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LLM Chat Tab - Complete Guide

The LLM Chat Tab brings AI language model capabilities directly into ComfyUI, enabling you to generate, refine, and enhance prompts without leaving your workflow environment.

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Getting Started
  3. Workspace Layout
  4. Supported Providers
  5. Text Generation
  6. Vision Features
  7. Advanced Options
  8. Conversation History
  9. Keyboard Shortcuts
  10. Tips & Best Practices
  11. Troubleshooting

Overview

Key Features

  • Multi-Provider Support: LM Studio and Ollama with custom endpoint options
  • Vision Capabilities: Upload and analyze images with vision-enabled models (drag-and-drop supported)
  • Real-time Streaming: See responses generate in real-time with SSE
  • Conversation History: Maintain context across multiple messages
  • Preset System: Save and reuse complete LLM configurations (model, settings, system prompts)
  • System Prompt Management: Create, save, and manage system prompts
  • Advanced Options: Temperature, top-p, max tokens, presence/frequency penalties, keep-alive
  • Cross-Tab Integration: Send responses to Prompt Builder or receive images from Gallery
  • Keyboard Shortcuts: Ctrl+Enter to send, Escape to blur textareas
  • Accessibility: Full keyboard navigation and screen reader support

When to Use

  • Prompt Generation: Create detailed, creative prompts from simple descriptions
  • Prompt Refinement: Enhance existing prompts with better structure and keywords
  • Image Analysis: Describe images or get prompt suggestions from reference images
  • Creative Assistance: Brainstorm ideas, variations, or themes
  • Quality Control: Review and improve prompt quality before generation

Getting Started

Opening the LLM Tab

  1. Launch ComfyUI
  2. Look for the sidebar on the right side of the screen
  3. Click on the LLM or Chat tab icon

Basic Workflow

Basic Workflow

  1. Select a Provider: Choose LM Studio or Ollama
  2. Configure if needed: Set custom endpoints in settings (optional)
  3. Choose a Model: Select from available models for your provider
  4. Enter Your Prompt: Type your request in the text area
  5. Send: Click "Send" or press Ctrl+Enter
  6. Review Response: Watch the AI response stream in real-time

Workspace Layout

The LLM tab is divided into three subtabs accessible from the pill navigation bar beneath the model selector. The active subtab is remembered across refreshes.

Compose

The default mode, tuned for fast one-shot generation.

Area Purpose
Model selector (top) Provider and model, always visible
Image upload Drag/drop or click to attach images (vision models only)
Prompt textarea Your request
Send button Start or stop generation
Response area Streaming output with copy, send-to-node, and send-to-prompt-builder actions

Chat

A transcript-first multi-turn conversation view.

Area Purpose
Thread toolbar Active thread title, New / Rename / Export / Import / Clear buttons
Threads button Toggle the saved-conversation list
Transcript Scrollable chat bubble view — user messages right, assistant left
Image upload Attach images before sending (vision models only)
Prompt textarea Composer for the next message
Response area Streaming output appears inline when the response completes

Settings

All low-frequency controls live here so Compose and Chat stay uncluttered.

Group Controls
Context System prompt, prompt templates, include-history toggle, max history messages
Generation and Provider Ollama and LM Studio parameter sliders (temperature, top-p, top-k, penalties, max tokens, context window, seed, keep-alive)
Diagnostics Reset settings to defaults

Supported Providers

Sage Utils currently supports local LLM providers for privacy, unlimited usage, and no API costs.

Local Providers

LM Studio

  • Models: Any GGUF model you load in LM Studio
  • Vision Support: ✅ (vision-capable models like LLaVA, BakLLaVA, MiniCPM-V)
  • Setup:
    1. Download and install LM Studio
    2. Browse and download models from the built-in model browser
    3. Load a model in LM Studio
    4. Start the local server (Server tab → Start Server, default: http://localhost:1234)
    5. Select "lmstudio" from provider dropdown in Sage Utils
    6. Model will auto-detect

Advantages:

  • Free and unlimited
  • Complete privacy (runs locally)
  • No internet required for generation
  • Customizable models and parameters
  • User-friendly GUI for model management
  • Support for custom endpoints

Default Endpoint: http://localhost:1234/v1

Recommended Models:

  • Text: Llama 3, Mistral, Qwen, Phi-3
  • Vision: LLaVA 1.6, BakLLaVA, MiniCPM-V

Ollama

  • Models: Any model available in Ollama library
  • Vision Support: ✅ (llava, bakllava, minicpm-v models)
  • Setup:
    1. Install Ollama
    2. Pull a model from terminal:
      • Text: ollama pull llama3.2 or ollama pull mistral
      • Vision: ollama pull llava or ollama pull bakllava
    3. Verify model is installed: ollama list
    4. Ensure Ollama service is running (runs automatically after install)
    5. Select "ollama" from provider dropdown in Sage Utils
    6. Enter exact model name (e.g., "llama3.2", "llava")

Advantages:

  • Free and open source
  • Easy model management via CLI
  • Lightweight and efficient
  • Active community and model library
  • Automatic service management
  • Simple installation

Default Endpoint: http://localhost:11434

Popular Models:

  • Text Generation:
    • llama3.2 - Fast and capable
    • llama3.1 - Larger, more powerful
    • mistral - Excellent performance
    • mixtral - Mixture of experts
    • qwen2.5 - Strong multilingual
  • Vision:
    • llava - General vision understanding
    • bakllava - Enhanced LLaVA variant
    • minicpm-v - Efficient vision model
    • llava-phi3 - Compact vision model

CLI Commands:

# List available models remotely
ollama list

# Pull a model
ollama pull llama3.2

# Run a model (test)
ollama run llama3.2

# Remove a model
ollama rm modelname

Custom Endpoints

Both providers support custom endpoint URLs for advanced configurations:

Use Cases:

  • Docker containers running Ollama/LM Studio
  • Remote Ollama instances on your network
  • Custom ports (non-default)
  • Network-accessible LM Studio instances
  • Ollama running in WSL or VMs

Setup:

  1. Open Sage Utils settings
  2. Enable "Use Custom URL" for your provider
  3. Enter custom endpoint (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:11434)
  4. Save settings
  5. Provider will use custom endpoint instead of default

Text Generation

Basic Usage

  1. Type your prompt in the main text area
  2. Click "Send" or press Ctrl+Enter
  3. Watch the response stream in real-time
  4. Copy response using the copy button
  5. Send to Prompt Builder to use in tag-based prompts

Example Prompts

Prompt Generation

Create a detailed prompt for a cyberpunk street scene at night

Prompt Refinement

Enhance this prompt with better details and artistic style:
"a girl in a park"

Creative Variations

Give me 5 variations of this theme:
"fantasy castle on a floating island"

System Prompts

System prompts set the behavior and personality of the AI. They're applied before every request.

To use:

  1. Click "Advanced Options" to expand
  2. Enter system prompt in the dedicated field
  3. System prompt persists across conversations

Example System Prompts:

You are an expert at creating detailed, artistic prompts for image generation.
Focus on visual details, lighting, composition, and artistic style.

You are a creative writing assistant specializing in fantasy and sci-fi themes.
Provide vivid descriptions with emphasis on mood and atmosphere.

Vision Features

Uploading Images

Three ways to add images:

  1. File Upload:

    • Click "Add Image" button
    • Select up to 10 images
    • Supported: JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF
    • Max size: 10MB per image

  2. Drag & Drop:

    • Drag images from your file explorer
    • Drop onto the preview area
    • Visual feedback during drag

  3. Paste:

    • Copy image to clipboard
    • Click in the LLM tab
    • Press Ctrl+V

Image Validation

The system validates all uploads:

✅ Accepted Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF
✅ Maximum Size: 10MB per image
✅ Maximum Count: 10 images total

❌ Rejected:

  • Unsupported formats (BMP, TIFF, SVG, etc.)
  • Files over 10MB
  • More than 10 images

Error Messages:

  • "Unsupported format (BMP). Supported: JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF"
  • "File too large (15.3MB). Maximum: 10MB"
  • "Maximum 10 images allowed. Please remove some images first."

Vision Model Usage

Example Vision Prompts

Image Description:

Describe this image in detail, focusing on composition and artistic elements

Prompt Generation from Image:

Create a detailed prompt that would generate an image similar to this

Style Analysis:

Analyze the artistic style of this image and suggest similar styles

Multiple Image Comparison:

Compare these images and identify common themes or elements

Removing Images

  • Click the × button on any image preview
  • Click Clear All to remove all images
  • Images are cleared when you start a new conversation

Advanced Options

Click "Advanced Options" to reveal additional settings:

Temperature (0.0 - 2.0)

Controls randomness and creativity:

  • 0.0 - 0.3: Focused, deterministic, consistent
  • 0.4 - 0.7: Balanced (recommended for most use cases)
  • 0.8 - 1.2: Creative, varied, exploratory
  • 1.3 - 2.0: Very random, experimental

Default: 0.7

Top P (0.0 - 1.0)

Controls diversity via nucleus sampling:

  • 0.1 - 0.5: Conservative, safe choices
  • 0.6 - 0.9: Balanced diversity
  • 1.0: Maximum diversity

Default: 0.9

Max Tokens (1 - 4096+)

Maximum length of response:

  • 100-500: Short, concise responses
  • 500-1000: Medium responses
  • 1000-2000: Detailed responses
  • 2000+: Very detailed or multiple examples

Default: 2048

Presence Penalty (-2.0 - 2.0)

Encourages new topics:

  • -2.0 - 0.0: Allows repetition
  • 0.0: Neutral
  • 0.1 - 1.0: Discourages repetition
  • 1.0 - 2.0: Strongly avoids repetition

Default: 0.0

Frequency Penalty (-2.0 - 2.0)

Reduces word repetition:

  • -2.0 - 0.0: Allows repeated words
  • 0.0: Neutral
  • 0.1 - 1.0: Discourages frequent words
  • 1.0 - 2.0: Strongly avoids repetition

Default: 0.0

System Prompt

Sets AI behavior and personality. See System Prompts section.

Conversation History

How It Works

The LLM tab maintains conversation context automatically:

  1. Each message is stored (both user and AI)
  2. Context is maintained across multiple exchanges
  3. History is included in subsequent requests (when enabled)
  4. New conversation starts fresh

Managing Conversations

Start New Conversation:

  • Click "New Conversation" button
  • Clears all history
  • Fresh context for new topic

Include/Exclude History:

  • Toggle "Include History" in advanced options
  • When enabled: AI remembers previous exchanges
  • When disabled: Each message is independent

Max History Messages:

  • Set how many previous messages to include
  • Default: 10 messages
  • Older messages are dropped automatically

Viewing History

Click "Conversation History" to see:

  • All messages in current conversation
  • User and assistant roles clearly labeled
  • Timestamps for each exchange
  • Copy individual messages

Best Practices

✅ Do:

  • Start new conversation when changing topics
  • Use history for iterative refinement
  • Keep history enabled for context-dependent tasks
  • Clear history when sensitive topics are discussed

❌ Don't:

  • Let history grow too large (impacts token usage)
  • Mix unrelated topics in one conversation
  • Forget to start new conversation for fresh context

Keyboard Shortcuts

Text Input

  • Ctrl+Enter: Send prompt
  • Escape: Blur (unfocus) textarea

Navigation

  • Tab: Move between fields
  • Shift+Tab: Move backwards

Workflow

  1. Type prompt
  2. Press Ctrl+Enter to send
  3. Review response
  4. Press Escape to return to input
  5. Modify and send again

Tips & Best Practices

Prompt Writing

✅ Be Specific:

Good: "Create a detailed cyberpunk street scene with neon signs, rain-slicked 
pavement, and crowds of people under umbrellas at night"

Avoid: "Make a cyberpunk scene"

✅ Use Context:

"Expand this basic prompt with artistic details, lighting, and composition: 
[your basic prompt]"

✅ Request Structure:

"Format the prompt as: subject, setting, lighting, mood, style, quality tags"

✅ Iterate:

  • Start broad, then refine
  • Ask for variations
  • Request specific improvements

Model Selection

For Prompt Generation:

  • GPT-4o: Best balance of quality and speed
  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet: Excellent creative writing
  • Gemini 1.5 Pro: Great for detailed descriptions
  • Local models (Llama 3.2): Free unlimited usage

For Vision Tasks:

  • GPT-4o: Fast and accurate
  • Claude 3 Opus: Best detail analysis
  • LLaVA (local): Free, surprisingly good

Token Management

  • Short prompts: 500-1000 max tokens
  • Detailed responses: 1500-2500 max tokens
  • Multiple examples: 3000-4000 max tokens
  • Monitor usage to control costs (cloud providers)

Performance

  • Use local models (LM Studio/Ollama) for unlimited free usage
  • Enable streaming for better user experience
  • Clear history periodically to reduce token usage
  • Use appropriate max tokens to avoid waste

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Please select a model"

Problem: No model selected
Solution: Choose a model from the dropdown after selecting provider

"API Error: 401 Unauthorized"

Problem: Invalid or missing API key
Solution:

  1. Check API key is entered correctly
  2. Verify key is active on provider's platform
  3. Check for typos or extra spaces

"Connection failed" (Local providers)

Problem: LM Studio or Ollama not running
Solution:

  1. Ensure service is running
  2. Check correct port (LM Studio: 1234, Ollama: 11434)
  3. Verify firewall isn't blocking

"Model not found"

Problem: Specified model doesn't exist
Solution:

  1. Refresh model list
  2. Check spelling
  3. For Ollama: ollama pull <model-name> first

"Image upload failed"

Problem: Invalid image file
Solution:

  1. Check format (JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF only)
  2. Verify size (under 10MB)
  3. Don't exceed 10 images total

Streaming stops mid-response

Problem: Connection interrupted
Solution:

  1. Click "Stop" then resend
  2. Check internet connection (cloud providers)
  3. Check local service still running

Response is too short/long

Problem: Max tokens setting
Solution: Adjust "Max Tokens" in Advanced Options

AI output is repetitive

Problem: Penalty settings too low
Solution: Increase presence/frequency penalty (0.5-1.0)

AI output is too random

Problem: Temperature too high
Solution: Decrease temperature (0.5-0.7)

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered here:

  1. Check GitHub Issues
  2. Review API Documentation for technical details
  3. Open a new issue with:
    • Provider and model being used
    • Error message (exact text)
    • Steps to reproduce
    • Screenshots if applicable

What's Next?

Happy prompting! 🎨✨

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