Checkpoint Name Selector

This node doesn't load a checkpoint. It just names one. You pick a checkpoint from a dropdown and it emits that name - once as the normal combo value a loader expects, and once as a plain string you can route anywhere. That second output is the whole point, and it's more useful than it sounds.

Here's the situation it solves. In ComfyUI, a checkpoint name lives inside a loader node's dropdown and stays trapped there - you can't easily feed it somewhere else. But sometimes you want the name as data: to stamp it into an output filename, to show which model made an image, to drive a switch, or to hand off to another node that takes a checkpoint name as a string. This node pulls the selection out of the dropdown and makes it a first-class value you can wire around the graph.

How it works

It reads the same list of checkpoints your loader would show, you select one, and it passes the selection straight through - no model gets loaded, no VRAM touched. The trick is the dual output: the combo form keeps compatibility with nodes that expect an actual checkpoint-name widget, while the string form is free to travel into text nodes, filename builders, or anything else that takes a string.

Inputs and outputs

One input:

• ckpt_name - the dropdown of checkpoints found in your models/checkpoints folder. If it's empty, you have no checkpoints installed there.

Two outputs:

• ckpt_name - the selection as a combo value, for feeding a loader that wants the widget type.
• ckpt_name_str - the same name as a plain STRING. This is the one you route into filenames, labels, switches, or the ArtVenture parameter nodes.

Installing it

Ships with the ArtVenture pack. ComfyUI Manager: search comfyui-art-venture, install, restart. Manually:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/sipherxyz/comfyui-art-venture

Restart ComfyUI. Nothing to download - it only reads the names of checkpoints you already have.

Common issues

Empty dropdown. No checkpoints in ComfyUI/models/checkpoints, or you added one after ComfyUI started. Drop the file in and restart, since model folders are scanned at launch.

"Why doesn't it produce an image?" Because it doesn't load anything - it's a name selector, not a loader. You still need a real Load Checkpoint node in the graph. This node is for passing the name around, typically alongside the loader, not instead of it.

The string output has the full filename with extension. That's expected - it's the checkpoint's filename as stored. If you want a cleaner label for a filename or caption, run it through a string-manipulation node to trim the extension. Some users are surprised the two outputs aren't interchangeable everywhere; the combo output goes to widgets, the string output goes to text - use whichever the receiving node asks for.

It feels pointless in a simple workflow. In a simple workflow it kind of is. This node earns its place in templated, automated, or reporting-heavy graphs where the model name needs to be data. For a one-off generation, skip it.