fix(subgraph): edit promoted widgets where the frontend reads them — the host, or the node linked to it (BE-10305)

[skishore23]

Stacked on #812 (kishore/nested-autogrow) → #809. Retarget to main as they land.

Linear: BE-10305 — Agent editing subgraph. Scenarios 1 and 2 (the V1 blockers).

Why

Scenario 1. "The agent is only editing the widget under layer 2, not on the surface; the value on the surface overwrites it, and the user never sees the new value." Reproduced on image_z_image_turbo: comfy workflow set-widget z.json 57.width 768 wrote interior EmptySD3LatentImage 13 (op.path = ["57","13"]), the instance's own widgets_values stayed [].

The frontend's model (ADR 0009 Subgraph promoted widgets use linked inputs, SubgraphNode.ts): a promoted widget is a linked subgraph input, and the host instance owns the value — widgets_values[i] on the instance, consumed positionally by the i-th subgraph input that resolves to an interior widget (_applyPromotedWidgetValues / serializeFromStoreState); socket-only inputs own no slot; "the host/exterior value wins over the interior/source value during repair, persistence, and prompt serialization." properties.proxyWidgets is legacy load-time input only. The CLI still followed proxyWidgets into the interior for every read and write.

The same gap made comfy run / validate wrong: convert_ui_to_api reattached outside links and otherwise read the interior widget. audio_minimax_music_3 (a post-migration save) ships an interior caption of '' and max_duration 222 while the host carries the whole prompt and 60 — the CLI submitted ''.

Scenario 2. "Wire something outside to the promoted widget, e.g. Int node → width." connect PrimitiveInt.INT 57.width was refused: "a promoted widget (a value), not a link input".

The rule

Never edit a subgraph's interior for a promoted value — edit what it is linked to:

address	lands on
57.width (promoted, unlinked)	the host instance's own value
57.width fed by an outside link	the source: PrimitiveInt.value / PrimitiveString* / legacy PrimitiveNode, through Reroutes; a non-primitive driver (ResolutionSelector, GetImageSize, another subgraph) is refused by name — no widget write could take effect
57/13.width (interior widget fed by the subgraph input node)	the same host value; the op records redirected_from: "57/13.width"
57/9.prompt fed by another interior node	refused, driver named
57/3.cfg (unpromoted)	the definition, as before
a proxyWidgets name the definition does not declare	the interior, as before (legacy)

Change

• comfy_cli/cql/promoted.py (new) — the host-owned value model, pure over workflow JSON: promoted_inputs (the frontend's own resolution: first boundary link whose target is a widget-backed input, or a nested instance's promoted input), host_value (quarantined hostValue first, then the positional slot), effective_value, set_host_value (materializes the host array in declaration order from each input's current effective value; never touches the definition, so sibling instances of a shared definition stay independent by construction), resolve_write / trace_upstream_write.
• workflow_ops.py — set_widget resolves through promoted.resolve_write; host writes are a new op shape (node_id, widget, promoted: {value_index, instance_path, host_widgets_values}), applied by _apply_set_widget; LWW target for a host write and its interior redirect is one register. connect materializes a declared input on the instance (with the frontend's widget marker) and wires it, type-checked; a concurrent materialization shares the entry. _promoted_widget_error now fires only for a legacy proxy the definition does not declare.
• engine.py — slots advertises promoted widgets at the instance address with the value the frontend runs, flags link-driven widgets (linked_from, at every layer), keeps unpromoted interior widgets reachable (nested instances included) and no longer advertises the interior address behind a promotion — that address is the "layer 2" the agent kept editing. set-slot / vary route through the same resolve_write.
• workflow_to_api.py — _overlay_promoted_host_values applies host values onto the expanded interior nodes with the frontend's precedence (outside link → host → interior; inner instances first so an outer host wins; an inner input promoted further is left to the outer).

Red → green

29 new tests, written and watched fail first (path: ['57','13'], "promoted input 'max_duration' not found … available: (none)", "not a link input", interior caption '', ImportError: promoted):

• tests/comfy_cli/cql/test_promoted_inputs.py — the model: declared inputs → value slots (sockets none), host-vs-interior reads, quarantine precedence, materialization order, slots.
• tests/comfy_cli/command/test_workflow_edit_promoted.py — host write; interior→host redirect; unpromoted interior still writes the definition; post-migration single-slot write; socket input refused; replay idempotent + one LWW register; connect materializes/wires/type-checks/reuses; follow the link to PrimitiveInt, through Reroute, to a legacy PrimitiveNode; non-primitive driver refused by name; CLI set-widget → slots, CLI connect.
• tests/comfy_cli/test_workflow_to_api_promoted.py — host values reach the prompt; link wins over host; sockets + host values coexist.

Fixtures: verbatim gallery templates (image_z_image_turbo pre-migration, audio_minimax_music_3 post-migration, api_seedance2_5_video_extend mixed) + a trimmed cloud-catalog object_info. Five legacy pins in test_workflow_slots.py / test_subgraph_gallery_templates.py asserted interior writes for promoted widgets — the exact behaviour this fixes — and one asserted the qwen template's interior seed 1118877715456453, which the frontend never runs (host: 392667428726572); rewritten to the truthful addresses with the reasoning inline.

Verification

• Full suite 6238 passed, 38 skipped; ruff check + format clean.
• Corpus (Comfy-Org/workflow_templates, 408 subgraph instances in 247 templates): the positional host-value rule matches 75/75 instances that carry widgets_values, 0 mismatches. 276 outside links feed promoted widget inputs in the wild (PrimitiveInt 72, ResolutionSelector 42, PrimitiveStringMultiline 35, Reroute 22, GetImageSize 17, PrimitiveNode 15…) — every shape the resolver handles or refuses by name.
• Ticket repro with the cloud catalog on the real z-image template: set-widget 57.width 768 → host array materialized, interior 13 untouched, slots shows 57.width = 768, converter emits width: 768; 57/13.height 512 → redirected to host; connect <PrimitiveInt>.INT 57.width ✓; set-widget 57.width 640 → lands on the primitive's value, converter routes the link.

Needs a matching change elsewhere (not in this repo)

• comfy-multi-player applier.ts stores a subgraph instance opaquely (UUID type has no catalog entry) and rejects a named set_widget on it (uncatalogued_widget_write); only path interior writes are projectable today. The host-write op carries promoted.value_index and the materialized promoted.host_widgets_values so the applier can write the opaque positional array without catalog decomposition. Until that lands, the in-app doc host will refuse host writes — the CLI standalone path (files, comfy run) is complete.
• Legacy proxyWidgets entries the definition does not back with a linked input (364/1922 in the corpus, old templates) still route to the interior; the frontend mints the linked input on load, so the host slot does not exist in the JSON yet. Scenarios 3/4 (choose what is promoted; pack a subgraph) are out of scope.

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Walkthrough

Changes

Promoted subgraph inputs now resolve to host-level slots, linked sources, or nested sources. Widget edits, connections, slot discovery, replay, and UI-to-API conversion use this ownership model. Tests and gallery fixtures cover nested, linked, socket-only, legacy, and fallback cases.

Promoted input model

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Promoted input model and write resolution comfy_cli/cql/promoted.py, tests/comfy_cli/cql/test_promoted_inputs.py	Adds promoted-input discovery, effective-value resolution, host-value mutation, nested traversal, legacy routing, and bounded upstream tracing.
Slot discovery and centralized writes comfy_cli/cql/engine.py, tests/comfy_cli/command/test_workflow_slots.py, tests/comfy_cli/test_subgraph_gallery_templates.py	Slot discovery exposes host-level promoted inputs and link metadata. Writes validate against interior schemas and redirect to host or source targets.

Workflow editing

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Workflow editing and connection replay comfy_cli/workflow_ops.py, tests/comfy_cli/command/test_workflow_edit_promoted.py	Widget edits and connections resolve promoted targets, materialize host inputs, follow primitive and rerouted sources, validate types, and preserve redirect metadata.
UI-to-API promoted value overlay comfy_cli/workflow_to_api.py, tests/comfy_cli/test_workflow_to_api_promoted.py	Conversion applies host values to eligible expanded interior widgets. External links retain precedence, followed by host values and interior defaults.
Gallery fixtures and changelog tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/gallery/*, tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/gallery/README.md, CHANGELOG.md	Adds gallery workflows and documents promoted-widget editing, connections, slot discovery, and conversion precedence.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant CLI
  participant workflow_ops
  participant promoted
  participant Workflow
  CLI->>workflow_ops: set_widget or connect
  workflow_ops->>promoted: resolve promoted target
  promoted->>Workflow: inspect host, nested, link, or primitive source
  Workflow-->>workflow_ops: return target and metadata
  workflow_ops->>Workflow: replay value or connection

Loading

sequenceDiagram
  participant convert_ui_to_api
  participant PromotedSubgraph
  participant APIWorkflow
  convert_ui_to_api->>PromotedSubgraph: traverse nested instances
  PromotedSubgraph->>PromotedSubgraph: resolve link and host value
  PromotedSubgraph->>APIWorkflow: overlay eligible host value
  APIWorkflow-->>convert_ui_to_api: retain link or fallback value

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Merge Risk: 🟠 High · up to 6ebc3

This PR changes how promoted widget values are edited, connected, and serialized. Unresolved paths can submit incorrect list values, lose nested edits, or produce divergent connections with stale links, while some valid connections may be rejected; the resulting workflow and prompt state can be wrong, so the PR is not safe to merge until these issues are fixed.

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Inline comments:
In `@comfy_cli/workflow_ops.py`:
- Around line 2636-2640: Update the promoted-input type validation around
_types_compatible so only string-declared pi.type values are checked; treat
missing or non-string declared types as unknown and allow the connection
through. Preserve the existing mismatch error for actual string types that are
incompatible.
- Around line 683-688: After apply_op returns in the promoted host write flow,
re-resolve the target instance path using the same resolver as the write
operation and read host_widgets_values from that post-apply node, rather than
from the pre-resolved target.node. Preserve the existing opaque-applier payload
assignment while ensuring nested paths reflect any definition fork and the
applied write.
- Around line 1922-1932: The promoted-input path in the grow handling must
converge independently of apply order. Update the promoted branch around to_idx
and its link assignment to gate and commit the shared register using ("input",
to_node, grow["name"]), retire any previous link via _remove_link, and preserve
name-based identity for the promoted entry rather than the first grow_id; keep
concrete-input behavior unchanged.

In `@comfy_cli/workflow_to_api.py`:
- Line 226: Update the assignment to inputs[widget] in the promoted-widget
handling to pass value through _wrap_widget_value before storing it, matching
_build_api_node’s serialization behavior and preventing two-item lists from
being interpreted as links. Add a regression test covering a promoted list
widget value.

In `@tests/comfy_cli/command/test_workflow_edit_promoted.py`:
- Around line 175-180: Update
test_connect_to_an_already_materialized_promoted_input_reuses_it to assert that
second.link_id equals first.link_id, while preserving the existing input-name
and final-link assertions.

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📒 Files selected for processing (15)

• CHANGELOG.md
• comfy_cli/cql/engine.py
• comfy_cli/cql/promoted.py
• comfy_cli/workflow_ops.py
• comfy_cli/workflow_to_api.py
• tests/comfy_cli/command/test_workflow_edit_promoted.py
• tests/comfy_cli/command/test_workflow_slots.py
• tests/comfy_cli/cql/test_promoted_inputs.py
• tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/gallery/README.md
• tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/gallery/api_seedance2_5_video_extend.json
• tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/gallery/audio_minimax_music_3.json
• tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/gallery/image_z_image_turbo.json
• tests/comfy_cli/fixtures/object_info_subgraph_promoted.json
• tests/comfy_cli/test_subgraph_gallery_templates.py
• tests/comfy_cli/test_workflow_to_api_promoted.py

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[annehe9]

Blocker: a dangling link on a promoted input drops the host value from the prompt

The host-value model looks right, and resolve_write handles this case correctly. Two other consumers of external_link don't, so set-widget and comfy run disagree again — the same split the PR is fixing.

Root cause. promoted.external_link() returns the raw link id with no liveness check. resolve_write guards it (promoted.py:482, if link_id is not None and _link_exists(workflow, link_id)). These two do not:

• workflow_to_api.py:210 — _overlay_promoted_host_values sees a non-None link and continues, so the host value never reaches the prompt and the interior default is submitted.
• engine.py:2771 — _declared_subgraph_slots sets linked_from to the dead id, pointing the agent at a source node that doesn't exist.

Repro on audio_minimax_music_3.json, planting link: 999999 on instance 37's caption input:

resolve_write kind : host                       # set-widget writes the host, correct
prompt 37:13.caption : ''                       # converter dropped it
expected (host)      : 'Global Metadata: Lo-fi hip-hop, ...'   (1624 chars)

This shape is already in the PR's own fixture. _subgraph_workflow() in test_workflow_slots.py gives node 10 an input entry {"name": "value", ..., "link": 12} while workflow["links"] is [] — which is exactly what test_set_slot_writes_the_promoted_host_value documents ("its outside link id dangles — the frontend drops it on load"). After that test's write:

set_host_value  -> 'a red fox in snow'
resolve_write   : host
slots 10.value  : {'current_value': 'a red fox in snow', 'linked_from': 12}

So slots reports the value as link-driven by a link that isn't there, and the converter would skip the overlay for the same reason.

Suggested fix. One liveness-checking helper in promoted.py, used by all three call sites. The converter needs the parent definition threaded through visit to check nested instances — top-level links are arrays, definition links are dicts, so the existence check differs by level.

A regression test that runs convert_ui_to_api on a workflow with a dangling promoted-input link and asserts the host value reaches the prompt would pin it.

[skishore23]

Fixed in 335bd91: one promoted.live_external_link(scope, instance, name) decides liveness for resolve_write, the converter overlay and slots (scope = workflow for a top-level instance, the containing definition for a nested one, since their link shapes differ). Pinned by test_dangling_link_on_a_promoted_input_does_not_drop_the_host_value (your minimax repro, host caption reaches the prompt) and test_slots_do_not_report_a_dangling_link_as_linked_from.