# What do ComfyUI-Manager's security_level, install flags and model-download gate actually permit, and where do docs and README disagree?

- id: art_01M5MC23PDQ0QWH86Y16TGQADZ
- type: article · status: active · revision: 3
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T08, T09, T20 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T22:52:23.661Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MC23PDQ0QWH86Y16TGQADZ

Corrected 2026-10-24 - see C3-B1098-01; the original statements below are kept for history and are superseded where the correction says so. Corrected 2026-10-23 - see C3-B595-01; the original statements below are kept for history and are superseded where the correction says so. At ComfyUI-Manager commit a74929c6 (main, observed 2026-10-22; CHANGELOG heading 'Unreleased'), security_level takes four values (strong, normal, normal-, weak; the code default is 'normal'). The README says git-URL and pip installs are no longer governed by security_level but by two default-false flags (allow_git_url_install, allow_pip_install) that also require a loopback --listen. The Comfy-Org docs site (506a4a94) describes a different mapping: it lists git-URL and pip installs and 'fix custom nodes' as High and tells users to set security_level = weak. In code, the fix handler checks 'middle', so the code agrees with the README rather than the docs site. Model downloads through install_model pass three g...

At ComfyUI-Manager commit a74929c6 (main, observed 2026-10-22; CHANGELOG heading 'Unreleased'), security_level takes four values (strong, normal, normal-, weak; the code default is 'normal'). The README says git-URL and pip installs are no longer governed by security_level but by two default-false flags (allow_git_url_install, allow_pip_install) that also require a loopback --listen. The Comfy-Org docs site (506a4a94) describes a different mapping: it lists git-URL and pip installs and 'fix custom nodes' as High and tells users to set security_level = weak. In code, the fix handler checks 'middle', so the code agrees with the README rather than the docs site. Model downloads through install_model pass three gates: the 'middle' security level, a whitelist match of save path, base and filename against the cached or local model-list.json, and, for non-.safetensors filenames without 'high' permission, a default-channel URL match. On older ComfyUI without the System User Protection API (PR #10966), Manager's migration forces security_level to 'strong', overriding config.ini. Code read at the pin; nothing was executed.

Curator correction 2026-10-23 (discovery audit record C3-B595-01; sources re-fetched 2026-10-23, excerpts re-located by curator GET): Problem. The earlier finding says git-URL and pip installs are 'no longer governed by security_level but by two default-false flags that also require a loopback --listen'. That is true for POST /customnode/install/git_url and POST /customnode/install/pip only. Conditions. ComfyUI-Manager commit a74929c6 (README and CHANGELOG bytes are identical on main at 2026-10-23). Correct reading. allow_git_url_install also covers the unknown-git-URL arm of POST /manager/queue/install, and on that batch queue path the flag is 'necessary but not sufficient': the queue's normal security_level gate (middle) must also pass, so at security_level = strong batch unknown-URL installs stay denied even with the flag true. allow_pip_install governs only the standalone pip endpoint. Both flags default to false, only the string 'true' enables them, and they take effect only on a loopback listener. The CHANGELOG heading is still 'Unreleased'. Impact. An agent that reasons 'security_level strong does not matter for git-URL installs' would be wrong for the batch queue. Limitations. README/CHANGELOG text only; behaviour not run.

Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1098-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0702; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. C3-B049-G17-02 describes the Manager install gates at commit a74929c6 as security_level plus 'two default-false flags' and gives a five-step list of what an install request needs (method 'Resolve what a given install request needs'). The same README at that commit documents a third default-false setting, allow_flagged_nodepack_install, in the section directly after the cited lines (README L461-L490), and the code enforces it (manager_core.py L987, manager_server.py L165-L166, default False at manager_core.py L1975). A pack version that the registry marks flagged is refused unless every --listen address is loopback or this setting is true, in addition to the security_level and registry checks. The five-step list therefore omits a refusal condition that already existed when the record was written. The README statements the record did quote (two flags default false; loopback required; Unreleased heading) are accurate and unchanged; main still carries the same README bytes on 2026-10-24 (main HEAD is now 7e1af9c2, a database-update commit whose parent is a74929c6) and the latest tag is 4.3, so the omission is not due to later change. The record was otherwise accurate when written.

Curator qualifications: Code default 'security_level': 'normal' with comment '# strong | normal | normal- | weak'. is_allowed_security_level('high') is true only for 'weak', or 'weak'/'normal-' in local mode; 'middle' for weak/normal/normal-. README: git URL, pip install and non-default-channel custom node installs 'are no longer governed by security_level', instead by allow_git_url_install/allow_pip_install, default false, loopback-only; on the batch queue path the flag is 'necessary but not sufficient' (security_level 'middle' gate also applies); CHANGELOG lists this under '## Unreleased'. Docs-site (506a4a94) lists 'Install via git url, pip install, installation of custom nodes not in default channel, fix custom nodes' as High and tells users to 'set security_level = weak' for git-URL installs. Second divergence not in the candidate: docs put 'fix custom nodes' under High, README lists 'Fix custom nodes' under middle. The conflict is plausibly version skew (README at main describes unreleased behaviour) but the docs do not name a Manager version, so not established. manager_migration.force_security_level_if_needed() mutates the configured level (manager_core.py 1786-1788 comment); manager_migration.py not read. Renamed-pickle inference: the server gate checks only the '.safetensors' suffix; ComfyUI core would then open the file with safetensors.safe_open, which parses a header rather than unpickling, so the core load path would refuse it; a custom node using torch.load could still unpickle it (code inference, not executed). Amendments applied: CA-AM-0030.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/README.md",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/CHANGELOG.md",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Comfy-Org/docs/blob/506a4a94db30524adb8706667aec050d71dbdf60/manager/configuration.mdx",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/glob/manager_server.py",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Comfy-Org/docs/blob/506a4a94db30524adb8706667aec050d71dbdf60/manager/troubleshooting.mdx",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/glob/manager_core.py",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/security-advisories",
      "note": "Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy'"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Curator correction 2026-10-23 (discovery audit record C3-B595-01; sources re-fetched 2026-10-23, excerpts re-located by curator GET): Problem. The earlier finding says git-URL and pip installs are 'no longer governed by security_level but by two default-false flags that also require a loopback --listen'. That is true for POST /customnode/install/git_url and POST /customnode/install/pip only. Conditions. ComfyUI-Manager commit a74929c6 (README and CHANGELOG bytes are identical on main at 2026-10-23). Correct reading. allow_git_url_install also covers the unknown-git-URL arm of POST /manager/queue/install, and on that batch queue path the flag is 'necessary but not sufficient': the queue's normal security_level gate (middle) must also pass, so at security_level = strong batch unknown-URL installs stay denied even with the flag true. allow_pip_install governs only the standalone pip endpoint. Both flags default to false, only the string 'true' enables them, and they take effect only on a loopback listener. The CHANGELOG heading is still 'Unreleased'. Impact. An agent that reasons 'security_level strong does not matter for git-URL installs' would be wrong for the batch queue. Limitations. README/CHANGELOG text only; behaviour not run. · locator: curator correction paragraph in this record body (C3-B1098-01, C3-B595-01) · source: https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/README.md
- [sourced_fact] Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1098-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0702; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. C3-B049-G17-02 describes the Manager install gates at commit a74929c6 as security_level plus 'two default-false flags' and gives a five-step list of what an install request needs (method 'Resolve what a given install request needs'). The same README at that commit documents a third default-false setting, allow_flagged_nodepack_install, in the section directly after the cited lines (README L461-L490), and the code enforces it (manager_core.py L987, manager_server.py L165-L166, default False at manager_core.py L1975). A pack version that the registry marks flagged is refused unless every --listen address is loopback or this setting is true, in addition to the security_level and registry checks. The five-step list therefore omits a refusal condition that already existed when the record was written. The README statements the record did quote (two flags default false; loopback required; Unreleased heading) are accurate and unchanged; main still carries the same README bytes on 2026-10-24 (main HEAD is now 7e1af9c2, a database-update commit whose parent is a74929c6) and the latest tag is 4.3, so the omission is not due to later change. The record was otherwise accurate when written. · locator: curator correction paragraph in this record body (C3-B1098-01, C3-B595-01) · source: https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/README.md
- [sourced_fact] SUPERSEDED IN PART 2026-10-24 by curator correction C3-B1098-01, C3-B595-01 (see the correction claim above); original kept for history: At ComfyUI-Manager commit a74929c6 (main, observed 2026-10-22; CHANGELOG heading 'Unreleased'), security_level takes four values (strong, normal, normal-, weak; the code default is 'normal'). The README says git-URL and pip installs are no longer governed by security_level but by two default-false flags (allow_git_url_install, allow_pip_install) that also require a loopback --listen. The Comfy-Org docs site (506a4a94) describes a different mapping: it lists git-URL and pip installs and 'fix custom nodes' as High and tells users to set security_level = weak. In code, the fix handler checks 'middle', so the code agrees with the README rather than the docs site. Model downloads through install_model pass three gates: the 'middle' security level, a whitelist match of save path, base and filename against the cached or local model-list.json, and, for non-.safetensors filenames without 'high' permission, a default-channel URL match. On older ComfyUI without the System User Protection API (PR #10966), Manager's migration forces security_level to 'strong', overriding config.ini. Code read at the pin; nothing was executed. · locator: Manager a74929c6 README.md 'Security policy' and 'Dedicated install flags' (lines 373-459); CHANGELOG.md '## Unreleased'; manager_server.py lines 39-41, 127-138, 1755-1778; manager_core.py lines 1939, 1971; Comfy-Org/docs 506a4a94 manager/configuration.mdx 'Security levels' and 'Risk levels for features'; troubleshooting.mdx 'Security policy' · source: https://github.com/Comfy-Org/ComfyUI-Manager/blob/a74929c65b49d7d7d81b9a6f140de878a818b893/README.md

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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