Flux Redux Complete Guide: Image Conditioning and Style Transfer 2025

Flux Redux is Black Forest Labs' adapter for image-conditioned generation—letting you use reference images to guide style, composition, and visual identity. Think IP-Adapter but built natively for Flux.

Quick Answer: Flux Redux extracts visual features from reference images and uses them to condition Flux generations. Unlike Flux-Depth or Canny (structural control), Redux captures style, color palette, and visual identity for transfer to new generations.

How Flux Redux Works

Redux works as an image encoder adapter:

1. Input: Reference image + text prompt
2. Encoding: Redux extracts visual features from reference
3. Conditioning: Features are merged with text conditioning
4. Generation: Flux creates new images influenced by reference

The strength of influence is controllable—from subtle inspiration to strong style matching.

Setting Up Flux Redux

Download Redux Model:

flux-redux-dev.safetensors → ComfyUI/models/style_models/

Required Components:

• Base Flux model (Dev or Schnell)
• Flux VAE
• CLIP encoders
• Redux adapter model

ComfyUI Nodes: Use nodes that support Flux Redux, available through ComfyUI Manager or dedicated extensions.

Basic Redux Workflow

Node Structure:

Load Reference Image → Redux Encoder →
Text Prompt → CLIP Encode →
Combine Conditioning →
Flux Sample → Decode → Save

Key Parameters:

• Strength: 0.3-0.8 (how much reference influences output)
• Start/End: When conditioning applies during diffusion
• Blend Mode: How Redux merges with text conditioning

Use Case: Style Transfer

Transfer artistic style from reference to new content:

Reference: Painting with distinctive brushwork Prompt: "A modern city street at night" Result: City scene rendered in the painting's style

Tips:

• Use references with clear, distinctive styles
• Lower strength (0.4-0.6) for style hints
• Higher strength for strict style matching
• Prompt should describe content, not style

Use Case: Character Consistency

Maintain character appearance across images:

Reference: Portrait of specific character Prompt: "The person standing in a forest, full body" Result: Same character in new scene

Tips:

• Face-focused references work best
• Multiple reference angles improve consistency
• Combine with Flux Kontext for best character matching
• Strength 0.6-0.8 for faces

Use Case: Color Palette Matching

Match the color scheme of a reference:

Reference: Image with desired color palette Prompt: "A sunset landscape" Result: Landscape using reference's color scheme

Tips:

• References with strong color identity work best
• Lower strength (0.3-0.5) for color without content copying
• Works well with abstract references

Use Case: Product Photography Consistency

Keep product shots visually consistent:

Reference: Existing product photo with lighting setup Prompt: "Product on marble surface" Result: New composition matching lighting/style

Tips:

• Lighting and mood transfer well
• Background style is captured
• Useful for catalog consistency

Combining Redux with Other Controls

Redux works alongside other Flux extensions:

Redux + Depth:

• Redux: Style/color
• Depth: 3D structure
• Result: Styled image with controlled composition

Redux + Canny:

• Redux: Visual identity
• Canny: Shape preservation
• Result: Reference style on specific shapes

Redux + Kontext:

• Redux: Overall style
• Kontext: Specific edits
• Result: Styled image with text-based modifications

Advanced Techniques

Multi-Reference Conditioning

Use multiple references for combined influence:

• Average their Redux encodings
• Weight different references differently
• Useful for blending styles

Progressive Strength

Change Redux influence over steps:

• High early: Establish reference influence
• Reduce mid-diffusion: Allow detail generation
• Result: Reference-guided with original details

Negative Reference

Use Redux with negative conditioning:

• Reference an image to avoid
• Steers generation away from that style
• Useful for avoiding specific aesthetics

Redux vs IP-Adapter

Both provide image conditioning but differ:

Flux Redux:

• Native to Flux ecosystem
• Integrated conditioning approach
• Limited to Flux models
• Optimized for Flux quality

IP-Adapter:

• Works with SD/SDXL
• More control options (face, style, composition)
• Larger ecosystem
• More community resources

For Flux workflows, Redux is the native choice. For SD/SDXL, IP-Adapter has more features.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Output copies reference too closely Solution: Lower Redux strength, stronger text prompt

Issue: Style doesn't transfer Solution: Use clearer style reference, increase strength

Issue: Colors are wrong Solution: Reference may have color issues; try different reference

Issue: Face doesn't match Solution: Use close-up face reference, increase strength to 0.7+

Issue: Conflicts with prompt Solution: Reduce strength, simplify prompt, or change reference

Performance Notes

Redux adds moderate overhead:

• VRAM: ~1-2GB additional
• Speed: ~10-15% slower than base
• Preprocessing: Reference encoding is fast

For batch work:

• Cache Redux encodings when using same reference
• Process reference once, apply to many generations

Best Practices

1. Match reference resolution to generation resolution
2. Use high-quality references for clean feature extraction
3. Start with moderate strength (0.5) and adjust
4. Write prompts for content, let Redux handle style
5. Combine controls for maximum precision
6. Test with variations before committing to settings

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use any image as reference?

Yes, but clear, high-quality images with distinct characteristics work best.

Does Redux work with Flux Schnell?

Yes, Redux works with both Flux Dev and Schnell.

Can I control which aspects transfer?

Currently Redux is holistic—it transfers overall visual identity. Separate controls (depth, canny) handle structure.

How does this compare to training a LoRA?

Redux is faster (no training) but less specific. LoRAs capture precise concepts with more control. Use Redux for quick style matching, LoRAs for recurring specific concepts.

Can I use multiple references?

Yes, by encoding multiple images and combining/averaging their features.

Conclusion

Flux Redux provides essential image conditioning for Flux—enabling style transfer, character consistency, and visual identity matching without training custom models.

For quick style matching and maintaining visual consistency across generations, Redux is invaluable. Combined with Flux's structural controls (Depth, Canny) and editing tools (Kontext, Fill), it completes a comprehensive toolkit for controlled generation.

Start with moderate strength and quality references, then dial in your specific balance between reference influence and prompt control.