Getting Started

LICENSE INFORMATION

Chain Nodes is distributed under the Chain Nodes Enterprise License. The core platform is free for individual development and small-scale automation, while advanced features like Multi-Tenancy, SSO, and Fleet Management require a valid Enterprise License Key. By using this software, you agree to the terms of the Chain Nodes EULA.

Chain Nodes is a distributed, high-performance system consisting of a Go Backend, a Vue Frontend, and a set of Workers. It is designed to orchestrate complex, long-running agentic workflows with the reliability of Temporal.io.

Prerequisites

• Go 1.22+
• Node.js 20+
• Docker & Docker Compose (for infrastructure)
• Temporal.io (running locally or via Docker)

Installation

The easiest way to get Chain Nodes up and running is via Docker Compose. This will start the API server, the worker, the frontend, and all necessary infrastructure (PostgreSQL, Redis, Temporal).

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/chainnodes-dev/awa
   cd awa

2. One-Command Start:

   docker compose up -d

3. Access the Platform:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:5174
   • Temporal UI: http://localhost:8088

NOTE

On the first startup, it may take up to 60 seconds for Temporal to initialize. You can monitor progress with docker compose logs -f temporal.

Once the platform is running, navigate to http://localhost:5174.

On the first boot, Chain Nodes will prompt you to initialize the Super Admin account.

1. Choose a username and a secure password for the super admin account.
2. Download your Recovery Key (used if you lose access to the database).
3. Log in with the credentials you just created.

After logging in, you will be taken to the Global Dashboard where you can manage tenants, configure LLM providers, and monitor the system health.

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⚙️ Mandatory: Define your first LLM

Before you can create or run your first workflow, you must define at least one LLM provider in the UI. While you can pre-configure them via the .env file (which Chain Nodes will automatically seed into the database on first boot), we recommend managing them through the Settings > LLM Providers screen for better flexibility.

Chain Nodes supports a wide range of providers. You will need an API key from at least one of these:

Provider	Best For	Link
Anthropic	Complex reasoning & long context	Console
OpenAI	General purpose (GPT-4o)	Platform
Ollama	Local, private execution	Download
Google Gemini	Large context windows	AI Studio
DeepSeek	High-performance open models	Platform
xAI Grok	Real-time world knowledge	Console

Once a provider is added and set as "Active," the Designer and your Agent States will be ready for use.

Your First Workflow

Navigate to the Designer tab. Describe a task like "Analyze a PDF and store the results in Google Sheets" to see the Designer scaffold a workflow in real-time.