Where Every Model File Goes

Folders

The definitive folder structure guide for ComfyUI

#Overview

Model folder confusion is the #3 most common problem on Reddit. This guide shows you exactly where every file type belongs.

One simple rule: Every model type has its own specific folder. Put files in the wrong place = ComfyUI won't see them.

#📁 Complete Folder Structure

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/
└── models/
    ├── checkpoints/          ← SD models (.safetensors, .ckpt)
    ├── loras/               ← LoRA files (.safetensors)
    ├── vae/                 ← VAE files (.safetensors, .pt)
    ├── controlnet/          ← ControlNet models
    ├── clip/                ← CLIP models
    ├── clip_vision/         ← CLIP Vision models
    ├── embeddings/          ← Textual Inversion embeddings (.pt, .safetensors)
    ├── unet/                ← UNet models (Flux, newer architectures)
    ├── upscale_models/      ← Upscaler models (ESRGAN, RealESRGAN)
    ├── ipadapter/           ← IPAdapter models
    ├── hypernetworks/       ← Hypernetwork files
    ├── style_models/        ← Style transfer models
    └── insightface/         ← Face restoration models

#🎯 Most Common Files & Where They Go

Checkpoints (Base Models)

File types: .safetensors, .ckpt

Examples:

→v1-5-pruned-emaonly.safetensors (SD 1.5)
→sd_xl_base_1.0.safetensors (SDXL)
→flux1-dev.safetensors (Flux)

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/checkpoints/

How to use: Load with the "Load Checkpoint" node in ComfyUI

LoRAs

File types: .safetensors, .pt

Examples:

→add_detail.safetensors
→anime_style_lora.safetensors
→photorealistic_face.safetensors

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/loras/

How to use: Load with "Load LoRA" node

⚠️ Critical: LoRAs MUST match your base model:

→SD 1.5 LoRA → SD 1.5 checkpoint
→SDXL LoRA → SDXL checkpoint
→Flux LoRA → Flux checkpoint

VAE Files

File types: .safetensors, .pt

Examples:

→vae-ft-mse-840000-ema-pruned.safetensors
→sdxl_vae.safetensors

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/vae/

How to use: Load with "VAE Loader" node → Connect to "VAE Decode"

When you need a VAE:

→Images look washed out, blurry, or have wrong colors
→Using SDXL without built-in VAE
→Workflow specifically requires external VAE

ControlNet Models

File types: .safetensors, .pth

Examples:

→control_v11p_sd15_openpose.pth
→diffusers_xl_canny_full.safetensors

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/controlnet/

How to use: Load with "Load ControlNet Model" node

Note: ControlNet models are also version-specific:

→SD 1.5 ControlNet → SD 1.5 checkpoint
→SDXL ControlNet → SDXL checkpoint

Embeddings (Textual Inversion)

File types: .pt, .safetensors

Examples:

→bad-hands-5.pt
→EasyNegative.safetensors
→negative_hand.pt

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/embeddings/

How to use: Just place files here. Use in prompts by filename (without extension):

comfyui-workflow.json

beautiful landscape, (bad-hands-5:0.8)

Upscale Models

File types: .pth, .safetensors

Examples:

→RealESRGAN_x4plus.pth
→4x-UltraSharp.pth
→ESRGAN_4x.pth

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/upscale_models/

How to use: Load with "Upscale Model Loader" node

IPAdapter Models

File types: .safetensors, .bin

Location:

comfyui-workflow.json

ComfyUI/models/ipadapter/

Typical structure:

comfyui-workflow.json

ipadapter/
├── ip-adapter_sd15.safetensors
├── ip-adapter-plus_sd15.safetensors
└── ip-adapter_sdxl.safetensors

#🔧 Organization Tips

Create Subfolders (Recommended)

ComfyUI supports subfolders. Organize like this:

comfyui-workflow.json

checkpoints/
├── SD15/
│   ├── realistic/
│   │   └── realisticVision_v51.safetensors
│   └── anime/
│       └── anything-v5.safetensors
└── SDXL/
    └── base/
        └── sd_xl_base_1.0.safetensors

loras/
├── SD15/
│   ├── style/
│   └── character/
└── SDXL/
    └── style/

Why?

→Easier to find files
→Prevents version mixing
→Better performance (fewer files to scan per folder)

#🚨 Common Folder Mistakes

❌ Wrong: Putting LoRAs in checkpoints folder

comfyui-workflow.json

checkpoints/
└── my_lora.safetensors  ← WRONG

Result: LoRA won't load, or will crash workflow

❌ Wrong: Mixing SD 1.5 and SDXL in same folder without subfolders

comfyui-workflow.json

checkpoints/
├── sd15_model.safetensors
└── sdxl_model.safetensors  ← Confusing

Better:

comfyui-workflow.json

checkpoints/
├── SD15/
│   └── sd15_model.safetensors
└── SDXL/
    └── sdxl_model.safetensors

❌ Wrong: Using OneDrive/Google Drive synced folders

Never put models in:

→OneDrive
→Google Drive
→Dropbox
→iCloud Drive

Why?

→Cloud sync locks files
→Causes loading errors
→Extremely slow model loading

#📥 How to Download Models

From Hugging Face

→Find the model page
→Click "Files and versions"
→Download .safetensors files
→Move to correct ComfyUI folder

Example URLs:

→SD 1.5: https://huggingface.co/runwayml/stable-diffusion-v1-5
→SDXL: https://huggingface.co/stabilityai/stable-diffusion-xl-base-1.0

From Civitai

→Find the model
→Click "Download"
→Choose .safetensors format (preferred over .ckpt)
→Move to correct folder

File size guide:

→SD 1.5 checkpoint: ~2-4 GB
→SDXL checkpoint: ~6-7 GB
→LoRA: 10-200 MB
→ControlNet: 700 MB - 2.5 GB

#🔍 Troubleshooting: "Model Not Found"

Model exists but ComfyUI doesn't see it?

Check:

→
File is in correct folder
- →Checkpoints in models/checkpoints/
- →LoRAs in models/loras/
→
File extension is correct
- →.safetensors or .ckpt (checkpoints)
- →.safetensors or .pt (LoRAs, VAE, embeddings)
→
File isn't corrupted
- →Check file size matches expected
- →Re-download if suspiciously small
→
Restart ComfyUI
- →Some folders need restart to refresh
- →Press Ctrl+C in console, restart
→
Check file permissions
- →File isn't "Read Only"
- →Folder isn't locked by cloud sync

#🎯 Model Recommendations by Use Case

For Photorealism

Checkpoint:

comfyui-workflow.json

models/checkpoints/
└── realisticVision_v51.safetensors

LoRAs:

comfyui-workflow.json

models/loras/
├── add_detail.safetensors
└── photorealistic_lighting.safetensors

For Anime/Illustration

Checkpoint:

comfyui-workflow.json

models/checkpoints/
└── anything-v5.safetensors

LoRAs:

comfyui-workflow.json

models/loras/
├── anime_lineart.safetensors
└── studio_ghibli_style.safetensors

For ControlNet Workflows

Must have:

comfyui-workflow.json

models/controlnet/
├── control_v11p_sd15_canny.pth
├── control_v11p_sd15_openpose.pth
└── control_v11p_sd15_depth.pth

#📊 Quick Reference Table

File Type	Extension	Folder	Average Size
SD 1.5 Checkpoint	`.safetensors`	`checkpoints/`	2-4 GB
SDXL Checkpoint	`.safetensors`	`checkpoints/`	6-7 GB
LoRA	`.safetensors`	`loras/`	10-200 MB
VAE	`.safetensors`	`vae/`	300-800 MB
ControlNet	`.pth`, `.safetensors`	`controlnet/`	700 MB - 2.5 GB
Embedding	`.pt`, `.safetensors`	`embeddings/`	5-100 KB
Upscaler	`.pth`	`upscale_models/`	15-65 MB

#💾 Managing Disk Space

Models take up massive space

Space-saving tips:

→
Delete unused checkpoints
- →One SD 1.5 + One SDXL is often enough
→
Use pruned/EMA versions
- →Smaller file size, same quality
- →Look for "pruned-emaonly" in filename
→
Store on external SSD
- →Symlink to external drive:
comfyui-workflow.json
mklink /D "C:\AI\ComfyUI\models\checkpoints" "E:\AI_Models\checkpoints"
→
Use .safetensors instead of .ckpt
- →Often smaller
- →Faster loading
- →More secure

#🆘 Still Can't Find Your Models?

→ Guide 5: Workflow Errors (Node not found issues)
→ Guide 9: Troubleshooting Assistant

Looking to optimize model loading speed? See Guide 7: Performance Optimization

Where Every Model File Goes

#Overview

#📁 Complete Folder Structure

#🎯 Most Common Files & Where They Go

Checkpoints (Base Models)

LoRAs

VAE Files

ControlNet Models

Embeddings (Textual Inversion)

Upscale Models

IPAdapter Models

#🔧 Organization Tips

Create Subfolders (Recommended)

#🚨 Common Folder Mistakes

❌ Wrong: Putting LoRAs in checkpoints folder

❌ Wrong: Mixing SD 1.5 and SDXL in same folder without subfolders

❌ Wrong: Using OneDrive/Google Drive synced folders

#📥 How to Download Models

From Hugging Face

From Civitai

#🔍 Troubleshooting: "Model Not Found"

Model exists but ComfyUI doesn't see it?

#🎯 Model Recommendations by Use Case

For Photorealism

For Anime/Illustration

For ControlNet Workflows

#📊 Quick Reference Table

#💾 Managing Disk Space

Models take up massive space

#🆘 Still Can't Find Your Models?

How to Use FLUX ControlNet Union Pro

ComfyUI Full Course — From Scratch

IPAdapter & LoRA for FLUX — Full Setup

Stable Diffusion Model Types Explained

ComfyUI Complete Setup: RTX 5080 Edition

How to Install ComfyUI Correctly

ControlNet Canny — SDXL

ControlNet Depth — SDXL

ControlNet OpenPose — SD 1.5

Get NeuralDrift Weekly

#Overview

#📁 Complete Folder Structure

#🎯 Most Common Files & Where They Go

Checkpoints (Base Models)

LoRAs

VAE Files

ControlNet Models

Embeddings (Textual Inversion)

Upscale Models

IPAdapter Models

#🔧 Organization Tips

Create Subfolders (Recommended)

#🚨 Common Folder Mistakes

❌ Wrong: Putting LoRAs in checkpoints folder

❌ Wrong: Mixing SD 1.5 and SDXL in same folder without subfolders

❌ Wrong: Using OneDrive/Google Drive synced folders

#📥 How to Download Models

From Hugging Face

From Civitai

#🔍 Troubleshooting: "Model Not Found"

Model exists but ComfyUI doesn't see it?

#🎯 Model Recommendations by Use Case

For Photorealism

For Anime/Illustration

For ControlNet Workflows

#📊 Quick Reference Table

#💾 Managing Disk Space

Models take up massive space

#🆘 Still Can't Find Your Models?

Related Video Tutorials

How to Use FLUX ControlNet Union Pro

ComfyUI Full Course — From Scratch

IPAdapter & LoRA for FLUX — Full Setup

Related guides and workflows

Stable Diffusion Model Types Explained

ComfyUI Complete Setup: RTX 5080 Edition

How to Install ComfyUI Correctly

ControlNet Canny — SDXL

ControlNet Depth — SDXL

ControlNet OpenPose — SD 1.5

Get NeuralDrift Weekly