---
type: reference
title: ComfyUI Troubleshooting
description: Common errors, diagnostics, and recovery steps for ComfyUI on dankclaw.
tags:
  - image-generation
  - comfyui
  - troubleshooting
  - dankclaw
  - unverified
verified: 2026-08-28
---

# ComfyUI Troubleshooting

Procedures for diagnosing and fixing ComfyUI on dankclaw.

## Service Will Not Start

Check the journal logs first.

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'journalctl --user -u comfyui --no-pager -n 100'
```

### "RuntimeError: No HIP GPUs are available"

Cause: The container's ROCm PyTorch cannot see the Strix Halo (gfx1151) GPU. This can happen when `/dev/kfd` and `/dev/dri` are not properly passthrough, or when the ROCm PyTorch build doesn't match the GPU architecture.

Fix: Verify GPU passthrough is configured in `compose.yaml` (should include `/dev/kfd` and `/dev/dri`). The container image is `comfyui-rocm:gfx1151` which should contain the correct ROCm kernels.

Check that the container image uses the AMD gfx1151 base:

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'podman inspect comfyui --format "{{.Config.Image}}"'
```

If the GPU still doesn't work, ensure the host user is in the `render` group:

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'id dank'
```

### "HIP error: invalid device function"

Cause: The ROCm PyTorch kernels don't match the GPU architecture. The ComfyUI container uses the AMD gfx1151 base image (`comfyui-rocm:gfx1151`), but if PyTorch was reinstalled without the ROCm build, this error occurs.

Fix: Reinstall the gfx1151 ROCm PyTorch. The container image already ships the correct version (torch 2.9.1+rocm). If the venv was rebuilt outside the container, reinstall:

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'cd ~/ComfyUI && source venv/bin/activate && \
  pip uninstall torch torchvision torchaudio pytorch-triton-rocm -y && \
  pip install torch torchvision torchaudio'
```

### Port 8188 Already in Use

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'ss -tlnp | grep 8188'
```

Kill the conflicting process or change the port in the service file.

## Model Not Loading

Check that the model file exists in the correct path.

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'ls -lh ~/models/checkpoints/*.safetensors'
```

Verify `extra_model_paths.yaml` points to the correct base path.

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'cat ~/ComfyUI/extra_model_paths.yaml'
```

Restart ComfyUI after adding or removing models.

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'systemctl --user restart comfyui'
```

## Cannot Reach the Web UI

Test connectivity from the workstation.

```bash
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://dankclaw:8188
```

Expected response: `200`.

If the response is empty or times out, verify the service is running.

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'systemctl --user status comfyui --no-pager'
ssh dank@dankclaw 'ss -tlnp | grep 8188'
```

## Out of Memory

ComfyUI loads the full model into RAM. FLUX.2 klein 4B requires approximately 13 GB. The system has 119 GB total. Close other memory-intensive applications if OOM occurs.

Check memory usage.

```bash
ssh dank@dankclaw 'free -h'
ssh dank@dankclaw 'systemctl --user show comfyui --property=MemoryCurrent'
```

## See Also

- [comfyui](index.md) — Main documentation