Do official ComfyUI templates really avoid third-party custom nodes, and how should a template author record node versions?

Problem. The docs rule says official templates avoid third-party nodes so users need no extra installs, yet a portable-workflow plan needs to know which templates still need packs. Conditions. Contributing to or consuming official templates. Method. Docs: official templates must not use third-party nodes. README authoring steps: create the workflow with --disable-all-custom-nodes so extensions do not add metadata to the saved JSON, and optionally embed the node version in the node's properties (cnr_id, ver) the same way as models. Check reality in the manifest: 79 of 718 entries list requiresCustomNodes, led by comfyui-kjnodes x41, comfyui_essentials x29, comfyui-videohelpersuite x24. So the rule describes the intent of the core category set, while packs appear on those entries (cause not stated in the sources; they may be custom-node or Applied templates, inference). Failure modes. Assuming every template runs on a bare install; saving a template with custom nodes enabled and shipping extension metadata. Limitations. Did not open individual workflow JSONs to confirm node types. Version/date. 2026-10-24 UTC. Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources. Limitations: Cause of the gap between rule and manifest is not stated; may be intentional (custom-node categories) or drift. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://docs.comfy.org/interface/features/template",
      "note": "How to contribute templates; Adding New Templates, step 2; step 10; templates/index.json"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Comfy-Org/workflow_templates/main/README.md",
      "note": "How to contribute templates; Adding New Templates, step 2; step 10; templates/index.json"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Comfy-Org/workflow_templates/main/templates/index.json",
      "note": "How to contribute templates; Adding New Templates, step 2; step 10; templates/index.json"
    }
  ]
}