NOLABEL ComfyUI tools

NL NodesArtist Guide

A practical guide to the NL workflow panel, artist tools, IO nodes, color previews, editing canvas, templates, subgraphs, model localization, and cost tracking.

Last updated: April 28, 2026

Start With The Workflow Browse Nodes

NL Nodes live in the ComfyUI top bar and inside the NOLABEL node categories. If it miss some functionality or you need help, this is the adress to reach me: wczub.

Artist path

Quick Start

1

Set shot context

Open NL Workflow, paste the task/shot link from ShotGrid, click populate, adjust resolution and/or frame range if needed, then use Apply & Close. This context feeds helper nodes and output naming.

2

Read the plate or reference

Use NL Read for stills, sequences, videos, masks, or uploaded inputs. Keep color inputs in the intended source colorspace, then preview through the selected workflow view.

3

Preview and edit

Use NL Preview for managed viewing and NL Edit when a quick paint or mask touch-up is faster than leaving ComfyUI.

4

Write the result

Use NL Write for versioned EXR output, optional PNG previews, movies, and comparison renders. The workflow context keeps paths and names consistent.

Context first

Workflow Context

The NL Workflow panel stores the current shot context for this graph.

You should start here. This is workflow-context configuration panel. Paste the task/shot link from ShotGrid, click populate, adjust resolution and/or frame range if needed, then use Apply & Close. Workflow-context is the graph state that NL helper nodes and IO nodes read when they execute.

  • Project, scene, shot/asset, task: production identity used by helpers, ledger rows, and output metadata.
  • Width, height, FPS, start, end: the render format and timeline range used by context helper nodes.
  • Project path: the root used by NL Write. Point it at the shot Comfy folder when possible.
  • Color Management: project OCIO config, display, view, and input policy for managed IO and previews.
  • Recent contexts: quick access to recently used shots or assets.
Daily graph work

Read, Preview, Write

NL Read feeding managed preview and versioned write outputs.

The core loop is usually NL Read into your graph, NL Preview when you need a managed viewer, and NL Write at the end.

  • NL Read accepts stills, sequences, videos, masks, and uploaded inputs. It can sample, trim, reverse, resize, and preview without changing the emitted tensor unless the controls say so.
  • NL Preview is a display/output node. It is useful for color, mask, RGBA, A/B comparison, and comparison reveal views.
  • NL Write is EXR-first by default, with optional PNG previews, MP4/MOV sequence outputs, comparison frames, and metadata sidecars.
Shared model cache

Open Models Management

Model Manager keeps local caches useful without hiding what exists on the shared network side.

NL Model Manager is the place to see which models are needed by the workflow, which files are already local, which files exist on the network, and how much disk space the local cache is using.

  • Workflow: lists model files referenced by the current graph, so you can localize only what the job needs.
  • All Local: shows the local cache as a maintenance view for pruning, uploading, or deleting selected files.
  • Log: records localize, upload, delete, and prune actions so cleanup decisions can be checked later.

Prune first

Auto-prune keeps the cache under the configured maximum by removing older local files that also exist on the network. Use it before manual deleting when disk pressure is the problem.

Localize what you need

Localizing copies a network model into the local cache, making the workflow faster and available for the current machine. Prefer selected localization when a graph only needs a few missing files.

Upload useful files

Uploading a new local model to the shared side makes it available to the rest of the team. Do it when the file is named clearly, tested, and useful beyond your current graph.

Closed models are production tools

API Nodes

An API node can sit directly between NL Read and NL Write. Cost is visible, and usage is captured by NL Cost Ledger.

Closed API models are available because artists are expected to use them. If a model gives a better image, a faster option, or a useful art direction pass, do not avoid it just because it has a cost. This is not an artist's personal bill; it is a production tool with tracked usage.

  • Company account: use the ComfyUI NL account and log in with Google Sign-In, not plain email login. The login and password are in the secure company source, not in this guide.
  • Workflow context: API nodes should be used with workflow-context set. That gives producers the right data: project, shot or asset, task, user, model, and cost.
  • NL Cost Ledger: records API usage and lets the team review costs by project, shot, user, and model. It is a production meter, not a scare tactic.

Use them when they help

Closed models can be excellent for strong image passes, cleanup, variants, and quick answers to whether an art direction is worth pursuing. One good paid attempt can be cheaper than circling a weaker setup for too long.

Keep cost in mind

Normal API usage is part of the work. Pause only for genuinely heavy setups, so at least three of these conditions are met: expensive models, high resolution, long length, many variants, or long test series.

When in doubt, ask the producer

If you are not sure whether your costs of using API nodes are too large for a task, ask the producer. It is better to confirm the direction early than to guess.

Color and comp

Color And Compositing

NL color tools are meant to keep artist previews readable while preserving predictable working-space data through the graph.

NL OCIO Convert and NL Linear To Log create explicit color-space and log transforms when the graph needs converted image data.
NL Merge and NL Shuffle provide Nuke-style image operations and channel routing for compositing work.

Managed previews

Use preview_colorspace to choose how an image is displayed. A preview transform is for viewing; it should not be treated as the final tensor unless a transform node says so.

Default input spaces

When a project mostly uses Rec.709 plates, set NL Tools > Configuration > Color Defaults > PNG/JPG/Video Input to Output - Rec.709. New NL Read sources using Auto will use that default; a manually chosen node colorspace still wins.

Explicit transforms

Use NL OCIO Convert, NL Linear To Log, and NL Log To Linear when the graph really needs converted image data.

Nuke-style channel work

NL Merge and NL Shuffle provide familiar A/B image operations, masks, mattes, channel routing, and image-info metadata pass-through.

Paint and mask

Editing

NL Edit is a focused paint and mask modal for quick fixes inside ComfyUI.

NL Edit is for quick comp notes, rough masks, fixes, and hand-painted guide data. Fetch upstream input first when possible, then open the editor.

  • Layer: choose whether strokes affect the RGB layer or mask layer.
  • View: switch between combined, RGB, and mask previews.
  • Tool: brush adds strokes; erase removes them from the selected layer.
  • Export to NL Read: turns the saved edit output into a new readable source node.
Top-bar panels

Top-Bar Tools

NL Tools opens the main NL panels and utility actions from the ComfyUI top bar.
Configuration stores the username, UI text size, color defaults, and dependency settings.
Model Manager compares network models against local cache.
Templates is the shared workflow library for starting points and reusable setups.
Subgraphs inserts reusable blueprint blocks into the active graph.
Cost Ledger tracks API usage by project, shot or asset, user, and model.
Reference

Node Reference

The cards below cover the registered NL Nodes in this repository. Input and output names were checked against the loaded ComfyUI object info during this documentation pass.

NOLABEL / IO

NL Read

NOLABEL/IO

Reads stills, image sequences, videos, masks, and uploaded inputs. Use it when media enters the graph.

Artist controls
source, frame sampling, range, mask mode, reverse, resize, input colorspace, preview colorspace.
Outputs
image, mask, inverted_mask, frame_count, resolved_path, image_info_json.

NL Write

NOLABEL/IO

Writes final images or sequences using workflow context. Use it at the end of an artist graph.

Artist controls
single or sequence mode, base name, output colorspace, preview mode, save mode, frame range, MP4/MOV options.
Inputs
images, mask, comparison_images, image_info_json.

NL Image Info Debug

NOLABEL/IO

Pretty-prints image metadata from NL Read. Use it when color interpretation or source metadata looks wrong.

Input
image_info_json.
Outputs
source_path, detected_color_space, working_color_space, is_data, pretty_json.

NOLABEL / Workflow

NL Resolution

NOLABEL/Workflow

Outputs the width and height stored in NL Workflow. Use it to drive generators, resizes, or utility nodes.

NL FPS

NOLABEL/Workflow

Outputs workflow FPS as float and integer values. Use it for sequence, video, or timing nodes.

NL Frame Range

NOLABEL/Workflow

Outputs start frame, end frame, and frame count from the active workflow context.

NL Project Path

NOLABEL/Workflow

Outputs the project path saved in the workflow panel. Use it when custom nodes need the shot folder.

NL Workflow Color Context

NOLABEL/Workflow

Outputs the resolved OCIO config, working space, display, view, input policy, and status JSON.

NL Context Debug

NOLABEL/Workflow

Outputs the cached workflow context JSON. Use it for diagnosis, not normal artist graphs.

NOLABEL / Color

NL Preview

NOLABEL/Color

Managed viewer/output node for images, masks, RGBA, comparisons, and comparison reveal.

Inputs
image, mask, comparison_images, image_info_json.
Outputs
image, mask, image_info_json.

NL OCIO Convert

NOLABEL/Color

Converts image tensors between explicit OCIO colorspaces and updates image_info_json.

NL Linear To Log

NOLABEL/Color

Converts scene-linear image data into the configured compositing log role.

NL Log To Linear

NOLABEL/Color

Converts compositing log data back into the configured scene-linear role.

NL Merge

NOLABEL/Color

Nuke-inspired A/B image merge with optional A/B mattes, effect mask, canvas behavior, invert mask, and mix.

NL Shuffle

NOLABEL/Color

Routes RGB and alpha/mask channels from A, B, black, or white into a new image and mask.

Deprecated: NL To Model Space

NOLABEL/Color/Deprecated

Legacy model-space conversion node kept for old workflows. Prefer explicit OCIO/color nodes in new setups.

Deprecated: NL From Model Space

NOLABEL/Color/Deprecated

Legacy conversion from model output space. Keep it only when maintaining older graphs that already use it.

NOLABEL / Utilities

NL Constant Color

NOLABEL/Utilities

Creates a solid image and mask at workflow or custom resolution. Useful for mattes, slates, and test inputs.

NL Match

NOLABEL/Utilities

Matches A/B streams to a shared resolution, batch length, and color space. Use it before merge, preview, or model passes when sources come from different places.

NL Edit

NOLABEL/Utilities

Built-in paint and mask editor node. Fetch upstream inputs, draw RGB or mask edits, save, then reuse or export.

Video Model Utilities

NL WanVideo ImageToVideo Encode v2 (multi-ref)

WanVideoWrapper

Reference-image encoder utility for WanVideo workflows, including multi-reference frame placement, temporal masks, control embeds, and tiled VAE options.

NL LTXV Img To Video Inplace At Index

conditioning/video_models

Places an LTXV-encoded image at an arbitrary frame in an existing video latent while preserving chained noise masks.

When something feels wrong

Troubleshooting

Workflow is running extremely slowly

You've probably didn't localize the models. Open NL Model Manager, scan the workflow, and localize the missing models from the network side. If it's showing as missing also on the network drive, you need to download the files to proper models paths on your local machine and then you can upload them to the network drive using Upload All button - be kind and do it for other users.

API nodes are not working or ask you to log in

First check that you are using the ComfyUI NL account through Google Sign-In. Do not use plain email/password login, even if that form is visible. The login and password are in the secure company source. If the browser offers your personal Google account, switch accounts or sign out from that browser window. After logging in, set workflow-context and run the node again so NL Cost Ledger receives the correct project, shot, user, and cost data.

Writes go to an unexpected folder

Check Project Path in NL Workflow and the name field on NL Write. NL Write uses workflow context for versioned output paths.

Preview color looks wrong

Check NL Workflow color management, NL Read input_colorspace, and Preview preview_colorspace. Use NL Image Info Debug when metadata needs inspection.

Templates or subgraphs are empty

Check shared paths in extra_model_paths.yaml. Templates require shared template roots; subgraphs use the first available shared subgraph key.

Username warnings appear

Open NL Tools > Configuration. Templates and Ledger need a valid username for authorship and cost tracking.