NowFlow Community Edition

Open-source visual workflow automation for AI blocks, integrations, human review steps, data tables, knowledge workflows, and self-hosted execution.

Quick Start · Screenshots · Community Scope · Architecture · Contributing

What Is NowFlow Community?

NowFlow Community is the open-source edition of NowFlow. It is designed for developers and teams who want to run a local or self-hosted workflow builder without managed enterprise surfaces.

Use it to:

• Design workflows visually with blocks, edges, utility blocks, and sub-block configuration.
• Connect AI providers with bring-your-own-key settings.
• Build human-in-the-loop approval flows.
• Store workflow data in tables, files, and knowledge sources.
• Run JavaScript function blocks in the Community QuickJS sandbox.
• Deploy local workflow surfaces such as APIs, forms, embeds, and chat-style interfaces where enabled by the app.

Enterprise capabilities are presented as upgrade paths and point to nowflow.io.

Screenshots

Home	Docs

Auth and first-run gate

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22 or newer
• npm 11 or newer
• PostgreSQL 16 with pgvector
• Redis 7, optional but recommended for local parity

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env

Fill the required local values in .env:

DATABASE_URL=<local-postgres-url>
POSTGRES_URL=<local-postgres-url>
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=<random-32-byte-secret>
ENCRYPTION_KEY=<random-32-byte-secret>
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENTERPRISE_URL=https://nowflow.io

Generate local secrets with:

openssl rand -base64 32

3. Start Local Services

With Docker Compose:

POSTGRES_PASSWORD="$(openssl rand -base64 24)" \
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" \
ENCRYPTION_KEY="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" \
docker compose up --build

Or run only the database and start the app manually:

docker compose up -d db
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run db:push
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run dev

4. Create the First Owner

Open:

http://localhost:3000/setup

Create the first user. Setup is a one-time gate: after the first account exists, the setup route returns users to normal authentication.

Common Commands

Command	Description
npm run dev	Start the NowFlow web app through Turborepo
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run dev	Start only the Next.js app
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run db:push	Push the Drizzle schema to PostgreSQL
npm run build	Build all workspaces
npm run check-types	Run TypeScript checks
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run lint	Run ESLint for the app
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run test	Run the Vitest suite
npm run format:check	Check formatting

Community Scope

This repository is intentionally scoped for the open-source Community Edition.

Included:

• Next.js web app in apps/nowflow
• Drizzle schema and PostgreSQL runtime
• BYOK provider settings for supported AI providers
• Local Ollama integration
• Community workflow blocks and integrations
• QuickJS-based JavaScript execution
• Community docs, examples, and setup flow

Not included in Community:

• Native mobile application projects
• Managed cluster deployment manifests
• Managed tenant operations
• Managed identity provider implementation
• Hosted meta-build tooling
• Managed web-search agents
• Enterprise deployment and governance surfaces

Enterprise requests use NEXT_PUBLIC_ENTERPRISE_URL and default to https://nowflow.io.

Architecture

flowchart LR
  Browser["Browser / Workspace UI"]
  App["Next.js App Router"]
  DB["PostgreSQL + pgvector"]
  Redis["Redis"]
  Runner["QuickJS Function Runner"]
  Providers["BYOK AI + OAuth Providers"]

  Browser --> App
  App --> DB
  App --> Redis
  App --> Runner
  App --> Providers

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Repository Layout

.
├── apps/
│   └── nowflow/          # Next.js app, API routes, workflow UI, blocks
├── packages/             # Shared packages used by the app
├── docs/                 # Community docs and README assets
├── docker-compose.yml    # Local development services
├── .env.example          # Safe environment template
└── README.md

Tech Stack

• Next.js 16 App Router
• React 19
• TypeScript 5.9
• Tailwind CSS
• Drizzle ORM
• PostgreSQL 16 and pgvector
• Redis
• Vitest
• QuickJS via quickjs-emscripten

Security And Publishing Hygiene

• Do not commit .env, .env.*, database dumps, generated builds, or uploads.
• Keep node_modules, .next, .turbo, *.tsbuildinfo, and local cache directories out of release artifacts.
• Keep provider keys in local environment variables or workspace credentials.
• Use .env.example as the only committed environment template.
• Rotate BETTER_AUTH_SECRET and ENCRYPTION_KEY for every deployment.
• Review docs/community-edition.md before publishing a public fork or release.

Documentation

• Community Edition Boundary
• Contributing Guide
• License
• Notice

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please keep changes aligned with the Community Edition scope, avoid committing local secrets or generated runtime data, and run the relevant checks before opening a pull request.

npm run check-types
npm run build
npm --workspace apps/nowflow run test

License

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE and NOTICE.