Flowise on Mac (M1/M2/M3) with Docker + Local Ollama

Last updated: 2025-08-31

This guide shows how to run Flowise on an Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3) using Docker, persist your data,
and connect Flowise to Ollama running on the host.

Overview

• Recommended: Docker Compose setup that just works on macOS
• Persistence: SQLite DB + configs under ./flowise_data (easy to back up)
• Auth: FLOWISE_USERNAME / FLOWISE_PASSWORD
• Ollama: Flowise container talks to host’s Ollama at http://host.docker.internal:11434
• Known CLI pitfalls are avoided (no -c / extra start args in Compose)

Quick Start (Docker)

1. Create a new folder (e.g., flowise_ai_m3_laptop) and place these two files in it:
   

   docker-compose.yml

   services:
     flowise:
       image: flowiseai/flowise:latest
       restart: unless-stopped
       environment:
         - PORT=${PORT}
         - FLOWISE_USERNAME=${FLOWISE_USERNAME}
         - FLOWISE_PASSWORD=${FLOWISE_PASSWORD}
         - LOG_PATH=/root/.flowise/logs
         - LOG_LEVEL=info
         - DATABASE_PATH=/root/.flowise/flowise.sqlite
         # Preconfigure Ollama endpoint on the host (Docker Desktop: host.docker.internal)
         - OLLAMA_BASE_URL=${OLLAMA_BASE_URL}
       ports:
         - "${PORT}:${PORT}"
       volumes:
         - ./flowise_data:/root/.flowise
       healthcheck:
         test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://localhost:${PORT}/api/v1/config"]
         interval: 15s
         timeout: 5s
         retries: 10
         start_period: 15s
   

   .env (create from this example)

   PORT=4444
   FLOWISE_USERNAME=user
   FLOWISE_PASSWORD=changeme-strong
   # Docker on macOS can reach the host via this DNS name
   OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:11434
   

2. Start:

   docker compose up -d

3. Open:

   http://localhost:4444

Data is persisted in the flowise_data/ folder next to your compose file:

flowise_data/
  ├─ flowise.sqlite    # main DB (persisted)
  ├─ logs/             # logs
  └─ files/ …          # uploads, etc.

Connect Flowise to Ollama (host)

Ensure Ollama is running locally on the Mac:

# start Ollama if not already running
ollama serve

# optional: list models (OpenAI-style)
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1/models | jq .

From the container, verify connectivity to the host:

docker compose exec flowise wget -qO- http://host.docker.internal:11434/v1/models | head

In Flowise UI:

• Add LLM → Ollama (or OpenAI (Compatible)).
• Base URL: http://host.docker.internal:11434
• Model: name of your local model (e.g., llama3.1:8b, a 7B-parameter local model, etc.).
• No API key required for local Ollama.

Optional: Run Flowise without Docker (npx)

If you prefer local Node:

1. Install Node 18.15+ or 20+ (e.g., via Homebrew).
2. Start Flowise with the correct flags (note the uppercase --PORT=):

npx flowise start --PORT=4444 --FLOWISE_USERNAME=user --FLOWISE_PASSWORD=1234

If you hit missing-module errors on macOS (e.g., Cannot find module 'turndown'), try:

npm uninstall -g flowise || true
npm cache clean --force
npm install -g flowise
npm install -g turndown @opentelemetry/exporter-trace-otlp-proto @opentelemetry/exporter-trace-otlp-grpc @opentelemetry/sdk-trace-node langchainhub
npx flowise start --PORT=4444 --FLOWISE_USERNAME=user --FLOWISE_PASSWORD=1234

To avoid permission issues with Homebrew’s prefix, set a user-local npm prefix:

mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zprofile
source ~/.zprofile
npm install -g flowise

Backups

Simple backup of the SQLite DB:

docker compose stop flowise
cp flowise_data/flowise.sqlite flowise_data/flowise.sqlite.bak.$(date +%F)
docker compose start flowise

Troubleshooting

• CLI arg errors (-c or extra start unexpected)
  Don’t pass custom command: in Compose. The official image already starts Flowise via its ENTRYPOINT.
  The compose above omits command: on purpose.
• version: key warning
  Newer Compose ignores the top-level version: key. Remove it to silence the warning.
• Port already in use
  Change PORT in .env and re-up:

  docker compose down
  PORT=4488 docker compose up -d
  

• Ollama not reachable
  • Confirm ollama serve is active on the Mac.
  • From the container, wget -qO- http://host.docker.internal:11434/v1/models should return JSON.
  • Double-check any firewall or VPN rules.

Security Notes

• Change FLOWISE_PASSWORD to a strong secret.
• If exposing beyond localhost, place Flowise behind a reverse proxy (Traefik/Caddy/Nginx) with TLS.
• Consider disabling telemetry if required by your policy (see Flowise docs).

Stop / Update

docker compose stop              # stop
docker compose down              # stop + remove
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d  # update image and restart
docker compose logs -f flowise   # follow logs

That’s it! You now have a reproducible Flowise setup on Apple Silicon with durable storage and direct
access to your host’s Ollama.