AI Horde Model List

The AI Horde Model List node exists for one reason: the model field on its sibling AI Horde Image Generate node is a plain text box, and the Horde only accepts exact model IDs. Type Deliberate and you might get lucky - the default is real - but most models have namespaced IDs like SDXL_beta::stability.ai#6901, and a typo costs you a queue slot. This node shows you what the network is actually serving right now, so you copy instead of guess.

It's the smallest node in the Malte0621/hordeai-comfy pack, and honestly it's the one you'll reach for once and then ignore. Run it, read the output, paste a name into the Generate node, done.

How it works

The node hits the Horde's stats API - a ImageStatsModelsRequest for models in the known state - then ranks them by usage and returns the top N. No key needed, no model downloads, no local state. It's read-only introspection of a remote service, which makes it about as low-risk as a custom node gets.

One input, top_n (1–100, default 20): how many of the most-used models to fetch. One output, model_list: a list of model name strings, shown in the node's UI.

The catch: it's an output node

This is where beginners trip. AIHordeModelList is marked an output node - meaning it doesn't wire into anything. You can't drag a connection from model_list into the Image Generate node, because model is a text field, not a socket. The list renders on the node, you read the name, and you type or paste it into the Generate node's model box by hand.

That feels clunky, but it's actually the correct design given how the Generate node works. There's genuinely no data connection to make - the model name is just a string that gets embedded in the API request.

Why you'd bother

Two situations make this node worth having in a workflow rather than one-off in the browser:

1. A model you use disappears. The Horde retires models, and when one drops off the known list your Generate node starts erroring with payload validation failures. Run this node and you'll see what replaced it.
2. You're exploring. Default is Deliberate; the top-20 list surfaces things like Anything Diffusion, AlbedoBase XL, and whatever the current community favorite is. It's a cheap way to answer "what do people actually run on this grid right now?"

Minor note: the README mentions an api_key input for this node, but the shipped code doesn't have one - it's just top_n. Another case of docs drifting from code, so trust the node, not the README.

Installing

Same as the rest of the pack: ComfyUI Manager → search "HordeAI" → install → restart, or git clone https://github.com/Malte0621/hordeai-comfy into ComfyUI/custom_nodes and pip install -r requirements.txt. No models, no heavy downloads - the only real dependency is horde-sdk, which this node (like its siblings) will complain about loudly if missing.

If the node shows Error getting model list, that's a network or API blip - the Horde is a volunteer service and occasionally returns garbage. Just re-run it.