fix: append directory type annotation to internal files endpoint (CORE-71)

[Abdulrehman-PIAIC80387]

Summary

Fixes #13078

Problem

The Load Image (from Outputs) node was completely broken — selecting any image from the dropdown resulted in:

1. 404 Not Found in the browser console when trying to preview the image
2. "Invalid image file" validation error preventing workflow execution

Root cause: The /internal/files/{directory_type} endpoint in api_server/routes/internal/internal_routes.py (line 70) returned plain filenames like image.png. However, LoadImageOutput inherits from LoadImage, which uses folder_paths.get_annotated_filepath() and folder_paths.exists_annotated_filepath() to resolve file paths. These functions rely on a [directory_type] suffix convention (e.g., image.png [output]) to determine which directory to look in.

Without the annotation, the system defaulted to looking in the input directory instead of the output directory, so:

• The frontend built incorrect preview URLs (type=input instead of type=output), causing 404 errors
• VALIDATE_INPUTS couldn't find the file in the input folder, causing validation failures

Fix

Changed the response format in api_server/routes/internal/internal_routes.py line 70 from:

return web.json_response([entry.name for entry in sorted_files], status=200)

to:

return web.json_response([f"{entry.name} [{directory_type}]" for entry in sorted_files], status=200)

This appends the directory type annotation (e.g., [output], [input], [temp]) to each filename, allowing annotated_filepath() in folder_paths.py to correctly resolve the file to the right directory.

[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The change modifies the /internal/files/{directory_type} endpoint to alter its response format. Instead of returning only each visible file's name, the endpoint now returns a list of strings formatted as "{entry.name} [{directory_type}]". All existing functionality is preserved, including filtering of non-hidden files, sorting by descending modification time, and validation and error handling for the directory_type parameter.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The PR directly addresses issue #13078 by implementing the exact fix proposed: appending [directory_type] suffix to filenames so the endpoint returns annotated filepaths.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The PR contains only the single, focused change to the response format of the /internal/files/{directory_type} endpoint, directly addressing the linked issue with no extraneous modifications.
Description check	✅ Passed	The PR description clearly explains the problem, root cause, and solution related to the endpoint changes.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately describes the main change: appending directory type annotation to the internal files endpoint response, which is the core fix addressing the issue.

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[Abdulrehman-PIAIC80387]

Hi, just checking in — this is a small one-line fix for #13078 which multiple users have confirmed works. Would appreciate a review when you get a chance. Thanks!

[alexisrolland]

Tested and it works as expected. Lgtm for merging.