Checkpoint Loader Advanced (watdafox)

Checkpoint Loader Advanced is the pack's one real heavyweight: a full checkpoint loader that adds a clip-skip control, an optional external VAE, and - the headline feature - the same automatic output-path building as the pack's standalone Output Dir By Model Name node. Load the model and get a ready-made timestamped filename to hand your Save Image node.

The pitch is organization without extra nodes. In a stock workflow you load a checkpoint, then separately wrestle with a Save Image node's filename field, and your output folder slowly becomes a landfill of default names. This node folds the filename problem into the loader: give it a checkpoint, and by default you get an output dir like <modelname>/2026-08-16/ and a timestamped filename, available as output_dir, file_name, and full_path outputs - plus pushed into the node's own widgets via the pack's web extension so you can see them at a glance.

How it works

The loading side is a standard checkpoint load with two extras. vae_name defaults to Baked VAE but lets you select an external VAE file instead - if you swap it, only the VAE reloads, not the whole checkpoint. stop_at_clip_layer (default −2) is the clip-skip control; 0 uses the model's default clip, anything else applies a negative layer skip, which is the standard A1111-style "clip skip" for SDXL workflows. The code caches the loaded model, CLIP, and VAE, and only reloads when the checkpoint, clip skip, or baked-VAE choice actually changes - so it doesn't waste time re-reading a multi-gigabyte file when you just tweak the filename options.

The path side is the same machinery as Output Dir By Model Name: enable_make_path (default on) builds folder_prefix + first_dir / model_name / date for the directory and timestamp + extra_filename + extra_number for the file. Flip enable_make_path off and the path outputs go empty, leaving just a plain loader.

The inputs that matter

• ckpt_name - the checkpoint combo.
• vae_name - Baked VAE or an external VAE.
• stop_at_clip_layer - clip skip; −2 is the SDXL default many workflows want.
• enable_make_path and the use_first_dir / use_ckpt_name / use_time_folder / use_time_file_name toggles - these shape the output path.
• Outputs MODEL, CLIP, VAE, plus ckpt_name, full_path, output_dir, file_name (all STRING).

Category: watdafox/loader.

Install

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/OhSeongHyeon/comfyui-watdafox-nodes.git

Restart ComfyUI, or ComfyUI Manager → "comfyui-watdafox-nodes". No pip dependencies, no model downloads - it loads whatever's in your checkpoints and vae folders.

Where people get burned

The author's own code comments flag the quirk: path generation enabled can cause models to reload when you'd rather they didn't - the path logic runs on every execution even when the checkpoint didn't change. If you're iterating quickly and hitting reload stalls, flip enable_make_path off and use the standalone Output Dir By Model Name node instead. Also, remember path toggles only shape the strings - your Save Image node has to actually accept the filename or full path you feed it, so verify your save node's convention once before trusting it at scale.