Bad linked input: represent API connections with a source node and output slot

An inputs list may be interpreted as a link rather than a literal array. Inspect serialization before assuming every JSON list will reach a node unchanged.

Updated 2026-09-24Published revision: 4Source baseline: not recorded

Symptoms and scope

An inputs list may be interpreted as a link rather than a literal array. Inspect serialization before assuming every JSON list will reach a node unchanged.

Error fragments for search; IDs, values and filenames may vary:

Bad linked input
bad_linked_input

Source-supported context

The reviewed core expects ordinary links as a two-element node-ID/output-slot list and handles specific literal wrappers separately. Custom nodes and later API versions may have additional rules. Source 1 Source 2

Cases to distinguish

1. UI-format links were copied directly into an API inputs object.

2. The link lost its slot, uses incorrect nesting or substitutes a display title for a node ID.

3. A literal array is interpreted as a connection because its serialization is wrong.

Diagnostic sequence

The sequence below is an editorial procedure based on the cited context, not a diagnosis already confirmed for your environment.

Step 1. Build a minimal valid example in the native UI and inspect its supported API export for this particular input.

Step 2. Check that ordinary link source IDs exist and output slots are valid in the current node definition.

Step 3. For literal arrays, follow the node author's and current exporter's wrapping format rather than guessing an old marker.

Step 4. Validate the request structure before sending it and distinguish missing IDs, invalid slots and misread literals in error reporting.

Completion check

bad_linked_input disappears without turning the intended business array into a different connection.

Limitations and cautions

This explains the reviewed core's rules, not every nested subgraph, custom list node or future serialization format.

Original sources

ComfyUI execution.py validation — original record checked 2026-09-21.
ComfyUI Server API routes — original record checked 2026-09-21.

Localization prepared: 2026-09-22. The source-check dates above were inherited from the existing article; this translation does not claim they were all rechecked today. No GPU run, minimum-memory measurement or runtime guarantee is supplied.

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Sources & references

Localized from the existing Chinese research draft. Original source-check dates are retained; this translation is not new technical verification or a runtime test.

01ComfyUI execution.py validationSource checked: 2026-09-21 02ComfyUI Server API routesSource checked: 2026-09-21