ComfyUI on RunPod With ZERO Tech Skills: Full Click-Only Setup for Busy Designers

If you're a designer or marketer who hates terminals and just wants to click a button and get AI images and videos... I'm going to set up ComfyUI on RunPod for you, so you never touch a single line of code.

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Look, I get it. You've seen the incredible AI-generated visuals flooding your Instagram feed. You know ComfyUI is the tool the pros use to create those mind-blowing images and videos.

But every tutorial you've found expects you to know what a "terminal" is or how to "pip install" something.

This guide is written specifically for creative professionals who want results, not a computer science degree.

We're going to get you from zero to generating AI images in under 10 minutes—and you'll never type a single command.

What You'll Need

Before we dive in, here's your short checklist:

• A RunPod account (sign up at runpod.io)

• A credit card to add a few dollars in credits

• About 10 minutes of your time

That's it. No software downloads. No installations. No technical prerequisites.

Why RunPod? (The 30-Second Explanation)

Your laptop probably can't run ComfyUI well—most can't. Instead of buying a $3,000 computer, you're going to rent a powerful one in the cloud for about $0.50/hour. Use it when you need it, turn it off when you don't.

Step 1: Pick Your Cloud Computer

Once you're logged into RunPod, click on Pods in the left sidebar:

You'll see a bunch of GPU options - which can be a bit daunting. However, here's all you need to know:

• For beginners, choose the RTX 3090. It costs around $0.30–0.50 per hour and handles everything you'll throw at it while learning. It's a terrific and capable card to learn on.

• Want faster results? Go with the RTX 5090 at $0.75–0.90 per hour. It's a more capable card - recommended for those confident in their requirements.

Click on the GPU you want, and you'll see a configuration screen appear.

Step 2: Use the Correct Template

Here's where most tutorials lose people—they tell you to install a bunch of stuff manually.

We're skipping all of that.

On the configuration screen, find the section labeled Template and click Change Template:

In the search box that appears, type "ComfyUI" and look for the official RunPod template (it'll have RunPod's name on it, not some random user):

Click on it to select it.

This template is pre-loaded with everything you need. ComfyUI is already installed. All the technical dependencies are handled.

Give your pod a name if you want (something like "My AI Studio"), then click the Deploy On-Demand button:

Step 3: Wait a Few Minutes for the Pod to Start

RunPod is spinning up your cloud computer and loading ComfyUI.

Watch for the status indicator next to "ComfyUI on port 8188" to turn into a green dot with the word "Ready."

This is a good time to go grab that cup of coffee before you get to work ;-)

Step 4: Open Your AI Studio

Once you see that green "Ready" indicator, click directly on the "ComfyUI" text next to port 8188.

A new browser tab will open, and you'll see the ComfyUI interface:

Congratulations—you now have a professional AI image generation studio running in your browser.

You could stop here and start creating.

But if you want access to the really good stuff—the models that create photorealistic images, the LoRAs that give you specific styles, the tools that upscale your work to print quality—keep reading.

Step 5: Add Pro-Level Models (Still No Code Required)

This is where my free tool saves you hours of headaches.

Open a new tab and go to deploy.promptingpixels.com.

This is a visual tool I built specifically for people who don't want to mess with code. You're going to build a custom installation package by clicking checkboxes—that's it.

In the Add Models tab: Browse through and select any models you want. I recommend starting with one solid base model like JuggernautXL or RealVisXL. Add any style LoRAs that catch your eye.

In the Custom Nodes tab: Add any extra features you want. The UltimateSDUpscale node is great for making your images bigger without losing quality.

At the top of the page: Set the provider radio button to "RunPod."

Now here's the one slightly technical part (I promise it's easy):

Click the copy button next to the command at the top of the page. This copies a single line of text.

Go back to your RunPod tab. In the connections menu for your pod, click Enable Web Terminal, wait a few seconds, then click Open Web Terminal.

A black window will appear. Click inside it and paste (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V) the one-liner you copied previously from deploy.promptingpixels.com:

Important: Before pressing Enter, you need to replace two placeholder phrases in that text:

• Replace YOUR_HF_TOKEN with your HuggingFace API key (get one free at huggingface.co/settings/tokens)

• Replace YOUR_CIVITAI_TOKEN with your Civitai API key (get one free at civitai.com/user/account)

Press Enter. The system will automatically download everything you selected. Go grab another coffee—this takes a few minutes depending on how many models you chose.

Step 6: Refresh and Create

Once the downloads finish, go back to your ComfyUI tab.

Click Manager in the interface, then click Restart:

If you see a "Bad Gateway" message, don't panic. Wait 30 seconds and refresh the page manually.

Your new models and tools are now loaded and ready to use. Select them from the dropdowns in your workflow and start creating.

Step 7: Download Your Creations

After you've generated some images you love, you'll want to get them off the cloud and onto your computer.

In RunPod, look at the connection options for your pod and click on File Browser:

When prompted for login credentials, use:

• Username: admin

• Password: adminadmin12

Navigate to: runpod-slim → ComfyUI → output

Right-click on any image and download it. You can also select multiple files.

Step 8: Stop the Meter

This is crucial. RunPod charges by the minute while your pod is running.

When you're done for the day, go back to your RunPod dashboard and click Stop on your pod. This pauses billing but keeps your setup intact for next time.

If you're completely finished and want to stop all charges, click Stop first, then click Terminate. This deletes everything, but you can always set up a fresh pod using these same steps.