A1111/Forge Prompt Tooling: Wildcards and Dynamic Prompts

Q: Can I use BoChars YAML directly in sd-dynamic-prompts?

Only if the YAML is flattened to __key__ token paths that match .txt files in the wildcards folder. The extension does not parse YAML structure — it only resolves __path__ lookups against text files.

Q: Does combinatorial mode work with Magic Prompt?

The tutorial documents them in different sections. Combinatorial expansion enumerates template variants; Magic Prompt generates new prompt text from a neural net. They serve different workflows.

Q: Are the large counts (154 wildcards, 770+ locations) verified?

No. Those figures come from the Civitai articles themselves. We could not open the published wildcard files to independently confirm.

Compare extensions that clean prompts, generate variations, and manage character libraries in A1111 and Forge — with verified features and common errors.

Updated 2026-07-28 8 sources cited Prompting and control

On this page

TL;DR
What each tool actually does
Cross-tool: ComfyUI Impact Pack
Common errors and fixes
FAQ
Sources
Related reading

TL;DR

sd-webui-prompt-format formats prompts on generate in A1111/Forge — removes duplicate tags, fixes brackets, normalizes underscores, and works on Hires. fix passes. Toggle Remove Duplicates and Remove Underscores in settings; press Alt+Shift+F for manual runs [^1].
sd-dynamic-prompts adds a template language ({a|b|c}, __wildcard__, {N$$__wildcard__}) plus combinatorial expansion, Magic Prompt (neural net), and "I'm feeling lucky" (Lexica.art search). Wildcards live in extensions/sd-dynamic-prompts/wildcards/ as .txt files [^2].
Character databases (BoChars, C0rn_Fl4k3s megapack) are large YAML/txt collections. They follow the __path__ convention for token lookup, but counts like "154 wildcards" or "770+ locations" are author-reported [^5] [^6].

What each tool actually does

sd-webui-prompt-format — cleanup for tag-based prompts

This extension runs whenever you click Generate in A1111 or Forge, or manually via Alt+Shift+F [^1]. Settings live under the Prompt Format section in the System category:

Feature	What it does	Limitation
Remove extra spaces and commas	Collapses repeated whitespace and stray commas	Only within the same line
Fix misplaced brackets, commas, periods	Repairs syntax like `tag,, tag` or `tag .`	Only within the same line
Remove Duplicates	Deletes identical tags	Only tag-based prompts; skips sentence-style prompts
Remove Underscores	Replaces `_` with space	—
Append comma every line break	Ensures tag separation across lines	—
Clean Booru paste noise	Strips danbooru/gelbooru metadata	—

The duplicate remover is line-local — it will not catch a tag that appears on line 1 and again on line 3. It also does nothing for natural-language prompts. The README notes this explicitly: "Only checks within the same line ... Only works for tag-based prompt, not sentence-based prompt" [^1].

Manual trigger: Alt+Shift+F. Auto mode can be toggled off if other extensions (e.g., tagcomplete) re-trigger on the formatter's edits.

sd-dynamic-prompts — template language + wildcard engine

This extension adds a template language to A1111/Forge. Core syntax from the official tutorial [^2]:

Syntax	Behavior	Example
`{a\	b\	c}`	Pick one option per generation	`a {gold\	platinum} band`
`{{a\	b}\	c}`	Nested variants	`{{rose\	yellow\	white} gold\	platinum}`
`__name__`	Load `name.txt` from wildcards folder	`__gems__` → every line in `gems.txt`
`{N$$__name__}`	Pick N distinct entries from wildcard	`{2$$__artists/illustrations/childrens_books__}`
`{N-M$$__name__}`	Pick between N and M entries	`{2-4$$__wildcard__}`
`{N$$ and $$__name__}`	Custom separator	Uses `and` instead of comma
`# comment`	Ignored inside braces	`{# this is ignored}`

Combinatorial mode enumerates every combination instead of sampling one branch — useful for batch grids.

Built-in features (same tutorial):

Wildcards Manager — bundled library organized by subject; enable/disable per file.
Magic Prompt — expands a subject into a full prompt using a neural network. The first time you use it, Dynamic Prompts downloads the model (may take a moment depending on connection speed).
I'm feeling lucky — queries Lexica.art for real prompts matching your input.
Attention grabber — randomly adds emphasis like (full body illustration:1.58).

Wildcard files are plain .txt (one entry per line) stored under extensions/sd-dynamic-prompts/wildcards/. You must restart the web UI after editing them — this is confirmed by the sd-dynamic-prompts tutorial [^2] and also noted in the C0rn_Fl4k3s megapack guide [^6].

Character databases — BoChars and the C0rn_Fl4k3s megapack

Two large community collections illustrate the pattern:

Collection	Format	Reported scope	Notes
BoChars (DonMischo)	Single merged YAML	Cyberpunk / regular / magical / sci-fi character categories; clothing, constructions, cosmic, creatures, scenes	Uses `__BoChars/person/male__` style paths; claims cross-wildcard reuse via shared properties (colors, fabrics, materials) [^5]
Dynamic Wildcard Megapack (C0rn_Fl4k3s)	154 wildcards, bundle + AllInOne	Basemodel (gender, ethnicity, 15F/23M builds, ~40/45 hairstyles), locations (770+ places, 5,150+ variants), costumes, creatures, objects, scenes	All counts are author-reported; we could not open the published files to verify [^6]
DonMischo fantasy resources (article 3432)	Civitai article	Curated checkpoints, LoRAs, and wildcards for fantasy creatures	Lists 20+ creature LoRAs and wildcard packs for fantasy art [^7]

Both follow the __path__ convention so they work with sd-dynamic-prompts. The extension resolves __key__ tokens against .txt files in its wildcards folder — it does not parse YAML structure [^2] [^3].

Cross-tool: ComfyUI Impact Pack

The ComfyUI-Impact-Pack repo contains custom_wildcards/ and wildcards/ directories at its root [^4] and links to a wildcard tutorial. This confirms wildcard support exists in ComfyUI, but the exact syntax and feature parity were not verified in this session — treat as a separate implementation, not a drop-in replacement.

Common errors and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix	Source
Formatting triggers other extensions (tagcomplete, etc.)	Extensions listen to text-edit events	Disable "update actual prompts" in prompt-format settings, or switch to manual `Alt+Shift+F`	[^1]
Duplicate tags remain after cleanup	Implementation is line-local and tag-mode only	Don't rely on it for sentence-style prompts; dedupe upstream	[^1]
Edited wildcard file not reflected	Wildcards are read on launch	Restart the web UI after any wildcard edit	[^2] [^6]
Booru paste leaves site tags (`artist:name`, `rating:safe`)	Metadata copied with prompt	Enable "Clean up unwanted texts when pasting from Booru sites" in prompt-format	[^1]
Need prompt variation but only have a subject	Boilerplate quality too low	Use Magic Prompt (context-aware) or I'm feeling lucky (Lexica search)	[^2]

FAQ

Do wildcard files reload without restart in A1111? No. The C0rn_Fl4k3s megapack guide notes that after editing wildcard files, you must restart the web UI for changes to take effect [^6]. The sd-dynamic-prompts tutorial also confirms wildcard files are read on launch [^2].

Does ComfyUI Impact Pack use the same __name__ wildcard syntax as sd-dynamic-prompts? The Impact Pack repo contains wildcard directories and a tutorial link, but we did not open the tutorial file in this session [^4]. Syntax parity should be verified against the Impact Pack docs before assuming drop-in compatibility.

Do duplicate-tag removers in prompt extensions affect sentence-based prompts? No. The prompt-format README documents: "Only works for tag-based prompt, not sentence-based prompt" [^1]. It operates on comma-separated tokens within a single line.

What's the difference between Magic Prompt and I'm feeling lucky? Magic Prompt uses a downloaded neural network to expand a subject contextually. I'm feeling lucky queries Lexica.art for existing user prompts matching your input. Both are in sd-dynamic-prompts [^2].

Can I use BoChars YAML directly in sd-dynamic-prompts? Only if the YAML is flattened to __key__ token paths that match .txt files in the wildcards folder. The extension does not parse YAML structure — it only resolves __path__ lookups against text files [^2] [^5].

Does combinatorial mode work with Magic Prompt? The tutorial documents them in different sections [^2]. Combinatorial expansion enumerates template variants; Magic Prompt generates new prompt text from a neural net. They serve different workflows.

Are the large counts (154 wildcards, 770+ locations) verified? No. Those figures come from the Civitai articles themselves [^5] [^6]. We could not open the published wildcard files to independently confirm.

Sources

[^1]: sd-webui-prompt-format README — features, limitations, license: https://github.com/Haoming02/sd-webui-prompt-format [^2]: sd-dynamic-prompts tutorial — syntax, wildcards, combinatorial, Magic Prompt, I'm feeling lucky, Attention grabber: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adieyal/sd-dynamic-prompts/main/docs/tutorial.md [^3]: sd-dynamic-prompts repo — project description: https://github.com/adieyal/sd-dynamic-prompts [^4]: ComfyUI-Impact-Pack repo — wildcard directories: https://github.com/ltdrdata/ComfyUI-Impact-Pack [^5]: Civitai article 1365 — BoChars structure and extension guide: https://civitai.com/articles/1365 [^6]: Civitai article 6301 — C0rn_Fl4k3s megapack, basemodel, locations: https://civitai.com/articles/6301 [^7]: Civitai article 3432 — DonMischo fantasy creature resources: https://civitai.com/articles/3432 [^8]: Civitai article 255 — prompt-format feature summary: https://civitai.com/articles/255