Self-hosted AI Starter Kit - Vision & Contribution Guidelines

Awesome that you're interested in contributing to the Self-hosted AI Starter Kit! These specific guidelines are in addition to the general n8n contribution guidelines.

Vision Statement

The Self-hosted AI Starter Kit is designed to be the fastest path from zero to working AI workflows for developers and organizations who want to experiment with local, private AI solutions. It provides a curated, pre-configured foundation that "just works" out of the box, enabling users to focus on building AI workflows rather than wrestling with infrastructure setup.

Core Principles

1. Simplicity Over Completeness

The starter kit should prioritize ease of use and quick setup over comprehensive feature coverage. It's better to do fewer things well than to attempt to solve every possible use case.

2. Learning-Focused, Not Production-Ready

This is explicitly a learning and experimentation platform. Users should be able to go from git clone to working AI workflows in minutes, not hours. Production-grade concerns like high availability, advanced security, and scalability are intentionally out of scope.

3. Opinionated but Extensible

We make opinionated choices about the core stack (n8n + Ollama + Qdrant + PostgreSQL) to reduce decision paralysis, while providing clear paths for users to extend and customize as they learn.

4. Privacy-First Local Development

Everything should work completely offline and locally by default. External dependencies should be minimal and optional.

What Belongs in the Starter Kit

Core Components

• n8n: The workflow automation platform
• Ollama: Local LLM inference
• Qdrant: Vector database for embeddings
• PostgreSQL: Persistent data storage
• Basic networking: Simple Docker networking to connect components

Essential Configuration

This includes:

• Pre-configured environment variables with sensible defaults
• Basic Docker Compose profiles for different hardware (CPU, GPU-Nvidia, GPU-AMD)
• Minimal volume mounts for data persistence
• Sample workflow demonstrating the core capabilities

Getting Started Materials

This includes:

• Clear installation instructions for different platforms
• A demo workflow showcasing AI capabilities
• Basic documentation for accessing local files
• Links to relevant n8n documentation and templates

What Doesn't Belong in the Starter Kit

Production Infrastructure

Including:

• Reverse proxies
• SSL/TLS termination
• Load balancers
• Advanced monitoring and logging
• Backup and recovery systems
• Container orchestration beyond basic Docker Compose

Advanced Networking

Including:

• Custom network configurations
• VPN integrations
• Multiple environment setups
• Advanced security hardening

Alternative Technology Stacks

Including:

• Different vector databases
• Alternative workflow platforms
• Multiple LLM backends beyond Ollama
• Different databases for the core setup

Enterprise Features

Including:

• Authentication systems
• Multi-tenancy
• Advanced access controls
• Compliance tooling

PR specific requirements

• Small PRs Only:
  • Focus on a single feature or fix per PR.
• Typo-Only PRs:
  • Typos are not sufficient justification for a PR and will be rejected.

Remember: It's better to be an excellent starting point than a mediocre everything-solution.