mcp-apps

Self-hosted AI starter kit

Self-hosted AI Starter Kit is an open-source Docker Compose template designed to swiftly initialize a comprehensive local AI and low-code development environment.

Curated by https://github.com/n8n-io, it combines the self-hosted n8n platform with a curated list of compatible AI products and components to quickly get started with building self-hosted AI workflows.

[!TIP] Read the announcement

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🤖 For AI Agents: START HERE

Mandatory: Every agent working on this project must read these documents in order before starting any tasks.

1. AGENT_QUICKSTART.md — 5-minute onboarding (sets expectations, tools, ContextStream session setup)
2. SETUP_STATUS.md — Current phase & immediate next steps (know what's done, what's pending, what's blocked)
3. multi-agent-workflow.instructions.md — 5-phase pipeline reference (understand orchestration, git worktrees, automatic commits, PR workflow, ContextStream persistence)
4. initial-setup.instructions.md — Bootstrap guide (Phase 1 setup, git configuration, Docker stack verification)

Multi-Agent Development Framework

This project uses isolated git worktrees and coordinated agent orchestration for parallel AI-driven development:

• Isolation: Each agent works in its own branch (e.g., feature/agent-foo) with independent git worktree
• Parallel Work: Multiple agents can work simultaneously without conflicts
• Automatic Coordination: multi-agent-orchestrator.agent.md auto-detects completed work, creates PRs, merges on approval
• Code Gating: migration-analyst.agent.md gates all external code integration with security/quality analysis
• Persistent Memory: All agent decisions and state persisted across sessions via ContextStream

How It Works

Agent creates worktree → Makes changes → Tests pass → Commits & pushes
    ↓
Orchestrator detects new commits → Creates draft PR → Requests reviews
    ↓
Reviews approved → Orchestrator auto-merges → All agents sync to latest main
    ↓
Migration-analyst verifies any migration/ code before final approval
    ↓
Next agent task ready | ContextStream persists entire workflow history

Proactive Documentation Directives

Agents must follow these rules or face auto-rejection:

• ⚠️ Before any task: Read AGENT_QUICKSTART.md — mandatory first step
• ⚠️ Before git worktree: Check SETUP_STATUS.md — know current phase
• ⚠️ Before PRs/commits: Review multi-agent-workflow.instructions.md — understand flow
• ⚠️ Migration folder code: migration-analyst.agent.md will gate it — expect automated analysis
• ⚠️ Session persistence: Use ContextStream (see contextstream-knowledge-management.instructions.md) — state carries across sessions
• ⚠️ Codebase context: See .github/copilot-instructions.md — project conventions and tool access rules

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What’s included

✅ Self-hosted n8n - Low-code platform with over 400 integrations and advanced AI components

✅ Ollama - Cross-platform LLM platform to install and run the latest local LLMs

✅ Qdrant - Open-source, high performance vector store with an comprehensive API

✅ PostgreSQL - Workhorse of the Data Engineering world, handles large amounts of data safely.

What you can build

⭐️ AI Agents for scheduling appointments

⭐️ Summarize Company PDFs securely without data leaks

⭐️ Smarter Slack Bots for enhanced company communications and IT operations

⭐️ Private Financial Document Analysis at minimal cost

Installation

Cloning the Repository

git clone https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit.git
cd self-hosted-ai-starter-kit
cp .env.example .env # you should update secrets and passwords inside

Running n8n using Docker Compose

For Nvidia GPU users

git clone https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit.git
cd self-hosted-ai-starter-kit
cp .env.example .env # you should update secrets and passwords inside
docker compose --profile gpu-nvidia up