Run what you found.
Free. Local. Yours.
Nodian Studio is a free desktop app that pre-flights a workflow against your real GPU, then shows exactly what is missing and how to get it — nothing you scan ever leaves your machine. The desktop download carries everything it needs, so there is nothing to install first. It runs on Windows today; a Mac build comes when demand shows it's worth building.
Three ways in, and one of them is the easy one
Studio is one app behind three doors. Take the desktop app unless you have a reason not to: it is a single download that carries its own runtime, so nothing has to be installed before it. ComfyUI is your own install in all three cases — Studio reads it, it does not replace it.
The desktop app — recommended
One download, nothing else needed. The runtime is inside it.
The web app in your browser
Needs a runtime on your own machine. Installing the desktop app gives you one; so does the zip.
The runtime zip — advanced
Builds the full environment from source, including the parts the bundled app leaves out. Needs Node.js 22+ and Python 3.13 already installed.
Download the desktop app
One download and you are done. The runtime is inside the installer, so there is no second file to fetch and nothing to set up first. It is the same Studio that runs at studio.nodian.directory, in its own window — and it starts the runtime for you.
- Carries its own CPython 3.13.15, so neither Python nor Node.js has to be on the machine.
- About 364 MB on disk once installed.
- ComfyUI is still your own install — it is not bundled, and Studio says so plainly when it cannot find one instead of pretending.
- Text-to-speech is not in the bundled runtime: it is hundreds of megabytes and its voice weights are a separate download. Studio reports that one capability as unavailable rather than failing partway through. The runtime zip below has it.
Not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen will warn that the publisher is unknown. Click "More info", then "Run anyway". The file installs for your user only, with no admin rights.
SHA-256 42d13dadd04259b79e420169404295e8ae7d1a2e5171ffa02993e850561f2103
Verify the download with "certutil -hashfile <file> SHA256" and compare against the checksum above (also published in SHA256SUMS). SHA256SUMS
Or run it in your browser
studio.nodian.directory is the same build served as a web page. It has no machine of its own, so it still needs a runtime on yours — your GPU, your models and your files never leave it. The page asks for the address of a running Studio; the desktop app above provides one, and so does the zip below.
Open studio.nodian.directoryInstall the runtime from source
The advanced path, unchanged. It is small because it is source, not a bundled interpreter — install.ps1 builds the Python environment and the dashboard on your machine, which is also why the first run takes a few minutes. Take this one if you want the full environment: the parts the bundled app leaves out, and the ComfyUI integration the script wires up for you. Extract the zip, then run one command inside the extracted folder.
- Gives you everything, text-to-speech included, plus the ComfyUI integration install.ps1 sets up.
- Needs Node.js 22 or later and Python 3.13 already on the machine. The desktop app needs neither.
Open PowerShell in the folder you extracted, and run:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File install.ps1SHA-256 d305c63617512888a64e7a2ecca64ff1b5d433488dbb8b17fc50e1c2c731771f
Verify the download with "certutil -hashfile <file> SHA256" and compare against the checksum above (also published in SHA256SUMS). SHA256SUMS
What the runtime zip needs
None of this applies to the desktop app, which brings its own. For the zip, install.ps1 checks each of these before it does anything, and stops with a plain message naming the one that is missing. Studio installs into an existing ComfyUI setup — it does not bring its own.
Optional: ffmpeg, for workflows that touch video
Installing the zip, step by step
Download the runtime zip
Use the runtime button above. It is a 2.3 MB archive, not an installer. Skip all four steps if you took the desktop app.
Unblock it, then extract
Windows flags a zip from an unrecognized publisher. Right-click the file, open Properties, tick "Unblock", and only then extract it — unblocking afterwards is too late.
Run install.ps1
Open PowerShell in the extracted folder and run the command above. It creates a Python 3.13 virtual environment, installs the backend, builds the dashboard, finds your ComfyUI, and registers the nodian:// links this site uses to open an item in Studio. Everything it writes stays inside that folder, apart from the protocol entry, which is registered for your user only.
Open Studio
Launch the desktop app, or go to studio.nodian.directory in a browser. Either one connects to the runtime you just installed.
What it does
Real pre-flight
Checks a workflow's required nodes and models against what you actually have installed, and its VRAM needs against the GPU you actually have — before you try to run it.
Guided install
Missing a model? Studio hands you the exact command to fetch it into your ComfyUI setup. Missing a node? It names it so you can add it.
No guesswork
See compatibility and VRAM fit up front, instead of finding out halfway through a render.
Studio is free. Pro unlocks more.
Studio itself is free, and stays free. Pro adds the full Studio control surface and bring-your-own-key cloud orchestration for a one-time $119 — for the workflows your local GPU can't run.
See Pro pricingReady to install?
Windows today. Take the desktop app unless you know you want the source install — it is one file, and nothing else is required. Nothing is gated, and nothing has to be emailed.
Neither file is code-signed yet, so Windows will warn about an unknown publisher. Both are published with SHA-256 checksums you can verify.