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ComfyUI on a Mac: models, outputs and extra paths

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Where ComfyUI keeps models and outputs on a Mac depends on whether you use the desktop app or a git install. Here is each path, the subfolders, and how to point ComfyUI at models on another drive.

The location depends on how you installed it

ComfyUI on a Mac comes in three forms, and each keeps its files somewhere different. Find yours below.

Comfy Desktop (the current desktop app). ComfyUI's documentation lists these folders on macOS:

~/ComfyUI-Shared          shared model library, input and output folders
~/ComfyUI-Installs        each ComfyUI installation you created
~/Library/Application Support/Comfy Desktop    settings and installation records
~/Library/Logs/Comfy Desktop                   app.log

Models you download land in the shared library, ~/ComfyUI-Shared, in a type folder such as checkpoints, loras or vae, unless you changed the shared folders in the app's settings (see below). The documentation does not print the full subfolder layout, so open it and look.

Legacy Desktop (the earlier single-install app, also called ComfyUI). Its installer suggested ~/Documents/ComfyUI as the install folder, and models sit in its models folder unless you chose another place. Its settings, including the extra model folders file, are in ~/Library/Application Support/ComfyUI/. Comfy Desktop can detect a legacy install and migrate it, reusing that data folder where it is rather than copying it.

A manual (git) install. Everything sits inside the folder you cloned:

<your ComfyUI folder>/models/
<your ComfyUI folder>/output/
<your ComfyUI folder>/input/
<your ComfyUI folder>/user/

That folder is wherever you ran git clone, for example ~/ComfyUI. If you forgot where, look for a folder holding both main.py and extra_model_paths.yaml.example.

To open any of these, choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) in Finder and paste the path, or run open ~/ComfyUI-Shared in Terminal. Only the ~/Library folders are hidden. ComfyUI is not installed on the Mac used for this guide, so the paths come from ComfyUI's documentation and source code.

Which subfolder holds what

Inside a models folder, ComfyUI sorts files by type. These are the main names from ComfyUI's folder_paths.py:

Folder	What goes in it
checkpoints	Full models (.safetensors or .ckpt files)
loras	LoRA add-ons
vae	VAE files
controlnet	ControlNet models (ComfyUI also looks in t2i_adapter)
text_encoders	Text encoders (it also looks in the older name clip)
diffusion_models	Standalone diffusion models (it also looks in the older name unet)
embeddings	Textual inversion embeddings
upscale_models	Upscalers
clip_vision, style_models, hypernetworks and others	More specialised types

A model in the wrong folder does not show up in its loader node, which is the usual reason a downloaded file seems missing. After copying a file in, refresh the node list or the browser tab; the documentation says a restart is needed after you change the extra paths file.

Where the images go

Generated images go to the output folder: inside the ComfyUI folder for a manual install, and in the shared output folder for Comfy Desktop (part of ~/ComfyUI-Shared unless you changed it). A migrated legacy install keeps using its old input and output folders. Preview images go to a separate temp folder.

ComfyUI writes the workflow into the metadata of the images it saves, unless it was started with --disable-metadata, so a PNG from the output folder can be dragged back into the window to rebuild the graph that made it. Think about that before deleting old images. Saved workflows live under the installation's user folder, in user/default for the single default user.

Keep models on another drive

Single checkpoints are often several gigabytes, so models are what you will want off the internal disk. ComfyUI can read models from extra folders without moving the install.

Comfy Desktop: use the app. In its settings, the Storage tab lists Shared Models folders: + Add Shared Directory adds one, such as a folder on an external drive, and Use for Model Downloads makes it the folder new downloads go to. Removing a folder from that list keeps its files. Each installation can opt out of the shared folders in its own Manage panel.

Manual install or Legacy Desktop: use a YAML file.

1. Find the file and back it up if it exists. On a manual install it is extra_model_paths.yaml in the ComfyUI folder, made by copying extra_model_paths.yaml.example and renaming the copy. On Legacy Desktop it is ~/Library/Application Support/ComfyUI/extra_models_config.yaml, and the documentation says to add to it, not overwrite what the installer wrote.
2. Add a section. The shape from ComfyUI's documentation:

my_models:
    base_path: /Volumes/MyDrive/ai-models/
    checkpoints: checkpoints/
    loras: loras/
    vae: vae/

my_models is a name you choose and /Volumes/MyDrive/ai-models/ stands for your own folder. Each key is a folder name from the table above, relative to base_path. The example file also shows is_default: true, which lists that folder first and uses it for downloads.

1. Save the file and restart ComfyUI.

YAML is strict about spaces: use spaces, not tabs, and keep the indentation even. If ComfyUI starts but does not see the drive's models, check the folder names and that the drive was mounted when ComfyUI started.

Move the whole data folder

A manual install also takes startup options, defined in ComfyUI's cli_args.py: --base-directory for models, custom nodes, input, output, temp and user folders together, --models-directory for models only, --output-directory for outputs only, and --extra-model-paths-config to load one or more YAML files. For example, python main.py --output-directory ~/comfy-output sends images there. For Comfy Desktop, use its Storage settings rather than editing the app.

Space and cleanup

Check what takes the room before deleting anything:

du -sh ~/ComfyUI-Shared/* ~/ComfyUI-Installs/*

Models are the largest item and ComfyUI keeps no second copy, so note where each came from before you delete it. The documentation warns that the Comfy Desktop folders hold your personal ComfyUI data and that deleting them is permanent, and that uninstalling the app leaves ~/ComfyUI-Installs and ~/ComfyUI-Shared in place. Comfy Desktop can delete an installation for you from inside the app.

Why a normal search misses these

Model files carry long names chosen by whoever published them, the folders sit in places you picked once and forgot, and the desktop apps' settings are under ~/Library, which Finder and Spotlight searches leave out.

Finding a model again

Type part of a model's published name, or .safetensors, into Everywhere and every checkpoint on the Mac is listed with its folder, so you can tell the ComfyUI copy from one still sitting in Downloads. ~/ComfyUI-Shared and a git clone in your home folder are covered from the start; a Legacy Desktop folder in ~/Documents, Downloads and external drives are covered once Everywhere has Full Disk Access. It searches names, not what is inside a model file.

Common questions

Where does ComfyUI store models on a Mac?

In Comfy Desktop, in the shared model library at ~/ComfyUI-Shared. Legacy Desktop suggested ~/Documents/ComfyUI/models, and a manual install uses the models folder of the ComfyUI folder you cloned.

Where do ComfyUI outputs go on a Mac?

In a manual install, to the output folder inside the ComfyUI folder. Comfy Desktop uses a shared output folder in ~/ComfyUI-Shared unless you changed it in its Storage settings.

How do I use models from an external drive in ComfyUI?

In Comfy Desktop, add the drive's folder under Shared Models in the Storage settings. In a manual install, add a base_path section to extra_model_paths.yaml and restart ComfyUI.

What is extra_model_paths.yaml?

A YAML file that tells ComfyUI to look for models in additional folders. ComfyUI ships extra_model_paths.yaml.example, which you copy and rename; Legacy Desktop uses extra_models_config.yaml instead.