Fooocus vs RuinedFooocus: The Real Differences in 2026

The Quick Verdict

Pick Fooocus for the simplest, most stable SDXL experience. Pick RuinedFooocus for Flux, SD3, GGUF models, or experimental video generation.

The old claim that RuinedFooocus only removes a filter is wrong. Current RuinedFooocus has a broader runtime, different model loaders, and years of features that official Fooocus doesn't include.

If you only want to understand the fork itself, read the RuinedFooocus overview. This page is for choosing between the two.

What Changed

RuinedFooocus began as a Fooocus fork. That history still shows in the browser UI, prompt-first workflow, model folders, styles, and automatic first-run behavior.

The current projects have split in opposite directions.

• Fooocus narrowed its scope. The official README says the project is in limited LTS with bug fixes only and remains built around SDXL.
• RuinedFooocus widened its scope. Its update log covers Flux.1/2, SD3, GGUF, new image architectures, and several video pipelines.

Calling them identical now hides the only difference that matters: what you can run.

Feature Comparison

Model Support: The Biggest Difference

Fooocus is an SDXL application. That focus is why its presets and image tools feel consistent, but it also sets a hard boundary.

The official Fooocus project specifically points Flux users toward Forge, ComfyUI, SwarmUI, or community forks. There are no current plans to add newer architectures.

RuinedFooocus goes the other way:

• Stable Diffusion: SDXL, SD1.5, and SD3 support appear in its official history.
• Flux: Flux.1, Flux.1 Kontext, Flux.2 Dev, GGUF, and UNet-only files are documented.
• Other image architectures: Recent updates include Qwen Image, HiDream, Z-Image, Anima, PixelDiT, Ernie Image, Boogu Image, and Krea 2.
• Video: Current source contains WAN, Hunyuan Video, LTX Video, and LTX2 pipelines.

RuinedFooocus wins on breadth. Fooocus wins on having one clear architecture and fewer moving parts.

Ease of Use and Installation

Fooocus has the cleaner beginner path on Windows:

1. Download the official v2.5.5 archive.
2. Extract it.
3. Run run.bat.
4. Let it download the default SDXL model.

The project describes the path from download to first image as fewer than three mouse clicks. Its official README also warns against fake fooocus.* websites.

RuinedFooocus offers a similar tagged Windows archive, but that archive dates to January 2025. The current source branch is newer and needs a source-style install if you want the latest loaders.

That creates a real tradeoff:

• Fooocus: Older architecture, simpler version choice.
• RuinedFooocus: Newer architecture support, more version and dependency decisions.

Hardware Requirements Aren't Identical

Fooocus publishes a basic minimum of 4 GB Nvidia VRAM and 8 GB system RAM, with swap and free-disk guidance. That applies to its SDXL-focused workflow.

RuinedFooocus doesn't have one universal requirement. A basic SDXL job, quantized Flux model, and WAN video model can demand very different resources.

Don't choose RuinedFooocus because an old comparison says it has the same requirements as Fooocus. Choose your model first, then check that model's memory and storage needs.

Unrestricted Generation

Fooocus includes an optional “Black Out NSFW” output checker. Current official source sets that option to false by default.

You don't need to edit safety_checker.py to disable it. If you enabled the blackout option, turn it off through the supported setting.

RuinedFooocus doesn't expose the same Fooocus NSFW implementation in current source search. It is commonly used for unrestricted local workflows, but model behavior and licenses still apply.

If this is your only concern, use the Fooocus uncensored setup guide. Don't switch projects just because an old guide told you to edit source code.

Updates and Reliability

Fooocus's latest tagged release is v2.5.5 from August 2024. The project remains available and receives limited bug-fix support, but it isn't chasing new model families.

RuinedFooocus's update log reaches version 26.06.27. Recent entries cover new models, runtime updates, and Gradio changes.

Active doesn't automatically mean safer or easier. RuinedFooocus changes more often, depends on more moving parts, and has a smaller support community.

One example is MergeMaker. The README still lists it, but the update log says merge management was removed in June 2025. Current documentation must be checked against current source.

Image Quality and Speed

There is no credible universal “Fooocus is faster” or “RuinedFooocus looks better” answer.

If both applications run comparable SDXL settings, the model and settings drive most of the output. Once RuinedFooocus runs Flux, SD3, or video, you aren't comparing the same workload anymore.

Ignore fixed timing claims that don't name the model, quantization, GPU, resolution, steps, and software version.

Who Should Use What

Use Fooocus if:

• You want the shortest path to local SDXL.
• You value mature documentation and predictable presets.
• You use inpaint, image prompts, variations, and upscaling more than new model architectures.
• You don't want to manage a fast-changing runtime.

Use RuinedFooocus if:

• You want Flux, SD3, GGUF, or newer image models in a Fooocus-derived interface.
• You want to experiment with WAN, Hunyuan, or LTX video.
• You're comfortable checking update logs and troubleshooting model-specific dependencies.
• You accept that the tagged archive is older than current source.

Use something else if:

• You want reusable visual graphs: pick ComfyUI.
• You want a larger form-based WebUI ecosystem: pick Forge.
• You want a paid preconfigured local option: LocalForge AI is one choice alongside the free self-install tools.