> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.comfy.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Model Downloads in Comfy Desktop

> Track active and recent model and output downloads, retry or pause them, and see where Comfy Desktop saves each file.

Comfy Desktop downloads models for your instances and tracks every transfer in one place. When a ComfyUI instance asks for a model that is not on disk yet, Comfy Desktop handles the download and saves the file in the instance's model directory, so you do not have to place it by hand.

Open the **Downloads** tray from the title bar to follow active downloads, retry a failed one, or jump to the folder where a finished file landed.

## What appears in the downloads list

* **Missing models**: when ComfyUI reports missing models in the missing-models dialog or the right side panel **Errors** tab, the download action is routed through Comfy Desktop. Each file is saved into the matching model folder, such as `checkpoints`, `diffusion_models`, `text_encoders`, `loras`, or `vae`. Supported model file types are `.safetensors`, `.sft`, `.ckpt`, `.pth`, and `.pt`.
* **Template models**: the models that a starter template needs download in the background while the instance is set up.
* **Outputs from remote instances**: when you run a workflow on a remote or Cloud instance, finished outputs download to your local output directory automatically.

## The Downloads tray

Click the **Downloads** button in the title bar's trailing controls to open the tray. Downloads are listed newest first, labeled with their model folder and filename, and active rows show transferred size, percentage, speed, and estimated time remaining.

The button shows a badge with the number of active downloads. When nothing is downloading, it instead flags downloads that failed and you have not reviewed, or that finished and you have not opened yet.

Each row has these actions:

* **Click a finished row** to open the folder that holds the file (Show in Finder, Show in Explorer, or Show in Folder, depending on your system).
* **Retry** a failed or cancelled download.
* **✕** to cancel an active download, or remove a finished one from the list.

**View All Downloads** at the bottom of the tray opens the full downloads view.

## The full downloads view

The full view keeps the download history for the app and adds the controls that do not fit in the tray:

* Filter the list by **All**, **Active**, **Completed**, or **Failed**.
* **Pause** and **Resume** an active download.
* **Retry** a failed or cancelled download.
* Open the file's folder, or remove a single row.
* **Clear finished** to remove every finished row at once.

The footer counts the active and completed downloads currently listed.

## Where downloads are saved

Model files are written to the instance's primary model directory: the shared model directory marked **Primary** when the instance includes shared model directories, otherwise the instance's own `models` folder. Shared directories are configured in [Desktop Settings](/installation/desktop/usage/settings#storage), and each instance can opt out of them in its **Manage** panel [Storage tab](/installation/desktop/usage/manage#storage-tab).

Outputs downloaded from a remote instance go to the shared output folder when the instance uses it, otherwise to the instance's own output folder. A remote instance can turn automatic output downloads off with **Auto-Download Outputs** in its storage settings.


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