Path Generator

Every ComfyUI user hits the same wall: you run a shot, look in output/, and it's ComfyUI_00047_.png or a flat wall of 400 near-identical PNGs. SaveImage's filename_prefix helps, but it's one static string - fine for solo dabbling, useless the moment your output needs structure. Path Generator is a single node that builds the whole destination path for you: folder levels, filename parts, sequence subfolders, frame padding - and it can drive any of those parts from upstream nodes at run time.

It's from alexmunteanu's comfyui-path-generator pack, and it's a genuinely small thing: one node, pure Python plus a frontend, zero pip dependencies. You don't need it for a one-off render. You want it when your naming scheme is a scheme - project/shot/comp_v001, VFX-style folders, per-shot subfolders, image sequences that need .%04d padding. The kind of thing that keeps a real pipeline greppable instead of a pile of _00001_ files.

How it works

The heart of the node is a segment editor that renders right on the node. Each segment has a type - Folder, Prefix, or Suffix - plus a name and a value. Folder segments become directory levels, prefixes and suffixes build up the filename, and everything gets joined by a delimiter (default _). You can reorder segments by dragging, rename them, delete them, and chain folder segments together so two values collapse into one directory level (MyShow_sh010 instead of nested folders).

The clever bit: every segment's name becomes an input slot on the node. Wire a string into it and that segment's value comes from upstream, overriding what you typed. That's how you drive the filename from a frame counter, a model name, or a metadata string while keeping the rest of the path fixed - the live preview on the node updates as connected values change.

Under the hood the segments live in a JSON config string stored on the node, the UI manages it, and the backend builds the path in a straightforward pass: folder values become the hierarchy, the filename is prefixes + folder values + suffixes joined by the delimiter, then sequence wraps the filename as its own subfolder and frame_padding appends .%04d. One thing worth knowing: this pack is written against ComfyUI's newer V3 backend node API - io.ComfyNode, define_schema, a comfy_entrypoint - not the classic NODE_CLASS_MAPPINGS style. That's not a bug, it's the modern way, and it's why the README warns you need a ComfyUI from 2025+.

Inputs and outputs

• output_folder - base folder, relative to ComfyUI's output/ directory. Leave it empty for the default. There's a Browse button backed by a small directory-browser route, though it's mainly handy on Windows where it lists drive letters.
• delimiter - separator between filename parts, default _. Slashes are stripped so it can't sneak in a path level.
• sequence - wraps the filename in its own subfolder (.../shot becomes .../shot/shot), the classic per-shot layout.
• frame_padding - appends .%04d to the filename for image sequences. comp_MyShow_sh010_v001.%04d - that's the pattern video and comp tools actually expect.
• config - the segment list, managed by the UI. You'll almost never touch it by hand.

Outputs are three strings: path (folder + filename), folder_path, and filename. Wire whichever one your downstream saver wants - a custom save node, a video tool, anything that takes a path string.

Install

Easiest route: ComfyUI Manager → search "Path Generator" → Install, then restart. Or clone it manually:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes/
git clone https://github.com/alexmunteanu/comfyui-path-generator.git comfyui_path_generator

Then restart ComfyUI and double-click the canvas to add "Path Generator". That's the whole install - there's nothing to pip install, no model files, no API key.

Where people get burned

• "Node not found" is almost always a ComfyUI version issue: this is a V3 API node, so you need a ComfyUI from 2025 on. Older installs just won't register it.
• Manual clone folder name matters. The README insists the folder be named comfyui_path_generator - clone it as anything else and import breaks.
• Slash sanitization is intentional, not a bug. Slashes inside a segment value are stripped, so a segment can't inject extra path levels. Want more depth? Add another Folder segment.
• A connected input that's empty contributes nothing - no placeholder, no None in the middle of your path. If a part looks missing, check the upstream node is actually outputting a non-empty string.
• output_folder is relative to ComfyUI's output directory, not an absolute path (unless you type a drive letter). Leave it empty to get the default.

It's a niche utility and it knows it - no community buzz, no drama, just a clean answer to a real organizational problem. If your outputs are still a graveyard of _00001_ files and you're tired of it, this is a five-minute fix.