malkuthro-ComfyUI-Koolook/docs/automations/CONVENTIONS.md

Conventions

Cross-cutting rules that every loop under docs/automations/<model>/ shares. Edit here when something changes globally; per-model docs reference these.

1. The working folder

One folder = one project = everything for one iteration.

Structure:

<working folder>/
  <workflow>.json              ← user content (ComfyUI export)
  <workflow>.mp4               ← user content (rendered video)
  _AI/                         ← AI-managed — safe to keep / commit separately
    card.png                    ← tracking card overlay
    iterations.md               ← append-only log

• _AI/ subfolder holds everything the agent writes. Wiping it never destroys user content; wiping the parent never touches the AI's history. Either side can be cleaned independently.
• Path lives in two places, kept in sync:
  • Inside the workflow — a Text Multiline node titled Working_Folder_PATH (also matches OUT_working_folder, Work_Folder, etc. — case-insensitive title contains "working_folder").
  • In .env (repo root, gitignored) — KOLOOK_AUTOMATIONS_WORK_DIR=<path>. See .env.example for the template.
• The Working_Folder_PATH node wins if both are present; the env var is the fallback used by /make-card to find the latest JSON when invoked without an argument.
• When switching projects: update the node, save the workflow into the new folder, update KOLOOK_AUTOMATIONS_WORK_DIR in .env. No script or doc edits.

2. The Text Multiline node contract

Three named nodes drive the card. Naming is matched by title containing (case-insensitive); exact strings below are recommended.

Working_Folder_PATH

• Body: one line, the absolute working folder path (forward slashes preferred).
• Read by: scripts/make_card.py to determine where to write _AI/card.png and _AI/iterations.md.

OVERLAY - INFO

• Body: a free-form summary of this run, plus a section marked BASE (notes): or BASE: whose content captures Δ from baseline.
• Example body:

  Phase 1
  Format: 2K
  Mult: 1
  Scheduler: linear_quadratic
  Steps: 8
  Denoise: 1
  
  BASE (notes):
  Changed Audio for each segment to match the duration
  

• The card extracts the BASE (notes): block as the "Δ from base" text. The other lines are informational — already captured from the actual workflow nodes.

OVERLAY - FEEDBACK

• Body: post-render observations + score lines.
• Score syntax: motion: 4/5, sync 5/5, sharp: 3, sharpness: 4 — case-insensitive, /5 optional, integer 0–5.
• Non-score lines are kept as the feedback text on the card.
• Example body:

  Teeth are missing in some frames
  Very subtle loss of quality on Hi-speed movements
  motion: 4/5
  sync: 5/5
  sharp: 4/5
  

3. The card

• Filename: _AI/card.png inside the working folder. Stable — always overwrites. NLE points at it once.
• Width: 540 px. Vertical, sits beside a 16:9 video.
• Sections: Header → Phase 1 → Base · notes → Base · locked → Base · scene → Post-render (render time + output + feedback + outcome scores).
• Palette: mirrors docs/designs/snapshot-dialogs.html (panel #151515, panel-soft #1a1a1f, amber #ffb84d, sky #6db4ff, green #7bcf80).

Layout + extraction lives in scripts/make_card.py. Iterate on that file, not on per-model docs.

4. Render duration

Sourced from ComfyUI's own log (<comfyui-root>/user/comfyui.log), not from disk timestamps. The script pairs the latest saving images: 100% line with the next Prompt executed in X and shows that duration — wall-time for the actual render that wrote frames. Disk-based fallbacks (EXR sequence span, MP4 mtime delta) are used only if the log is unavailable.

Log path resolution:

1. KOLOOK_COMFYUI_LOG env var if set (explicit override).
2. Inferred from KOLOOK_COMFYUI_DEV_PATH → <comfyui-root>/user/comfyui.log.

5. The iterations log

• File: _AI/iterations.md inside the working folder.
• Append-only Markdown table. Newest at bottom.
• One row per call to /make-card. Dedupe key: (json_filename, json_mtime) — re-running on the same iteration won't double-log.
• Hidden HTML-comment fingerprint at end of each row enables the dedupe.
• Columns: # · When · Run · Format · Denoise · JSON · Video · Δ from base · Feedback.

6. The /make-card skill

• Trigger: /make-card, card, or make card.
• Reads KOLOOK_AUTOMATIONS_WORK_DIR from .env (repo root) for the working folder.
• Globs newest *.json in that folder; runs scripts/make_card.py against it.
• Writes _AI/card.png + appends _AI/iterations.md row.
• Returns the absolute path of the PNG + shows it inline.

7. The watcher (optional)

• scripts/watch_cards.py — leave running in a terminal during a session.
• Polls the working folder every 2 s.
• Re-renders _AI/card.png automatically whenever the JSON in the folder is modified.
• For hands-free operation alongside ComfyUI's "auto-save workflow on queue" setting (pythongosssss custom-scripts).

8. The loop filename marker

Files whose basename contains loop (case-insensitive) are treated as post-card outputs — the composited card+video that ComfyUI writes back to the working folder after /make-card has produced the card. Auto-discovery and the watcher both skip these:

• LTX-Director_loop_00001.mp4, LTX-Director_loop_00001.json → ignored.
• LTX-Director_00002.mp4, LTX-Director_00002.json → picked up normally.

Reason: without the skip, the script's "newest JSON in the folder" picks up its own downstream output, generating a stale card pointing at the previous iteration. Naming the post-card pass with loop in the basename keeps the auto-discovery clean.

If you need to force-render a card for a loop-named JSON, invoke the script explicitly: python scripts/make_card.py <wf_loop.json>.

9. Run identification

The card title's "Run" label is auto-derived from the JSON stem:

1. v01 / v04 style wins if present — gives Run v04.
2. Otherwise falls back to a 5-digit sequence number like _00007_ — gives Run #7.
3. Otherwise Run ?.

ComfyUI's metadata bundle JSONs (<name>_<seq>.json) work natively with #2.

10. Tools — where they live (and don't move)

Tool	Path	Why here
Card renderer	scripts/make_card.py	All project scripts under scripts/.
File watcher	scripts/watch_cards.py	Same.
Skill	.claude/skills/make-card/	Claude Code expects skills under .claude/skills/.
Working folder env var	.env → KOLOOK_AUTOMATIONS_WORK_DIR	Project convention; see .env.example.
Per-project artifacts	<working folder>/	One path for everything.
Loop docs	docs/automations/<model>/	This folder.