Derp Notes

Derp Notes is the pack's documentation node, and it's aimed at people who keep their workflow knowledge in markdown - which, if you're running a serious ComfyUI setup, is probably you or someone you inherit graphs from. It renders markdown files right on the canvas, with enough Obsidian compatibility that a notes vault can double as your workflow's living manual. It's part of xcp_derp-UI (search "xcp_derp-UI" in ComfyUI Manager, by lordwedggie), under derpNodes/Utilities.

Why you'd want a markdown viewer in a node graph

The beginner problem in ComfyUI is real and well documented - the KB's comfyui-ecosystem.md covers the community complaint that complex graphs arrive with "no documentation layer, no tooltip explaining what a node does." Derp Notes is an attempt to fix that from the inside: instead of a tiny Note text box that scrolls forever, you get a proper markdown renderer that handles media and navigation. Drop a node next to a section of your workflow, point it at your notes file, and anyone (including future-you) can read the why next to the what.

What it actually does

The node has no input sockets and no outputs - it's a pure viewer. The Python side is a do_nothing shell; all the behavior lives in the JavaScript. It reads .md/.markdown files, renders them with proper formatting, and supports document navigation - there's a doc-nav window-capture system that tracks which markdown element you're viewing, and the node handles paths relative to a base notes directory. If your notes reference images, the renderer serves them through the pack's HTTP routes (/xcp/markdown_media), so a note with screenshots actually shows the screenshots.

Obsidian compatibility is the headline: if you already run an Obsidian vault for your AI experiments, this node can render the same files with the same relative links. That's a genuinely nice fit for the "workflow sharing culture" the KB describes - share the PNG with its graph and point people at the markdown that explains it.

Install

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/lordwedggie/xcp_derp-UI-Release

Restart ComfyUI. No pip requirements, no model files, no npm step - the pack vendors its JS dependencies. Manager users: search xcp_derp-UI.

Gotchas

Because it's a pure-viewer shell with no sockets, it won't appear to "do" anything until you open its UI and point it at a file - that's expected, not a bug. And if a note's images don't load, check the path handling: the node is picky about relative paths resolving against the configured notes base directory, so a note written for Obsidian may need its images moved or its paths adjusted.

Also worth knowing: this is a young pack with near-zero third-party documentation. The bundled derp_docs/Utility Nodes/ docs and the changelog are the real reference, and they're maintained, so when something acts odd, that's where the answer lives. If you keep workflow notes in plain text already, this node quietly makes your graphs more legible for free - which is more than most utility nodes can claim.