Self-Hosting Guide

This guide covers installing and running Flowise directly on your own servers, VPS, or on-premises infrastructure without using Docker.

Prerequisites

Node.js version 18.15.0 or higher is required for Flowise.

System Requirements

Minimum:

CPU: 1 core
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 10GB available space
OS: Linux, macOS, or Windows

Recommended for Production:

CPU: 2+ cores
RAM: 4GB+
Storage: 20GB+ SSD
OS: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, or similar Linux distribution

Required Software

Node.js: >= 18.15.0 (Download)
npm: Comes with Node.js
Git: For cloning the repository (development builds)

Quick Installation

The fastest way to get Flowise running:

Install Flowise globally

npm install -g flowise

This installs the latest stable version from npm.

Start Flowise

npx flowise start

Or if globally installed:

flowise start

Access the application

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

With Custom Configuration

Start Flowise with custom settings:

npx flowise start --PORT=8080 --DEBUG=true

Or set environment variables:

PORT=8080 DEBUG=true npx flowise start

Development Installation

For development, customization, or running from source:

Install pnpm

Flowise uses pnpm for dependency management:

npm install -g pnpm

The project is configured to use pnpm v10.

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise.git
cd Flowise

Install dependencies

pnpm install

This installs dependencies for all modules:

server: Node.js backend
ui: React frontend
components: Third-party integrations
api-documentation: Auto-generated API docs

Build the application

pnpm build

Troubleshooting: JavaScript heap out of memory

If you encounter exit code 134 (heap out of memory):

# macOS / Linux / Git Bash
export NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096"

# Windows PowerShell
$env:NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096"

# Windows CMD
set NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096

Then run pnpm build again.

Start the application

pnpm start

Access at http://localhost:3000

Development Mode

For active development with hot reloading:

Configure UI development port

Create .env file in packages/ui:

packages/ui/.env

VITE_PORT=8080

Configure server port

Create .env file in packages/server:

packages/server/.env

PORT=3000

Start development mode

pnpm dev

This starts:

Frontend dev server on http://localhost:8080
Backend API server on http://localhost:3000

Changes to packages/ui or packages/server auto-reload.

For changes to packages/components, run pnpm build again to pick up the changes.

Production Setup

Environment Configuration

Create a .env file in packages/server for production:

packages/server/.env

# Server Configuration
PORT=3000

# Database (Use PostgreSQL or MySQL for production)
DATABASE_TYPE=postgres
DATABASE_HOST=localhost
DATABASE_PORT=5432
DATABASE_NAME=flowise
DATABASE_USER=flowise_user
DATABASE_PASSWORD=secure_password
DATABASE_SSL=true

# Storage Paths
DATABASE_PATH=/var/lib/flowise
LOG_PATH=/var/log/flowise
SECRETKEY_PATH=/var/lib/flowise
BLOB_STORAGE_PATH=/var/lib/flowise/storage

# Security (Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32)
JWT_AUTH_TOKEN_SECRET=your-jwt-secret-here
JWT_REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET=your-refresh-secret-here
EXPRESS_SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret-here
TOKEN_HASH_SECRET=your-token-hash-secret-here

# Production Settings
DEBUG=false
LOG_LEVEL=info
SECURE_COOKIES=true
TRUST_PROXY=true
CORS_ORIGINS=https://yourdomain.com

# Optional: Cloud Storage
# STORAGE_TYPE=s3
# S3_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME=flowise-storage
# S3_STORAGE_REGION=us-east-1

Never use SQLite (DATABASE_TYPE=sqlite) for production deployments. Use PostgreSQL or MySQL.

Database Setup

PostgreSQL

Install PostgreSQL

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install postgresql-server postgresql-contrib
sudo postgresql-setup initdb
sudo systemctl start postgresql

Create database and user

sudo -u postgres psql

In PostgreSQL shell:

CREATE DATABASE flowise;
CREATE USER flowise_user WITH PASSWORD 'secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE flowise TO flowise_user;
\q

Configure connection

Update .env with database credentials:

DATABASE_TYPE=postgres
DATABASE_HOST=localhost
DATABASE_PORT=5432
DATABASE_NAME=flowise
DATABASE_USER=flowise_user
DATABASE_PASSWORD=secure_password

MySQL

Install MySQL

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mysql-server

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install mysql-server
sudo systemctl start mysqld

Create database and user

sudo mysql

In MySQL shell:

CREATE DATABASE flowise;
CREATE USER 'flowise_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON flowise.* TO 'flowise_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Configure connection

DATABASE_TYPE=mysql
DATABASE_HOST=localhost
DATABASE_PORT=3306
DATABASE_NAME=flowise
DATABASE_USER=flowise_user
DATABASE_PASSWORD=secure_password

Process Management

Use a process manager to keep Flowise running:

PM2 (Recommended)

Install PM2

npm install -g pm2

Create ecosystem file

ecosystem.config.js

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'flowise',
    script: 'npx',
    args: 'flowise start',
    cwd: '/path/to/flowise',
    instances: 1,
    autorestart: true,
    watch: false,
    max_memory_restart: '2G',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 3000
    },
    error_file: '/var/log/flowise/error.log',
    out_file: '/var/log/flowise/out.log',
    log_date_format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss Z'
  }]
};

Start with PM2

pm2 start ecosystem.config.js
pm2 save
pm2 startup

# Status
pm2 status

# Logs
pm2 logs flowise

# Restart
pm2 restart flowise

# Stop
pm2 stop flowise

# Monitor
pm2 monit

Reverse Proxy Setup

Use nginx or Apache for SSL termination and load balancing:

Nginx

Install nginx

sudo apt install nginx

Create site configuration

/etc/nginx/sites-available/flowise

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name flowise.yourdomain.com;
    
    # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name flowise.yourdomain.com;
    
    # SSL Configuration
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/flowise.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/flowise.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;
    
    # Security headers
    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000" always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    
    # Proxy settings
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_read_timeout 300;
    }
    
    # Health check
    location /api/v1/ping {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000/api/v1/ping;
        access_log off;
    }
}

Enable site and restart nginx

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/flowise /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

SSL with Let’s Encrypt

# Install Certbot
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Obtain certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d flowise.yourdomain.com

# Auto-renewal is configured by default
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Monitoring and Logging

Application Logs

Configure logging in .env:

LOG_PATH=/var/log/flowise
LOG_LEVEL=info
DEBUG=false

Log files:

flowise.log: Main application log
error.log: Error messages
access.log: HTTP access logs

System Monitoring

# With PM2
pm2 status
pm2 monit

# With systemd
sudo systemctl status flowise
sudo journalctl -u flowise -f

Health Checks

Flowise provides a health check endpoint:

curl http://localhost:3000/api/v1/ping

Set up automated monitoring:

crontab

# Check every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * * curl -f http://localhost:3000/api/v1/ping || systemctl restart flowise

Backup and Restore

Database Backup

# Backup
pg_dump -U flowise_user flowise > flowise_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Restore
psql -U flowise_user flowise < flowise_backup_20240101.sql

File Storage Backup

# Backup storage directory
tar -czf flowise_storage_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /var/lib/flowise/storage

# Restore
tar -xzf flowise_storage_20240101.tar.gz -C /var/lib/flowise/

Automated Backups

/usr/local/bin/backup-flowise.sh

#!/bin/bash

BACKUP_DIR="/backups/flowise"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup database
pg_dump -U flowise_user flowise | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql.gz

# Backup files
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/storage_$DATE.tar.gz /var/lib/flowise/storage

# Keep only last 7 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -type f -mtime +7 -delete

echo "Backup completed: $DATE"

Schedule with cron:

# Daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup-flowise.sh >> /var/log/flowise-backup.log 2>&1

Updating Flowise

NPM Installation

# Update to latest version
npm update -g flowise

# Or install specific version
npm install -g [email protected]

# Restart the service
pm2 restart flowise
# OR
sudo systemctl restart flowise

Development Installation

cd Flowise
git pull origin main
pnpm install
pnpm build
pm2 restart flowise

Troubleshooting

Port Already in Use

# Find process using port 3000
sudo lsof -i :3000

# Kill the process
sudo kill -9 <PID>

# Or use a different port
PORT=8080 npx flowise start

Permission Issues

# Fix directory permissions
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/lib/flowise
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/log/flowise

Database Connection Errors

# Test PostgreSQL connection
psql -U flowise_user -h localhost -d flowise

# Check PostgreSQL is running
sudo systemctl status postgresql

# View PostgreSQL logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-*.log

High Memory Usage

Increase Node.js heap size:

NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096" npx flowise start

Or in PM2 ecosystem:

node_args: '--max-old-space-size=4096'

Security Hardening

Create dedicated user

sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false flowise
sudo chown -R flowise:flowise /var/lib/flowise

Configure firewall

# Allow nginx (80, 443)
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

# Block direct access to Flowise port
sudo ufw deny 3000

# Enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

Set secure environment variables

Generate strong secrets:

openssl rand -hex 32

Never commit .env files to version control.

Enable fail2ban

sudo apt install fail2ban
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl start fail2ban

Next Steps

Environment Variables

Complete configuration reference

Docker Deployment

Alternative deployment with Docker

API Documentation

Integrate with Flowise APIs

Cloud Providers

Deploy to cloud platforms

Get Started

Core Concepts

Building Flows

Deployment

Configuration

​Prerequisites

​System Requirements

​Required Software

​Quick Installation

​With Custom Configuration

​Development Installation

​Development Mode

​Production Setup

​Environment Configuration

​Database Setup

​PostgreSQL

​MySQL

​Process Management

​PM2 (Recommended)

​Reverse Proxy Setup

​Nginx

​SSL with Let’s Encrypt

​Monitoring and Logging

​Application Logs

​System Monitoring

​Health Checks

​Backup and Restore

​Database Backup

​File Storage Backup

​Automated Backups

​Updating Flowise

​NPM Installation

​Development Installation

​Troubleshooting

​Port Already in Use

​Permission Issues

​Database Connection Errors

​High Memory Usage

​Security Hardening

​Next Steps

Environment Variables

Docker Deployment

API Documentation

Cloud Providers

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

System Requirements

Required Software

Quick Installation

With Custom Configuration

Development Installation

Development Mode

Production Setup

Environment Configuration

Database Setup

PostgreSQL

MySQL

Process Management

PM2 (Recommended)

Reverse Proxy Setup

Nginx

SSL with Let’s Encrypt

Monitoring and Logging

Application Logs

System Monitoring

Health Checks

Backup and Restore

Database Backup

File Storage Backup

Automated Backups

Updating Flowise

NPM Installation

Development Installation

Troubleshooting

Port Already in Use

Permission Issues

Database Connection Errors

High Memory Usage

Security Hardening

Next Steps