Workflow Layout

ComfyUI Workflow Layout & Organization

Turn a tangled graph into a clean left-to-right dataflow a human reads at a glance,

using the panel_* canvas tools. The golden rule: never lay out blind — read the

real node sizes and rail positions first, then compute positions from them.

Primitives (panel tools)

• panel_query_graph {fields:'detail', limit:200, max_chars:60000} — READ FIRST, every time. Returns, for the graph you're viewing:
• each node's pos [x,y], size [w,h] (body only), and full_height (the

TRUE rendered footprint = title bar + body; use this for vertical stacking),

• all groups (id, title, color, bounding [x,y,w,h]),
• and — only when inside a subgraph — the rails: the input / output boundary

node positions. Everything below is computed from these numbers.

• panel_edit_node({node_id, pos?, size?, title?, collapsed?, preset?|color?|bgcolor?})

atomically moves, resizes, retitles, collapses, or color-codes a node. Widget

values remain on their dedicated tool; execution mode is available as mode when needed.

• Groups (colored boxes; nodes stay put): panel_create_group (pass node_ids to

auto-wrap, or bounds [x,y,w,h]; color hex), panel_move_group, panel_edit_group,

panel_remove_group.

• Subgraphs (nest nodes into one collapsible node): panel_create_subgraph(node_ids),

panel_enter_subgraph / panel_exit_subgraph, panel_get_subgraph,

panel_promote_widget, panel_move_rail(rail, [x,y]) (rail = "input"|"output",

must be inside the subgraph), panel_expose_subgraph_output(from_node_id, from_output) /

panel_expose_subgraph_input(to_node_id, to_input) (expose an interior slot on the

boundary rail — must be inside the subgraph), and panel_unpack_subgraph(node_id)

(expand/dissolve a subgraph back into the parent — the inverse of panel_create_subgraph).

• panel_canvas({action:"fit"}) to frame the result; panel_save_workflow to persist.

The layout algorithm (dependency-layered, overlap-free)

• Read the graph. Build a DAG from each input's connected_from (ignore unconnected

widget inputs — only node→node edges matter).

• Layer every node by longest path from a source:

layer(n) = 0 if it has no incoming node edges, else 1 + max(layer(of its sources)).

Layers become columns, left → right.

• X by layer: x = X0 + layer * COL_PITCH, where `COL_PITCH ≈ widest node.size[0] in

that column + ~80`.

• Y by FULL height (this is what stops overlaps): stack a column top→down with

y[i+1] = y[i] + node[i].full_height + ROW_GAP. Use full_height (from

panel_query_graph detail rows), NOT size[1]. size[1] is the BODY only (slots + widgets); the

title bar renders ~30px ABOVE pos and is NOT in size[1], so stacking by size[1]

overlaps every node by a header (the classic "headers eating the node above" bug).

full_height already includes that header (and is just the title height for a collapsed

node), so y += full_height + ROW_GAP lands an exact ROW_GAP gap between the previous

node's bottom and the next node's title. Never use a fixed row pitch — tall nodes

(KSampler, WanVideo Sampler, LoRA-select) are 480–600px and *will* overlap a 320 pitch.

(If full_height is ever absent, fall back to size[1] + ~30 for the header.)

• Order within a column to cut wire crossings: place each node near the average Y of its

connected nodes (a median/barycenter pass is plenty).

Reads-well constants: COL_PITCH 360–480, ROW_GAP 40. Because full_height already

accounts for the title bar, you don't add extra top headroom per node — ROW_GAP is the

clean gap you'll actually see.

Subgraph interiors — move the rails!

A subgraph has two boundary rails (input left, output right). They do not follow the

inner nodes — move the nodes without moving the rails and you get a huge gap (a very common

mistake). For each subgraph: panel_enter_subgraph → lay out the inner nodes (algorithm

above) → then pin the rails to the node band:

• input rail → panel_move_rail("input", [minNodeX - 180, bandTopY])
• output rail → panel_move_rail("output", [maxNodeX + 60, bandTopY])

Keep rails at the same Y as the first row. Read current rail positions from

panel_query_graph (rails) before deciding. panel_exit_subgraph when done.

Wiring interior nodes to the boundary (don't connect to a guessed rail id). To expose

an interior node's output/input on the boundary so the PARENT graph can wire it, do NOT

panel_connect to a rail node id you guessed — use `panel_expose_subgraph_output(from_node_id,

from_output) (interior output → output rail) and panel_expose_subgraph_input(to_node_id,

to_input) (interior input → input rail), both while inside the subgraph. panel_query_graph`'s

rails shows which boundary slots already exist and which still need exposing. To expand/

dissolve a subgraph back into the parent (inline its inner nodes + rewire external links,

removing the wrapper — the inverse of panel_create_subgraph), use

panel_unpack_subgraph(node_id). All undoable with Ctrl+Z.

Groups vs subgraphs — choose deliberately

• Group (colored box): lightweight visual band; nodes stay in place and editable. Reach

for this first — to label regions of a flat graph or band stage-columns at the root.

• Subgraph: collapses a stage into one node. Powerful for large graphs, but it nests/hides

nodes and adds boundary ports. Don't subgraph everything — a 2–3 node stage rarely earns

it, and over-subgraphing hurts readability and complicates packaging/handoff.

• Clean recipe: lay the flat graph out well → wrap only the genuinely complex stages in

subgraphs → drop colored group bands around the columns at the root.

Stage decomposition that fits most pipelines

`Loaders → Inputs → Preprocess (pose/controlnet/conditioning) → Embeds → Sample →

Decode/Output` — one concern per column/stage, strictly left-to-right.

Always leave inputs & outputs exposed

The nodes a user touches first — the input (Load Image / Load Video) and the

output (save / video-combine / preview) — must stay expanded and visible so they

can jump straight in: drop in their media, hit run, watch the result. Collapse the

internal machinery (loaders, encoders, samplers) into chips to cut noise, but never

collapse the inputs or outputs. When they live inside subgraphs, keep those subgraph

nodes expanded — and consider panel_promote_widget to surface the one key widget

(prompt, seed) onto the subgraph node so it's editable without drilling in.

> Heads-up: input/output preview nodes (LoadImage, VHS_LoadVideo, video-combine)

> report their full size[1] but render short until media loads — size their group band

> to the .size (so it fits once filled), not to the empty-preview render.

End-to-end workflow

• panel_query_graph {fields:'detail', limit:200, max_chars:60000} — capture pos/size/groups (and rails inside each subgraph).
• Compute layers + overlap-free positions from the real sizes.
• panel_edit_node for each node (or bulk only when the same presentation change is intended).
• Per subgraph: enter → lay out inner nodes → panel_move_rail both rails → exit.
• Optional: panel_create_group bands around the root columns (and panel_remove_group

any stranded empty groups left behind by earlier edits).

• panel_save_workflow, then panel_canvas({action:"fit"}).

Gotchas

• Save before relying on it: node positions/titles and groups persist only once saved; a

browser refresh reloads from the saved workflow (and re-binds nodes after installing packs).

• Converting nodes to a subgraph preserves inner node ids; the subgraph node gets a new id.
• Moving nodes inside a subgraph leaves the rails behind — always re-pin them (see above).
• Canvas edits never affect an in-flight render; but a ComfyUI restart clears the queue.
• Image/video nodes under-report height: LoadImage, VHS_LoadVideo, preview nodes

return a tiny size[1] because the image/video preview height isn't in .size. Leave

extra vertical room (≈250–300px) below them so the preview doesn't overlap the next node.

• Color-code by stage (e.g. all loaders blue, sampler green) and collapsed rarely-touched

loaders to cut visual noise — cheap wins once the positions are right.

• Don't over-tidy a graph that's mid-build for the user — confirm if a big reorg is wanted.