Stable Diffusion WebUI Forge (“Forge”) is a fork of Automatic1111 created by lllyasviel (the author of ControlNet and Fooocus). It keeps the familiar Automatic1111 interface but is faster, uses less VRAM and adds support for newer models such as FLUX.
Table of Contents
Why Use Forge?
- Same UI as Automatic1111, so there is nothing new to learn
- Faster generation and lower VRAM use, especially on 6–8 GB GPUs
- FLUX support (including NF4/GGUF quantized models)
- Most Automatic1111 extensions work
Forge in 2026
Development of the original Forge repository has slowed, and community forks continue to add features. Forge remains a good choice if you like the Automatic1111 workflow; for the very latest models, ComfyUI usually gets support first.
How to Install Forge
- Download the one-click package (with CUDA and PyTorch) from the Forge GitHub page, or clone the repository.
- Extract it and run
update.bat, thenrun.bat(Windows). - Put checkpoints in
models\Stable-diffusionand FLUX models in the same folder ormodels\unet. - Open http://127.0.0.1:7860.
# Manual install (Linux)
git clone https://github.com/lllyasviel/stable-diffusion-webui-forge
cd stable-diffusion-webui-forge && ./webui.shForge vs Automatic1111 vs ComfyUI
| Forge | Automatic1111 | ComfyUI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UI | Forms (A1111-style) | Forms | Nodes |
| Speed / VRAM | Better | Baseline | Best |
| FLUX support | Yes | No | Yes |
| Best for | A1111 users wanting speed | Classic SD 1.5/SDXL | Latest models, pipelines |
Run Forge on a GPU Server
No powerful GPU at home? You can run Forge on a rented GPU server instead. RunPod has Forge templates on RTX 4090s at $0.34/hour. For a fixed monthly price, GPU Mart (RTX A4000 VPS from $119/month, RTX 4090 $409/month) and HOSTKEY (RTX 4090 from €279/month) offer dedicated servers you can keep running 24/7.
FAQ
For speed, VRAM use and FLUX support, yes. The interface is almost identical.
Most extensions work; some that patch internals may not.
Conclusion
Forge is the easiest upgrade for Automatic1111 users: same UI, better performance and FLUX support. Host it on a cloud GPU if your PC is not powerful enough.