Global Random Seed

Global Random Seed is the most lazily useful node in the ComfyUI Text Processor pack, and that's a compliment. It does exactly what its name says: you drop one node into a workflow, set a seed value, and every literal seed input in that graph - samplers, noise nodes, anything with an input actually named seed, noise_seed, or seed_num - gets that seed applied before the prompt runs. No wires, no links, no applied_seed cables trailing across your canvas. That's the "zero-wire" trick, and it's the whole point.

Why you'd reach for it: you're doing a multi-pass run - img2img into a hires pass, or a batch where every sampler needs to move in lockstep - and you're tired of tabbing through six KSamplers to keep their seeds in sync. Or you want to advance everything by one with a single click between prompts. This is the node that makes "same seed, whole pipeline" a one-setting operation. Think of it as the seed-farming tool from the KB's sampling lore (converging samplers: same seed, same result) applied to an entire graph at once.

How it actually works

Here's the part that's easy to mistrust: the node has no connections going in or out that matter, yet it still does real work. That's because it doesn't run like a normal node at all. On load, the pack registers a handler with ComfyUI's prompt server (the source calls add_on_prompt_handler). Every time you submit a prompt, that handler rewrites the prompt JSON before execution: it finds the controller, computes the applied seed, walks every node in the graph, and replaces the literal integer values of any input named seed, noise_seed, or seed_num with bounded seeds.

The careful bits matter here. Only literal integers get rewritten - if a seed input is wired to another node, or is a boolean, it's left alone. And the node only changes inputs it recognizes by name; it doesn't try to infer arbitrary third-party node schemas. If you have multiple Global Random Seed nodes in one prompt, the lowest node ID wins and the others are ignored - one controller per prompt, no arguments.

The inputs that matter

Most of the surface is one small enum cluster:

• value - the current seed, entered as an exact unsigned decimal string. This is the one you'll actually touch.
• queue_action - how the controller advances between prompts: fixed (stays put), increment / decrement (step by one, wrapping within the selected width), or randomize.
• distribution - how one applied base seed fans out to your targets. same gives every target the identical seed; increment / decrement offset one bounded value per target; randomize gives each target its own independent seed.
• seed_width - uint32 (0 to 4,294,967,295) is the safe default. uint53 goes up to 9,007,199,254,740,991, the largest range JavaScript numeric widgets can display exactly. timing controls whether the queue action applies before or after this prompt.

The single output is applied_seed (an INT) - the exact seed this run actually applied. It's is_output_node, so it also renders as a readout; hook it up only if some other node genuinely needs the base seed as a value.

Install

Search ComfyUI Manager for ComfyUI Text Processor, install, restart - or:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes/
git clone https://github.com/rookiestar28/ComfyUI_Text_Processor.git
pip install -r requirements.txt

Dependencies are light (simpleeval, requests, beautifulsoup4) - no model downloads for this node. The pack needs Python 3.10+ and ComfyUI Core 0.22.3+.

Where people get burned

• The widget won't show your big seed. New configs only expose uint32 / uint53 because JS widgets can't display uint64 values exactly. Old uint64 workflows still run backend-compatible, but the controller won't stuff a value into a widget that can't render it - if the target widget must show the seed, use uint53.
• last_seed readback looks wrong. A target node's own control_before_generate / control_after_generate setting can advance its visible widget after submission. Set the target control to fixed if you're comparing widget-to-widget with last_seed.
• API callers must resubmit. The server deliberately keeps no per-client continuation state - an API prompt works, but the next submission needs the new value from you.
• It's a range, not a display format: a valid uint32 can have up to ten digits.

If nothing gets assigned, the most likely culprits are a stale install (the prompt-server hook registers on load - restart ComfyUI after updating) or a seed input wired from another node rather than a literal widget.