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AI/TLDR

Flowise

Build LLM apps and AI agents visually with a drag-and-drop canvas

github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise★ 53.7kflowiseai.com

Overview

Flowise is an open-source tool for building LLM apps and AI agents without writing much code. You work on a visual canvas, dragging in nodes for models, prompts, memory, tools, and data sources, then wiring them together to form a flow.

It runs as a Node.js app with three parts in one repository: a server for the API logic, a React user interface, and a library of third-party node integrations. Once a flow is ready, you can use it through an API endpoint, embed it as a chat widget, or self-host it on your own infrastructure.

What it does

  • Visual drag-and-drop canvas for designing LLM chains and multi-step agent flows
  • Large library of built-in nodes for models, prompts, memory, tools, and data loaders
  • Turns each finished flow into an API endpoint and an embeddable chat widget
  • Self-host anywhere, with ready-made deployment guides for AWS, Azure, GCP, and more
  • Runs locally in minutes via npm or as a Docker container
  • Apache 2.0 licensed open-source codebase you can extend with custom nodes

Getting started

Flowise needs Node.js 20 or newer. The fastest way to try it is the npm package, which starts a local server you open in your browser.

Install Flowise globally

Install the Flowise CLI package using npm.

bashbash
npm install -g flowise

Start the app

Launch Flowise, then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser to reach the visual builder.

bashbash
npx flowise start

Or run with Docker

Prefer containers? Build the image locally and run it on port 3000.

bashbash
docker build --no-cache -t flowise .
docker run -d --name flowise -p 3000:3000 flowise

Build from source for development

To work on Flowise itself, clone the repo and use PNPM to install, build, and start the monorepo.

bashbash
git clone https://github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise.git
cd Flowise
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm start

Commands and code are distilled from the project's own documentation — always check the official repo for the latest.

When to use it

  • Prototype a chatbot or RAG assistant over your own documents without writing backend code
  • Build multi-step AI agents that call tools and APIs, then expose them as an endpoint for your app
  • Let non-developers on a team assemble and test LLM workflows on a shared visual canvas
  • Self-host an internal AI app on your own cloud to keep data and keys inside your infrastructure

How Flowise compares

Flowise alongside other open-source low-code & no-code builders tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.

ToolStarsWhat it does
Langflow★ 150kLangflow is an open-source platform for building AI agents and workflows visually, then deploying each flow as an API or MCP server.
NocoDB★ 63.5kAn open-source tool that turns any SQL database into a no-code spreadsheet-style app, used as a self-hosted Airtable alternative.
Flowise★ 53.7kBuild LLM apps and AI agents visually with a drag-and-drop canvas
Appsmith★ 40.1kAn open-source low-code platform for quickly building internal tools, admin panels, and dashboards from a visual editor plus custom JavaScript and data-source connections.
ToolJet★ 38kAn open-source low-code platform with a drag-and-drop UI builder, built-in database, and JavaScript logic for building internal tools, dashboards, and workflows.
Directus★ 36kAn open-source data platform that wraps any SQL database in an instant API and a no-code admin app for managing content and building back-office tools.
Refine★ 34.9kA React meta-framework for building data-heavy internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and B2B apps, combining low-code generators with full code control.
Sim★ 28.8kSim is an open-source AI workspace where teams build agents by chat, on a visual canvas, or in code, with 1,000+ integrations and every major LLM.