Docker & ComfyUI

[lethal sorrel]

Thread tutorial to understand the power of Docker & add comfyui to it.
Might include how to deploy to runpod (pods & serverless) later.

[soft bay]

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[lethal sorrel]

@lofty wadi

So, basically,
a docker is a "mini" computer running in your operating system, it's totally seperated from your current computer, only share components (CPU, GPU, etc). This helps creating seperated environments to work on. You can then export a docker and install it anywhere you want and open it to work on it. Everything will be installed: your files, softwares etc

We will learn to create a Docker with ComfyUI & Open comfyui from the docker

First create a new folder we will work in

then create a Dockerfile

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base
ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash", "-c", "ls"]

This will pull a pre-existing template with comfyui already installed in it.
The entrypoint is the command that will be executed whenever you start the docker

in this case it's /bin/bash ls so when you run your docker it should print all the files within

@lofty wadi can you build this and confirm ? I'm building mine but it takes ages it have a slow download speed hahahaha

To build it use
docker build -t comfyui .
To run it use
docker run comfyui

[lofty wadi]

So where does it is stored ?

[lethal sorrel]

it's stored on your computer.
Each line of a dockerfile is a "layer" and each layers are store on your computer for caching. That way when you modify a line it doesn't re-download the whole runpod/worker-comfyui since it has been cached

[lofty wadi]

When I run comfyui

[lethal sorrel]

yep yep, I fixed the dockerfile can you try again

ok perfect

[lofty wadi]

It works !

[lethal sorrel]

So here we created a docker & executed a command within it ! you now have a computer within your computer. Cool no ?

Now we can even navigate within the docker

docker run --entrypoint bash -it comfyui

[lofty wadi]

I receive this

Even if it tells me there is a folder called comfyui !

[lethal sorrel]

ye ahahah my bad

[lethal sorrel]

retry the command

and then type ls

[lofty wadi]

We are trying to look what is into comfy folder ?

[lethal sorrel]

docker run --entrypoint bash -it comfyui

With this command we are overwritting the entrypoint to execute bash and not ls so we can navigate in the docker ourselves

[lofty wadi]

Yeah ! I'm in !

[lethal sorrel]

so then you can do : cd comfyui andls

you should see a main.py right ?

[lofty wadi]

Yeah !

[lethal sorrel]

nice 🙂
So now update your Dockerfile like this

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base

ENTRYPOINT ["python","/comfyui/main.py"]

This will start the docker by starting the main.py from comfyui

[lethal sorrel]

Build & Run it again 🙂 You should see ComfyUI logs. But you should see a GPU problem right ?

[lofty wadi]

I get an error, it tells me that I dont have a NVIDIA driver !

[lofty wadi]

Yeah exactly

[lethal sorrel]

Ok, good, we can make a quick test fix by adding --cpu

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base
ENTRYPOINT ["python","/comfyui/main.py", "--cpu"]

This will run comfy without the cpu, ofc, build & run your docker again

You will now see that comfy is running on port 8188. Try to open the URL 😉 (does it work?)

[lofty wadi]

It does !!

[lethal sorrel]

it does work ? ahaha you can open the URL ? you should not

[lofty wadi]

Yeah I can !

It displays me ComfyUI

[lethal sorrel]

Ah that's because you're on linux

[lofty wadi]

No I'm on Windows but maybe it is because Comfy was already installed !

[lethal sorrel]

Oh yeah if you have it open on your computer then it runs the one of your computer 😆😆

stop it

It doesn't work because as said before, it's a completely seperated computer running. We will need to map ports from your Docker to your host machine for it to work. So we will bind the port 8188 of your docker (where comfy runs) on the port 3000 of your host (to better differentiate)

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base
ENTRYPOINT ["python","/comfyui/main.py", "--listen", "0.0.0.0", "--cpu"]

docker build -t comfyui .
docker run -p 3000:8188 -it comfyui
So now you should be able to open it via this url http://127.0.0.1:3000/

[lofty wadi]

Yes I can see it ! And now it does not have my checkpoints anymore ^^

Nice !

[lethal sorrel]

Right that's because it's the comfy from within your docker, now you have a completely seperated comfy and environment to work with

But you're not done yet. As you can see, it doesn't use your GPU, since we added the --cpu param

we need to fix this

[tepid ingot]

@lethal sorrel Feel free to also post in #1194691135436763276. Thank you!

[lofty wadi]

It is already really practical since I can now see if I added my checkpoint properly !

[lethal sorrel]

Aaah Ill move the thread there @tepid ingot I didnt know of it

[lethal sorrel]

Exactly, so now we will create a docker-compose to better handle the GPU etc

[lofty wadi]

Ok !

[lethal sorrel]

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  comfyui:
    image: comfyui
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: comfyui
    volumes:
      # Map a local directory to /comfyui inside the container
      - ./storage/comfyui:/comfyui2
    environment:
      # Pass any environment variables you need
      NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES: all
      NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES: compute,utility
    runtime: nvidia
    ports:
      - 3000:8188

now you can use the new commands :
docker compose build & docker compose up

we also want to update the Dockerfile to use the GPU

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base
ENTRYPOINT ["python","/comfyui/main.py", "--listen", "0.0.0.0"]

[lofty wadi]

Does it changes something if I later use this image in serverless runpod ?

[lethal sorrel]

What you want now is to work with the Docker Compose, and then once you're done add all the commands you used inside the Dockerfile.
The docker compose makes it WAAAAY easier to work with and track changes

When you push your Docker you will only push the Dockerfile, not the docker-compose

but it's important to use it for the next steps, you'll understand

you can see that a /storage/comfyui2 was created when doing "docker compose up" right ?

[lofty wadi]

Yes !

[lethal sorrel]

Exit with Ctrl+C it will stop the docker.
Now run it with docker compose up -d

It should return a local id right ?

ah no it does not ahha, but you can track your docker with

docker ps

[lofty wadi]

Yes! It shows me the two docker we created (here and in the other thread)

• the ones i used for postgres

[lethal sorrel]

You can stop them
docker stop <PARTIAL_ID>

For example if your Id is 5bf5d3434d45 you can just do docker stop 5b

so close the comfyui dockers

and docker compose up -d again, so we start it fresh

[lofty wadi]

Oh lol I see the push created a lot of dockers in my Docker Desktop ^^

[lethal sorrel]

Ahahah yeah, you will be able to delete them and rebuild your machine to start it fresh dont worry. it's actually layers change (so a few Kb)

so you have a docker detached up ?
you can run docker ps to see the id

[lofty wadi]

Yeah I see them !

[lethal sorrel]

we want to go into it just like before
docker exec -it <PARTIAL_ID> bash

[lofty wadi]

I'm in

That one is called "comfyui"

[lethal sorrel]

and then just

cp -r /comfyui/* /comfyui2

now you should see that your storage/comfyui is full of files ahha

[lofty wadi]

Yeah !

[lethal sorrel]

stop this docker once again

And update the docker-compose once again

services:
  comfyui:
    image: comfyui
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: comfyui
    volumes:
      # Map a local directory to /comfyui inside the container
      - ./storage/comfyui:/comfyui
    environment:
      # Pass any environment variables you need
      NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES: all
      NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES: compute,utility
    runtime: nvidia
    ports:
      - 3000:8188

I just changed

   - ./storage/comfyui:/comfyui2
to
   - ./storage/comfyui:/comfyui

now open your docker again, (either in headless mode or not, to see the logs)

[lofty wadi]

Why that ?

[lethal sorrel]

So now your comfyui folder from within your docker is linked to /storage/comfyui

if you add a checkpoint to your /storage/comfyui folder, it will add it to your docker automatically

no need to rebuild

just refresh your browser and you'll see the checkpoint

[lofty wadi]

Should I run it with that ?

[lethal sorrel]

that's good to iterate. Also, if you install custom nodes and restart your docker, since the files are stored on your computer now, you won't lose your custom_nodes

[lethal sorrel]

no, with docker compose again

docker compose up to see the logs
docker compose up -d to run it in the background

[lofty wadi]

So after typing docker compose up -d I should access the ComfyUI interface again ?

[lethal sorrel]

Yep

and comfy will run in the background (you should see the docker running on docker desktop app)

[lofty wadi]

I have this now

I think I made a mistake somewhere

[lethal sorrel]

Just delete them

and do docker compose build

and docker compose up

[lethal sorrel]

perfect

base-comfy is your folder

[lofty wadi]

Yes

For some reason I cant run them

Or it

[lethal sorrel]

use the commands

---

So what we learnt ?

• Creating a Docker
• Linking ports of a docker to your main computer
• Linking a folder of your computer to your docker

Now you can use comfyui with docker compose up. It will be in a totally seperated "sub-computer" so you make sure that everything works when you copy it.

Now how to add checkpoints ? Well, you can just drag them inside the /storage/comfyui/models/checkpoints folder.
But when I export the Docker it won't be there right ? Yep exactly, this is just a folder linked to your computer. If you want to export the checkpoints in your "Docker" you need to add them in the Dockerfile Anything you want to be there when copying your Docker should be set inside your Dockerfile.

So then when you push and pull your docker everything will be there 🙂

A simple way to make everything works is to do this:

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base

COPY ./storage/comfyui /comfyui

ENTRYPOINT ["python","/comfyui/main.py", "--listen", "0.0.0.0"]

This will copy your entire /storage/comfyui inside the docker. so when you compile it, it will be an EXACT copy of your running docker 🙂 easy to push, easy to pull in runpod

[lofty wadi]

Okay ! Make sense !

[lethal sorrel]

I never used it this way tho, im using their github integration to push Dockerfiles. So I never build it on my computer to then push it on docker hub

but it should work that way ahah

To push my checkpoints I download them directly in the dockerfile

FROM runpod/worker-comfyui:5.4.1-base

# Get a model from hugging face
RUN wget -O /comfyui/models/checkpoints/sdxl_lightning_4step.safetensors https://huggingface.co/ByteDance/SDXL-Lightning/resolve/main/sdxl_lightning_4step.safetensors

ENTRYPOINT ["python","/comfyui/main.py", "--listen", "0.0.0.0"]

(that's an example)

Ok im gonna go, I hope this helped, if you have any questions feel free to dm me 🙂

Docker & ComfyUI