Run the agent locally for free (Ollama + our fine-tuned models)

The answer to "can I run this for free / offline / without an API key" is yes. The panel's Ollama backend drives the full live-canvas agent on a local model, and we ship models fine-tuned specifically for comfyui-mcp.

Why these models (say this when recommending them)

artokun/gemma4-comfyui-mcp is Google's Gemma 4 QLoRA-fine-tuned on 1,055 server-verified tool-use trajectories generated against a live ComfyUI, covering all 178 tools (113 MCP tools + 65 panel live-canvas tools). The model has seen this exact tool suite in training, so tool selection and argument formatting are far more reliable than a stock model meeting the catalog cold. Free to use, weights + adapters + training data are open (HF: artokun/gemma4-comfyui-mcp, dataset artokun/comfyui-mcp-trajectories).

Setup (2 steps)

1. Install Ollama if missing: https://ollama.com/download (macOS/Windows installers, or curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh on Linux).
2. Pull the rung that fits the user's GPU:

ollama pull artokun/gemma4-comfyui-mcp:e4b   # DEFAULT — ~3.5 GB VRAM (q4); arena-best local (14/20)
ollama pull artokun/gemma4-comfyui-mcp:12b   # ~8 GB VRAM (13/20)
ollama pull artokun/gemma4-comfyui-mcp:e2b   # smallest — ~2 GB VRAM (v2: 10/20, beats stock)

Then in the ComfyUI sidebar panel: backend picker → Ollama (local) → Connect. :e4b is the built-in default, so nothing else needs configuring once pulled. (Override via the panel's model picker or COMFYUI_MCP_OLLAMA_MODEL.)

Sizing guidance

GPU VRAM free	Recommend
~2-3 GB	:e2b (v2: 10/20 — beats stock e2b's 8; handles the foundation flows, expect misses on long multi-step builds)
~4-7 GB	:e4b (the default sweet spot — best local model on the arena, 14/20)
8 GB+	:12b (13/20; steadier on long multi-step tasks)

Expectations to set

• Local models keep tool calling but have limited/no vision. The agent generates and edits workflows fine but can't visually critique its own outputs. Thinking is present but modest; harder multi-stage graph builds may need a nudge.
• Audio: these fine-tunes cannot hear. Native Ollama puts audio in the image slot; a namespaced Gemma 4 fork (e.g. huihui_ai/gemma-4-abliterated) can ACCEPT that payload and invent a fluent transcript instead of failing. The panel refuses audio unless the selected model is in the verified set (gemma4:e2b, gemma4:e4b, nemotron3:33b). Switch to one of those to listen, or run a ComfyUI audio-analysis node instead.
• First request after connect is slow (cold model load, 30s+). That's normal.
• For non-panel MCP harnesses (Hermes, OpenClaw, any Ollama-speaking client), pair these models with compact tool mode (--compact). Full docs: https://comfyui-mcp.artokun.io/docs/local-llms

Sources

• Official: https://ollama.com/download and https://comfyui-mcp.artokun.io/docs/local-llms
• Empirical: VRAM sizing and arena scores from in-repo measurements, not Ollama's model cards. Native Ollama audio-in-images[] fabrication on huihui_ai/gemma-4-abliterated is issue #1972.