XY:PRE / Batch Collage Preview

Running a batch of 36 seeds and clicking through previews one at a time is how you lose your mind. MKRBatchCollagePreview puts the whole batch on one labeled sheet - a contact sheet that lays every image in a grid with its index, resolution, and (optionally) the XY values that produced it, in a single output image you can actually look at. The search alias in the source is "XY:PRE", which tells you exactly what it's for: it's the preview half of an XY-plot-style sweep, without the plot machinery.

It's the flagship of the Inspect/Preview branch of MKRShift_Nodes, and it's the node people discover this pack for - the moment you've got a grid of variations to eyeball, this replaces four other habits.

How it works

The node takes an IMAGE input - and here's the trick: it's declared INPUT_IS_LIST, so it also accepts multiple image batches fed into the same socket, which it flattens into one list of tiles. It then lays them out on a labeled grid: every tile gets a label (index by default, custom text if you supply labels), with padding, a label strip, and a themed background (dark/light/studio). Columns are chosen automatically (sqrt of the count) unless you set columns or x_count.

The XY mode is the part that makes it a plot preview: flip show_xy_labels on and set x_start/x_step/y_start/y_step, and each tile's label gains its computed xN yM position based on its grid location - so a seed sweep or a prompt-vs-CFG sweep reads like a real XY grid instead of a mystery mosaic. Compact view switches to a masonry-style layout where each row keeps its natural widths instead of forcing a uniform cell.

Three outputs: image_out (your original batch, unchanged - handy for passing through), collage_image (the sheet, wire it to Preview Image), and layout_json (a schema + count, for anything programmatic).

Inputs that matter

• image - the batch (or batches) to sheet.
• columns / x_count - force a column count; x_count wins if set.
• show_xy_labels + x_start/x_step/y_start/y_step - the XY-plot label mode.
• labels - a multiline list of custom labels, one per image, overriding the auto-index.
• label_height, tile_padding, outer_padding, theme - how the sheet looks.
• max_collage_side - cap the sheet's longest side (0 = no cap); set it if you're sheet-ing 200+ tiles and don't want a 60-megapixel PNG.

Install

ComfyUI Manager (search "MKRShift Nodes"), or:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/criskb/MKRShift_Nodes

Restart. No dependencies beyond what ComfyUI already ships; no models. This one is pure preview.

Common issues

Feeding one giant batch and leaving columns at 0 usually works (it picks sqrt), but a batch of 1 gives you a one-tile sheet - that's expected, not a bug. If labels wrap or clip, raise label_height (default 34) - short labels at 46+ read better. And if you're using x_count for XY sweeps, remember it overrides columns silently; change one at a time or you'll be confused about which is winning. Otherwise: this node is the easy one. Plug a batch in, look at the sheet, move on with your life.