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

# July 21: rent a GPU from the panel — RunPod connector and cloud LoRA training

> A first-party RunPod connector deploys and drives a cloud GPU pod from the panel and phone with an honest local⇄pod host switch, live cost/GPU status, and idle auto-stop; the LoRA trainer learns to train on rented pods; plus resolve_missing_models and provider model discoverability.

*July 21, 2026*

v0.44.0 plus the unreleased 0.45.0 line, panel, and mobile — the week ComfyUI
went to the cloud without leaving your custom canvas behind.

## Rent a GPU without leaving the panel

The **first-party RunPod connector** lands (v0.44.0): `runpod_pod_create`
one-tap-deploys the project's own RunPod template through the referral link,
falling back across GPU types and COMMUNITY→SECURE cloud when capacity is tight,
and the existing status/start/stop/troubleshoot/connect tools manage any live pod
by ID. The pod runs the **full comfyui-mcp environment**, so the agent installs
your custom nodes + LoRAs and downloads your models onto it — **exact canvas
parity**, not a stripped-down managed template.

An **honest host switch** ties it together: a `comfyui_target` broadcast pushed on
every retarget drives a panel host pill that reads **🟢 Local · your rig** or
\*\*🔵 RunPod · `<pod>` · GPU · $/hr**, so where a render runs is never ambiguous, and `runpod_use_local` flips between them in one tap. A `runpod_status` broadcast feeds
a live card (GPU / VRAM / uptime / $·hr), and **idle auto-stop** shuts an idle pod
down for you — but only while you're actually rendering on it, so it never yanks a
pod mid-session (`RUNPOD_IDLE_STOP_MINUTES`, default 15). RunPod serves ComfyUI on
port 3000 by convention, and the connector targets 3000 for you.
[The full walk-through](../blog/runpod-comfyui).

## Train a LoRA on a rented GPU

The [CLI LoRA trainer](../blog/lora-trainer-p1) gains a **dockerless native driver**
and an **SSH transport** that stands ai-toolkit up on a RunPod pod (#263): an
idempotent bootstrap (clone\@pin → venv → torch cu128 → requirements), a dataset
rsynced up, live step/loss progress streamed back over ssh, and stop/liveness via
pkill/pgrep — all behind the **same seven `train_*` tools and the same crash-safe
job registry** as local training. FLUX.1-dev LoRA training no longer needs a
24 GB card you own; borrow one for the hour the run takes. [The story](../blog/train-lora-runpod).

## Also new

* **`resolve_missing_models`** (#267) — one call finds every model a workflow needs
  but the server doesn't have, and proposes VRAM-aware download candidates (size,
  source, precision/quant, and a fits/too-big verdict against real `/system_stats`
  VRAM). Detection is mapping-free — a model-looking value absent from its own
  ComfyUI combo is missing — so it covers checkpoints, LoRAs, VAEs, ControlNets,
  UNets, CLIP and custom-pack types alike. "Open this Template and make it
  runnable" is now one hop, not two.
* **Provider model discoverability** (#264) — the api-key credential card now says
  which model a provider is actually on (env override if set, else the pinned
  default) and names the env var to change it, generated from the registry so it
  can't drift. Answers "why am I not on the model I set?" for GLM / Kimi / Moonshot.
* **Antigravity (agy) backend** (#262) for Google-subscription users, hardened this
  week: no secrets at rest, ownership-aware config lifecycle, turn-settlement
  guarantees, and `--effort`, verified live against agy 1.1.5 (#271).

## Mobile

* **RunPod control sheet + honest host indicator** (#22) — the phone gets the same
  cloud control surface as the panel: a host banner, a live status card, a pod
  dropdown by name, Connect / Start / Stop / Use-Local, and a confirm-armed Deploy.
* **One-tap Diagnose on a failed render** (#21) — the queue bar notices when the
  run it was watching failed and offers a Diagnose action that root-causes it via
  the read-only `diagnose_run` tool, instead of leaving you to copy the error back
  into chat.

## Fixes

* close a live secret-leak + billing bug path on RunPod pod control (#270)
* prefer `HF_TOKEN` over `HUGGINGFACE_TOKEN` for the Hugging Face token
* close deferred RunPod / training / review findings (#268, #269, #273, #274, #276, #277)