After VAE Decode

This is a "tap" node for people building custom pipelines with the Searge Magic Box. The Magic Box runs the whole Searge SDXL workflow as an opaque chain of stages, and normally you don't get to see the intermediate images. The After VAE Decode node is one of the few places where you can reach in and pull an image out - specifically, the freshly decoded pixels right after sampling and VAE decode, before any upscaling happens.

You'd reach for this when you're not just running the shipped workflow but wiring your own pipeline using the Magic Box's "custom stage" mode, and you want the base-resolution result - to preview it, save it, or feed it somewhere the standard workflow doesn't. It's plumbing for power users, not something a first-time Searge user needs.

How it works

When a Magic Box is set to output to custom stage & data stream, it emits an SRG_STAGE_OUTPUT - an opaque handle to that stage's result. This node takes that handle and unpacks the actual IMAGE from it. So the pattern is: run a Magic Box stage that ends at VAE decode, route its custom_output into this node, and out comes a normal ComfyUI image you can wire to a preview or save node.

The inputs and outputs that matter

Dead simple, one of each:

• custom_output (SRG_STAGE_OUTPUT, required) - the handle coming out of a Magic Box running in custom-stage mode.
• Output image (IMAGE) - the decoded picture, ready for a Preview Image or Save Image node.

That's the entire node. It's an adapter that converts a Searge-internal stage output into a standard image type.

How to install it

Manager: search SeargeSDXL, install, restart. Manual, opencv dependency first:

python -m pip install opencv-python
cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/SeargeDP/SeargeSDXL.git

Restart ComfyUI. No model files for this node.

Common issues & troubleshooting

"It won't connect to my Magic Box." The custom_output input only accepts an SRG_STAGE_OUTPUT, which a Magic Box only produces when its output_to is set to custom stage & data stream. If your Magic Box is on the default data stream output, there's no stage output to tap - flip that setting.

Wrong image / it's not upscaled. By design. This node gives you the image after VAE decode but before upscaling. If you want the upscaled result, use its sibling After Upscaling instead. The two exist precisely so you can grab either the base-res or the high-res output.

Do you actually need this? Only if you're hand-building a custom Magic Box pipeline. The shipped Searge workflow already handles previews and saves for you. This node - and the whole Magic/Custom Stages category - is for the small number of users who want to break the appliance open and route intermediate results themselves. If that's not you, skip it.