> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://comfytv.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Mesh Bake Maps
> Bake a high-poly mesh's detail onto a low-poly one — a tangent-space normal map and/or an ambient-occlusion map — so a light model still reads as if it had all the geometry.
## What this node does
Mesh Bake Maps projects surface detail from a **high-poly** source onto a **UV-unwrapped low-poly** target and writes the result as texture maps packed into the returned GLB. It can bake a tangent-space normal map (glTF/OpenGL +Y) that captures detail lost to decimation, and an ambient-occlusion map packed into the glTF ORM / occlusionTexture. It runs the vendored mesh3d backend (▶ Run).
Both inputs are required: the `model` (the low-poly to bake onto, which must be UV-unwrapped) and `high_poly` (the pre-decimation mesh that holds the detail). The stage errors if either is missing. A preview of the baked maps becomes the `maps` image output.
This is the classic fix when a GLB round-trip or a decimate loses a normal map: unwrap the low-poly in **Mesh Ops**, then bake the original high-poly back onto it here.
Outputs are ComfyTV snapshots, not native tensors — insert a **Bridge** to feed native ComfyUI nodes ([bridges docs](https://github.com/jtydhr88/ComfyTV/blob/main/docs/bridges.md)).
## When to use it
* Restore surface detail after decimating a dense sculpt to a game-ready low-poly.
* Rebuild a normal map lost in a GLB import/export round-trip.
* Add baked contact shadows / crevice darkening (AO) to a model that has none.
## Parameters
### bake\_normal
Bake a tangent-space normal map (glTF/OpenGL +Y) capturing high-poly detail. Default `on`.
### bake\_ao
Bake an ambient-occlusion map (white = open, dark = crevices), packed into the glTF ORM / occlusionTexture. Default `on`.
### resolution
Baked map resolution in pixels. Default `1024`, range `256`–`4096` (step 256).
### cage\_distance
Normal bake only — the surface search band as a fraction of the bounding-box diagonal. Default `0.05`, range `0.001`–`0.5`. Raise it if the bake has missing patches; lower it if it grabs detail across gaps between separate parts.
### ao\_samples
AO rays cast per texel. Default `64`, range `4`–`512` (step 4). More = smoother AO, slower bake.
### ao\_strength
Scales the occlusion. Default `1.0`, range `0`–`2`. Above 1 darkens the AO; below 1 lightens it.
### model
The UV-unwrapped low-poly `COMFYTV_MODEL` to bake onto. Required.
### high\_poly
The high-poly `COMFYTV_MODEL` that holds the detail — the mesh the low-poly was decimated from. Required.
## Outputs
| Output | Type | Meaning |
| --------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **model** | `COMFYTV_MODEL` | The low-poly with baked maps packed into the GLB |
| **maps** | `COMFYTV_IMAGE` | A preview of the baked normal / AO maps |
## Tips
* The low-poly must have UVs first — run **Mesh Ops** `unwrap` before baking, or the maps have nowhere to land.
* If the normal bake shows holes or bleeds across a seam, tune `cage_distance`: raise for missing coverage, lower for cross-gap bleed.
* Grainy AO means too few rays — raise `ao_samples`. Adjust the overall look with `ao_strength` rather than re-baking at a higher sample count when you only need it darker/lighter.
## Related nodes
* **Mesh Ops** — `unwrap` the low-poly (required first) and `decimate` it from the high-poly.
* **Mesh Primitive** — generate base meshes to build the high-poly from.
* **Mesh Boolean** — construct the high-poly detail before baking it down.