feat: disabled mode (TENACIOUSLOAD_DISABLED=1) — no-op but keep the loading bar

A one-flag kill-switch: when set, the pack installs no middleware, registers no
refresh routes, computes no fingerprint and exposes no graph node — ComfyUI runs
exactly as if it weren't installed. Only the read-only /tenaciousload/status
route stays so the loading-screen overlay still shows (a generic 'Loading node
definitions…' bar, since there's no build to track). The refresh menu buttons
hide themselves when status reports enabled:false.

Useful for A/B testing or as a safety kill-switch. Requires a restart (the
middleware is installed at startup). Unit-tested both modes.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -140,5 +140,14 @@ This pack is a quiet neighbour:
   changes an existing node's inputs *without* adding/removing a node class, use a
   refresh button.
 
+## Disabling (keep only the loading bar)
+Set **`TENACIOUSLOAD_DISABLED=1`** (and restart) to turn the pack into a no-op:
+no caching middleware, no fingerprint, no refresh routes, no graph node — ComfyUI
+behaves exactly as if the pack weren't installed. The **loading-screen status
+bar stays** (it just shows a generic "Loading node definitions…" since there's no
+build to track). Useful for A/B comparing, or as a one-flag kill-switch if you
+ever suspect the cache. Remove the variable (or set it to `0`) and restart to
+re-enable.
+
 ## License
 MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).

__init__.py

@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ log = logging.getLogger("Tenaciousload")
 
 WEB_DIRECTORY = "./web"
 
+# Disabled mode: do NOTHING to ComfyUI (no caching middleware, no refresh routes,
+# no fingerprint, no graph node) — but still serve the loading-bar overlay.
+# Toggle with TENACIOUSLOAD_DISABLED=1. Requires a restart, since the middleware
+# is installed at startup.
+_DISABLED = os.environ.get("TENACIOUSLOAD_DISABLED", "").strip().lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 #  object_info response cache (memory + disk)
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -551,7 +557,10 @@ def _install_middleware():
         log.error("Tenaciousload: could not install cache middleware (loads will be slow): %s", e)
 
 
-_install_middleware()
+if _DISABLED:
+    log.info("Tenaciousload: DISABLED — no middleware / caching / refresh (loading overlay only)")
+else:
+    _install_middleware()
 
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -560,6 +569,7 @@ _install_middleware()
 @PromptServer.instance.routes.get("/tenaciousload/status")
 async def _status(request):
     st = {
+        "enabled": not _DISABLED,
         "building": _build_state["building"],
         "done": _build_state["done"],
         "total": _build_state["total"],
@@ -573,7 +583,6 @@ async def _status(request):
     return web.json_response(st)
 
 
-@PromptServer.instance.routes.post("/tenaciousload/refresh")
 async def _refresh(request):
     try:
         data = await request.json()
@@ -605,6 +614,10 @@ async def _refresh(request):
     return web.json_response({"status": "ok", "mode": "full"})
 
 
+if not _DISABLED:
+    PromptServer.instance.routes.post("/tenaciousload/refresh")(_refresh)
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 #  Optional graph node (workflow automation)
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -640,7 +653,7 @@ class TenaciousloadRefresh:
         return (trigger,)
 
 
-NODE_CLASS_MAPPINGS = {"TenaciousloadRefresh": TenaciousloadRefresh}
+NODE_CLASS_MAPPINGS = {} if _DISABLED else {"TenaciousloadRefresh": TenaciousloadRefresh}
-NODE_DISPLAY_NAME_MAPPINGS = {"TenaciousloadRefresh": "🔄 Refresh Models/LoRAs (Tenaciousload)"}
+NODE_DISPLAY_NAME_MAPPINGS = {} if _DISABLED else {"TenaciousloadRefresh": "🔄 Refresh Models/LoRAs (Tenaciousload)"}
 
 __all__ = ["NODE_CLASS_MAPPINGS", "NODE_DISPLAY_NAME_MAPPINGS", "WEB_DIRECTORY"]

web/loading-status.js

@@ -71,12 +71,19 @@ async function tick() {
             : `first build / refresh · ${fmt(st.elapsed || 0)}`;
         bar.classList.add("indet");
         bar.style.width = "35%";
-    } else {
+    } else if (st && st.cached) {
+        // known fast path: serving the cached object_info
         msg.textContent = "Loading node definitions…";
-        sub.textContent = st && st.cached ? `from cache · ${mb(st.gz_bytes || st.cache_bytes || 0)} gzipped` : "";
+        sub.textContent = `from cache · ${mb(st.gz_bytes || st.cache_bytes || 0)} gzipped`;
         bar.classList.remove("indet");
         bar.style.left = "0";
         bar.style.width = "90%";
+    } else {
+        // disabled, or server busy/frozen building natively — show "working"
+        msg.textContent = "Loading node definitions…";
+        sub.textContent = "";
+        bar.classList.add("indet");
+        bar.style.width = "35%";
     }
 }
 

web/tenaciousload.js

@@ -65,7 +65,14 @@ async function doRegister() {
     await runRefresh("register", { folder, files });
 }
 
-app.registerExtension({
+// Skip the refresh buttons entirely when Tenaciousload is disabled.
+let _tlEnabled = true;
+try {
+    const r = await api.fetchApi("/tenaciousload/status");
+    if (r.ok) _tlEnabled = (await r.json()).enabled !== false;
+} catch (e) { /* assume enabled */ }
+
+if (_tlEnabled) app.registerExtension({
     name: "Tenaciousload.Refresh",
     commands: [
         {