Happy Horse / v1.0 / imageToVideo

Don't let the name fool you - Happy Horse is a video model, not a mood. CivitaiVideoGenHappyHorseV10ImageToVideo is the v1.0 image-to-video entry in Civitai's cloud video lineup: you wire in a still image, write a prompt for the motion, and it returns an animated clip as a native VIDEO output. It's one of the leaner video nodes in the pack - prompt, image, resolution, duration, seed - and that simplicity is the appeal: image in, motion out, no dials to lose sleep over.

It lives in Civitai/Video/Happy Horse, part of Civitai's official ComfyUI pack. If you've been following the cloud-model frontier, Happy Horse is one of the newer image-to-video engines riding the wave of closed video models, and this is the only way it enters a ComfyUI graph - through Civitai's Orchestration API, billed in Buzz. It's the node you reach for when you want a still brought to life and the minimal generators' controls are exactly enough.

How it works

The node submits a videoGen workflow (engine: happyHorse, version: v1.0, operation: imageToVideo) to Civitai's Orchestration API. Wire a still into the image input (required, an IMAGE socket), describe the motion in the prompt, and the pack uploads the image, the cloud animates it, and the result comes back as a VIDEO tensor plus the standard workflow_id and raw_json. The node reports its Buzz cost on the canvas after a run.

The inputs that matter

• prompt (required) - what should happen. Motion language again: "the fountain's water rises and falls, leaves drift past, camera slowly orbits." The model can't invent intent you don't state.
• image (required) - the still to animate.
• resolution - 720p or 1080p, default 1080p.
• duration - seconds, 3–15, default 5.
• seed - set for reproducible takes; leave alone for variety.

Installing it

This is one of ~160 nodes in Civitai Comfy Nodes, Civitai's official pack for their Orchestration API:

• ComfyUI Manager: Manager → Custom Nodes Manager → search Civitai Comfy Nodes → Install, then restart.
• CLI: comfy node registry-install civitai-comfy-nodes
• Source: cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes && git clone https://github.com/civitai/civitai-comfy-nodes.git && pip install -r civitai-comfy-nodes/requirements.txt (just requests).

You need a Civitai account with Buzz and credentials - a Civitai Auth node, CIVITAI_API_TOKEN (best for headless), or a stored key via the Civitai sidebar.

Where people get burned

• No credentials → "No Civitai credentials" error. Export CIVITAI_API_TOKEN and restart ComfyUI.
• The image leaves your machine. This is a cloud call by design - source image and prompt go to Civitai's servers and Happy Horse's model, subject to both parties' moderation. Same content rules as the web generator, in theory and mostly in practice.
• Video is the expensive meter. Every clip burns Buzz per second; 1080p bills more than 720p. Check the cost report on the node and test at the cheaper settings before you commit to finals.
• Early preview. The pack README warns of breaking changes without notice, and early community reports flagged slow jobs and bugs across the video nodes. Long clips can hit the default 30-minute timeout - raise it via the Auth node or CIVITAI_COMFY_TIMEOUT.

For a quick "make this image move" job, Happy Horse is the friendliest option in the pack's video lineup - fewest inputs, clear defaults, real 1080p output. Name aside, it's a solid workhorse.