-through of input images for downstream nodes

Behavior:

• Saves to ComfyUI/output/ directory
• Balanced compression (level 4)
• Embeds workflow metadata
• Sequential numbering
• Supports batch processing
• Passes images through to next node

Use Cases:

• Final output saving
• Result archiving
• Workflow export
• Production image generation
• Save and continue processing

Technical Details

Image Processing

Both nodes:

1. Accept ComfyUI IMAGE tensors (shape: [B, H, W, C])
2. Convert to numpy arrays
3. Scale from [0,1] to [0,255]
4. Convert to PIL Image
5. Save as PNG with optional metadata

Metadata Embedding

Saved images include:

• Workflow prompt (if available)
• Generation parameters
• Node configuration
• Custom metadata fields

File Naming

Preview Image:

{prefix}_temp_{random}_{counter:05}_.png

Save Image:

{filename_prefix}_{counter:05}_.png

Directory Structure

ComfyUI/
├── output/              # SaveImage output
│   └── {saved images}
└── temp/               # PreviewImage temp files
    └── {preview images}

Differences from Original Nodes

Advantages of Standalone Version

1. Independence: Can be updated/modified without affecting core ComfyUI
2. Modularity: Easy to copy to other projects
3. Customization: Simple to extend with new features
4. Learning: Clear, isolated code for understanding node structure

Identical Functionality

• Same input/output behavior
• Same image processing pipeline
• Same metadata handling
• Same UI integration

Usage Examples

Basic Preview

Load Image → Preview Image (Standalone) → [Continue processing...]

Save with Custom Prefix

Generate Image → Save Image (Standalone) → [Continue processing...]
                 filename_prefix: "MyArt"

Preview and Save Chain

Image Processing → Preview Image (Standalone) → Save Image (Standalone) → More Processing
                   [View in UI]                 [Save to disk]            [Pass through]

Batch Processing

Batch Images [4 images] → Preview Image (Standalone) → Image Upscale
                          [Shows all 4 in node]        [Process further]

Multi-Branch Workflow

Load Image → Preview Image (Standalone) ┬→ Save Image (filename: "original")
                                         ├→ Image Filter → Save Image (filename: "filtered")
                                         └→ Image Upscale → Save Image (filename: "upscaled")

Checkpoint Preview

Image Gen → Preview Image → More Processing → Preview Image → Save Image
            [Check step 1]                    [Check step 2]  [Final save]

Compatibility

• ComfyUI: All versions
• Python: 3.8+
• Dependencies: Pillow, NumPy (usually already installed)

Performance

Preview Image

• Compression: Level 1 (fastest)
• Storage: Temporary (auto-cleaned)
• Speed: ~10-50ms per image

Save Image

• Compression: Level 4 (balanced)
• Storage: Permanent
• Speed: ~20-100ms per image

Troubleshooting

Images Not Displaying

Problem: Preview Image shows no output

Solution:

• Check that input is IMAGE type
• Verify ComfyUI temp directory is writable
• Restart ComfyUI to clear cache

Save Path Issues

Problem: Cannot save images

Solution:

• Ensure ComfyUI/output/ directory exists
• Check write permissions
• Verify disk space

Metadata Not Embedding

Problem: PNG files lack workflow info

Solution:

• Ensure args.disable_metadata is False
• Check ComfyUI settings
• Verify prompt/extra_pnginfo are passed correctly

Customization

Changing Compression

Edit nodes.py:

class PreviewImage(SaveImage):
    def __init__(self):
        ...
        self.compress_level = 1  # Change: 0 (none) to 9 (max)

Custom Output Directory

Edit nodes.py:

class SaveImage:
    def __init__(self):
        self.output_dir = "/custom/path"  # Your path

Adding Custom Metadata

Extend save_images method:

metadata.add_text("custom_field", "custom_value")

Project Structure

ComfyUI-PreviewImageNode/
├── __init__.py          # Node registration
├── nodes.py             # Core implementation
├── requirements.txt     # Dependencies
└── README.md           # Documentation

Credits

• Original nodes: ComfyUI core team
• Standalone extraction: eddy
• Based on: ComfyUI nodes.py

License

MIT License - Same as ComfyUI

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome!

Links

• GitHub Repository
• ComfyUI
• Example Workflows

Changelog

Version 1.1.0

• Added IMAGE output to both nodes for pass-through capability
• Nodes can now be chained with downstream processing
• Supports multi-branch workflows
• Updated documentation with new usage examples

Version 1.0.0

• Initial standalone release
• Extracted PreviewImage and SaveImage from ComfyUI core
• Full feature parity with original nodes
• Added comprehensive documentation