Fixing ComfyUI Plugin Conflicts On Linux: A Deep Dive

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Fixing ComfyUI Plugin Conflicts on Linux: A Deep Dive

Hey guys! Today, we're diving deep into a tricky issue some of you might've encountered while using ComfyUI on Linux: conflicts between the ComfyUI-SDPose-OOD and ComfyUI-RMBG plugins. This issue, which has been a headache for many, especially on platforms like CNB L40 GPUs and even high-end cards like the R4090, stems from some deep-rooted dependency clashes. But don't worry, we're here to break it down and provide a comprehensive guide to resolving it.

Understanding the Conflict: A Simplified Explanation

Let's start by understanding what's really going on under the hood. Imagine this conflict as a construction project where two specialized teams are working simultaneously.

The Two Teams:

  • ComfyUI-SDPose-OOD: Think of this team as a German crew specializing in installing precision instruments. They come with their own set of tools, like mmcv and mmpose, with strict version requirements. Everything needs to be a perfect match, or things go south quickly.
  • ComfyUI-RMBG: This is your American background processing team. They're equipped with their own powerful tools, such as rembg, for handling background tasks.

The "Electric Drill" Conflict:

Both teams need a high-performance "electric drill" called onnxruntime-gpu to get their jobs done. The problem? The German team brought version 2.0 of the drill, while the American team uses version 1.8. When both teams try to work in the same environment (your Python setup), they clash over which drill to use, causing compatibility issues and leading to a segmentation fault – basically, the whole project crashes!

Initially, some users tried to "replicate" the German team's tools by compiling mmcv from source. However, due to differences in the "machines" (GCC compilers), the resulting tools had flaws, preventing even the SDPose team from working correctly. The core issue boils down to deep-seated dependency version conflicts between these two complex plugins. They both rely on onnxruntime-gpu, but their incompatible version requirements cause the crash.

The Root Cause

To really nail down the heart of the problem, we can say that the clash arises because both plugins depend on the same underlying library, onnxruntime-gpu, but require different versions. This creates a situation where the system can't reconcile the conflicting requirements, leading to a crash. It's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole – eventually, something's gotta give, and in this case, it's your ComfyUI instance.

The Solution: A Step-by-Step Approach

So, how do we fix this mess? The successful solution involves a "base-building-then-integrating" strategy, much like a skilled project manager who enforces conflict resolution.

Step 1: Scorched Earth – Clearing the Site

First, we use pip uninstall to remove both teams (plugins) and all their tools (dependencies) from the site. This ensures no old, conflicting parts remain. Think of it as a clean slate for our project.

pip uninstall comfyui-sdpose-ood
pip uninstall comfyui-rmbg

Step 2: Establish a Beachhead – Bring Back the "Pickiest" Expert

We start by reinstalling the most demanding team, ComfyUI-SDPose-OOD. Instead of using their tools, we order a pre-compiled, compatible toolset (like mmcv==2.1.0 for cu121/torch2.8.0) directly from the original manufacturer (OpenMMLab). This ensures our core base is rock-solid.

pip install mmcv==2.1.0 -f https://download.openmmlab.com/mmcv/dist/cu121/torch2.1.0/index.html

Step 3: Controlled Integration – "Forced Mediation" and a Happy Accident

Next, we bring back the RMBG team. The plan was to confiscate their drill and issue a "standard model" (onnxruntime-gpu==1.17.3). However, an unexpected surprise occurred! The logs showed ERROR: No matching distribution found for onnxruntime-gpu==1.17.3, meaning the standard model wasn't available for your environment (Python 3.12).

But this is where things got interesting. Before we could enforce our standard, ComfyUI-Manager had already installed a compatible, newer version (like 1.23.2) for RMBG. While our intended 1.17.3 wasn't installed, this auto-selected 1.23.2 version happened to be compatible with the already stable SDPose environment.

The key point here is that because we first established a reliable SDPose setup, the package manager made a smarter, less conflicting choice when installing RMBG's dependencies. The core success lies in the installation order: clearing the site, building a stable core, and then integrating, guiding the pip package manager to make the right dependency choices in a controlled environment.

Step 4: Standard Operation Procedure

When you encounter ComfyUI startup issues after installing a new plugin, follow this three-step "detective process:

  1. Isolate: Identify which plugin(s) caused the issue, typically complex ones with many dependencies.
  2. Disable: Go to the ComfyUI/custom_nodes directory and add .disabled to the suspect plugin's folder name (e.g., ComfyUI-RMBG.disabled).
  3. Restart and Test: Disable one plugin at a time and restart ComfyUI. If it starts normally after disabling a plugin, you've found a conflict source.

If you find conflicting plugins (e.g., Plugin-A and Plugin-B):

  1. Thoroughly Uninstall: Uninstall both plugins via ComfyUI-Manager.

  2. Deep Clean: Manually enter the terminal, activate your virtual environment (source venv/bin/activate), and use pip uninstall to remove all core dependencies of both plugins. Check the plugin's GitHub requirements.txt for a list.

pip uninstall pip uninstall ```

  1. Rebuild Step-by-Step:

    • Install the primary plugin (the more critical or dependency-heavy one, like SDPose).

    • If there are special installation requirements (like mmcv), install manually using the official pip install command, not through the Manager.

pip install ```

*   Test: Start ComfyUI after installing only this plugin to ensure it works independently.
*   Install the secondary plugin via the Manager after confirming the primary plugin's stability.

Diving Deeper: The "Shared Toolbox" Analogy

To further clarify, the earlier "conflict" between comfyui-rmbg and ComfyUI-SDPose-ood wasn't due to inherent incompatibility but a corrupted shared resource: onnxruntime.

The Analogy

Imagine comfyui-rmbg and ComfyUI-SDPose-ood as two top-tier engineers (let's call them Alice and Bob) living in the same apartment building.

  • The Shared Toolbox (onnxruntime): The building provides a high-quality shared toolbox called onnxruntime. Alice and Bob need precise tools from this box (like InferenceSession) for their work (model inference).
  • The Toolbox is Damaged: Someone (perhaps a sloppy construction crew) left a fake toolbox in the common area, looking identical but empty or filled with broken tools. This is the corrupted site-packages/onnxruntime folder we found.

The Engineers Strike:

  • Alice (comfyui-rmbg) goes to work and grabs the fake onnxruntime toolbox. Finding no proper tools, she can't work and throws an error.
  • Bob (ComfyUI-SDPose-ood) faces the same issue with the damaged toolbox and also can't work, throwing an error.

From the building manager's perspective (you), it seems like "Alice and Bob can't work together," but the real issue is the broken toolbox.

The Solution Applied

rm -rf /workspace/venv312/lib/python3.12/site-packages/onnxruntime

This is like tossing the fake, broken toolbox in the trash.

pip install onnxruntime-gpu

This is like ordering a brand-new, fully equipped, and guaranteed onnxruntime toolbox from an official source and placing it in the common area.

Now, Alice, Bob, or any other engineer (plugin) needing this toolbox can find and use the new, complete one. The "conflict" disappears.

The Takeaway

This is a classic "corrupted shared dependency library" scenario leading to a "false conflict." The solution precisely removes the source of corruption and replaces it with an official, correct version, permanently resolving issues for all plugins relying on onnxruntime.

Verifying the Fix: A Step-by-Step Validation

To ensure the fix is successful, let's walk through the verification process step-by-step.

1. Diagnosing the Issue: Confirming Multiple Installations

Your logs revealed a common problem: both onnxruntime (CPU version) and onnxruntime-gpu (GPU version) were installed simultaneously! This creates a package conflict because both packages try to occupy the same namespace. Python gets confused, not knowing which to load, or one overwrites parts of the other, leading to incomplete functionality.

The strategy of uninstalling both potential names is key here, ensuring a clean slate regardless of the previous environment's mess.

2. The Correct Repair Process: Clean Installation

After clearing out the old, conflicting packages, you successfully installed the correct version: onnxruntime-gpu.

3. Final Verification: GPU Ready!

Running the following Python code snippet confirms the installation:

import onnxruntime

sess = onnxruntime.InferenceSession("", None, providers=onnxruntime.get_available_providers())
print("Version:", onnxruntime.get_version())
print("Providers:", sess.get_providers())

This output is the ultimate success proof:

  • Version: This confirms the onnxruntime package can be imported and reports its version number.
  • Providers: This is the most important part. CUDAExecutionProvider indicates onnxruntime has successfully identified and linked to your NVIDIA CUDA environment, enabling GPU acceleration.
  • TensorrtExecutionProvider: This is icing on the cake, showing it can use NVIDIA's TensorRT for deeper optimization and better performance.
  • CPUExecutionProvider: This is a fallback option, allowing operation in CPU mode if no GPU is available.

Conclusion

The onnxruntime in your ComfyUI environment is now healthy and correctly configured. You can confidently restart ComfyUI, and the conflicts caused by the comfyui-rmbg and ComfyUI-SDPose-ood plugins should be resolved. Congrats on fixing another machine!

Important Note for Python 3.12 Users

Just a heads-up, I encountered this issue on Python versions 3.12.9 and 3.12.12 with PyTorch 2.8.0+CD128. These newer versions might have compatibility quirks, so keep that in mind if you're running a similar setup.

Disclaimer: This is based on personal experiences and doesn't imply any issues with the plugin authors' work. Huge thanks to them for their open-source contributions!

By following these steps and understanding the underlying causes, you guys can tackle these plugin conflicts head-on and get back to creating awesome stuff with ComfyUI. Happy generating!