Checkpoint Loader Simple (Mikey)

Every SDXL/SD1.5 workflow starts with a checkpoint loader, and ComfyUI's core version - model, clip, vae, done - is fine right up until you need to remember which exact checkpoint made a given image. That's the one thing it doesn't give you, and it's the one thing this node adds.

What it does differently

Functionally, it's a drop-in swap for ComfyUI's built-in Checkpoint Loader Simple: one dropdown (ckpt_name, populated automatically from your models/checkpoints folder), same three model outputs - model, clip, vae - that feed your sampler, your text encoders, and your VAE decode exactly the way the stock node does. Nothing about the generation path changes.

What it adds is two extra string outputs: ckpt_name (the filename you picked, as a plain string) and ckpt_hash (a hash of the checkpoint file). That's the same identification convention A1111 and CivitAI use to pin an image to the exact model version that made it - checkpoint filenames get renamed, re-shared, and mixed up constantly, but a hash doesn't lie about which file it came from. Wire both strings into Mikey Nodes' Save Image With Prompt Data node (its parameters field is built for exactly this kind of metadata) and every image you save carries proof of which checkpoint made it, without you having to remember or write it down by hand.

Why this matters more than it sounds

Mikey Nodes shows up as one of the packs people bundle into complex, shareable community workflows - it turns up alongside Impact Pack, rgthree, and KJNodes in the "here's what you need installed" lists that accompany elaborate multi-character or multi-stage workflows shared on Reddit. In that context, a checkpoint-hash-on-save habit is the difference between someone six months from now being able to reproduce your result exactly, versus guessing which of three similarly-named checkpoint files you actually used.

Installing

Part of the full Mikey Nodes pack. ComfyUI Manager: search "Mikey Nodes," install, restart. Manual: cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes && git clone https://github.com/bash-j/mikey_nodes, then restart ComfyUI. No extra downloads for the node itself - it reads whatever checkpoints you already have in ComfyUI/models/checkpoints.

Where it can go wrong

• Empty dropdown, no checkpoints listed. If ckpt_name shows no options, ComfyUI isn't finding anything in models/checkpoints - check your extra_model_paths.yaml if you're using a shared or non-default model folder location, since that's the most common reason a checkpoint loader (this one or the stock one) comes up empty.
• Hashing large files taking a moment on first load. Computing a file hash on a multi-gigabyte checkpoint isn't instant; a brief pause the first time you select a given checkpoint isn't a hang, it's the hash being computed (and it's typically cached after that).
• Swapping this node into an existing workflow and losing your model wiring. Because the three model outputs match the stock node exactly, this is a safe drop-in replacement - but always double check the model/clip/vae wires reconnect correctly after the swap rather than assuming ComfyUI's node-replace feature got every connection right.