Together Image Generator

ComfyUI's whole deal is that the models run on your machine. This node is the exception that proves it: TogetherImageGenerator loads zero weights locally, fires your prompt at Together AI's image API, and pulls the finished JPEG back down as a normal IMAGE tensor. No GPU, no VRAM math, no multi-gigabyte model download. You pay per image instead - and the result drops into your graph like any other generation.

It's from APZmedia, the same author behind the fast-image-save node that r/comfyui actually recommends, so it's a real pack rather than a drive-by. Still, be honest about what you're getting: this is a niche, young node with essentially zero community footprint. The README is two paragraphs. You're an early adopter, not a tourist.

How it works

The node makes an HTTP POST to https://api.together.xyz/v1/images/generations with your prompt, model ID, width, height, and step count, plus a hardcoded guidance of 3.5 and JPEG output. The API answers with a URL; the node downloads it, fixes EXIF orientation, converts to RGB, and hands you a tensor shaped (1, h, w, 3) normalized to 0–1. That's the exact format every standard ComfyUI image node expects, so wire the output straight into a preview or Save Image node and you're done.

The default model is black-forest-labs/FLUX.1-schnell-Free, the free tier of the step-distilled Schnell - which explains the quirk you'll notice immediately: steps is capped at 4. That's not a typo. Schnell is designed to run in 1–4 steps, and the node enforces it because there's nothing past it.

The inputs that matter

• prompt - multiline; the default is the tired astronaut-on-Mars.
• model - a plain text field, not a dropdown. You type the model ID yourself, so you need Together's naming (black-forest-labs/...).
• width / height - 256 up to 1440×1400, in multiples of 64.
• steps - 1 to 4.

That's the whole list, and it's worth noticing what's missing: no seed, no negative prompt, no guidance slider. Guidance is baked in at 3.5 - which, per the community's general verdict on Flux, is on the high side anyway. Outputs: a single image (IMAGE) that feeds anything downstream.

The gotchas that will actually bite you

First, the API key. The README hand-waves it, but the node refuses to run without TOGETHER_API_KEY. Put a .env file in the custom node folder containing TOGETHER_API_KEY=yourkey (or export it in your environment) and restart ComfyUI - the node prints an error on startup if it can't find it.

Second, and this one's sneaky: the failure mode is a solid red image, not an error. If the API call fails, the node logs to the console and returns a red placeholder. So a clean red output doesn't mean you discovered an aesthetic; it means something upstream broke, usually the key or the rate limit.

Third, no seed means no reproducible outputs. If you need exact retries, this node isn't for you.

Install

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/APZmedia/APZmedia-comfy-together-lora
pip install -r requirements.txt

then restart ComfyUI. Or skip the terminal: search "APZmedia Together Image Generator" in ComfyUI Manager. Dependencies are light (together, numpy, Pillow, python-dotenv), no model files.

Verdict

Have a GPU? Run Flux locally - it's cheaper, faster, and gives you seed control. This node exists for the other case: ComfyUI on a machine with no GPU (a work laptop, a headless server) where you still want node-graph plumbing and don't mind per-image API costs. For that, it works as advertised.