Local Development with MinIO and n8n

This setup provides a complete local development environment for the No Code Architect Toolkit with integrated MinIO S3-compatible storage and n8n workflow automation.

What's Included

NCA Toolkit: Built locally from source (no pre-built image required)
MinIO: S3-compatible object storage with web console for local file management
n8n: Workflow automation platform for connecting and orchestrating services
Custom Network: All services communicate through a dedicated Docker network
Persistent Storage: Data persists between container restarts

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed
Git (to clone the repository)
At least 2GB available RAM
At least 5GB available disk space

Quick Start

1. Prepare Environment Configuration

Copy the example environment file and customize it:

cp .env.local.minio.n8n.example .env.local.minio.n8n

Edit .env.local.minio.n8n with your preferred settings. The defaults work for most local development scenarios.

2. Start the Development Environment

docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml up -d

3. Access the Applications

Once all services are running, you can access:

NCA Toolkit API: http://localhost:8080
n8n Workflow Interface: http://localhost:5678
MinIO Console: http://localhost:9001
- Username: minioadmin
- Password: minioadmin123

4. Verify Setup

Test the NCA Toolkit API:

curl -H "x-api-key: local-dev-key-123" http://localhost:8080/v1/toolkit/test

Environment Configuration

The .env.local.minio.n8n file contains all necessary configuration:

Application Settings

APP_NAME=NCAToolkit
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_DOMAIN=localhost:8080
APP_URL=http://localhost:8080
API_KEY=local-dev-key-123

MinIO S3 Storage Settings

S3_ENDPOINT_URL=http://minio:9000
S3_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin
S3_SECRET_KEY=minioadmin123
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_BUCKET_NAME=nca-toolkit-local

n8n Configuration

N8N_HOST=localhost
N8N_PORT=5678
N8N_PROTOCOL=http
WEBHOOK_URL=http://localhost:5678/

Service Details

NCA Toolkit (Port 8080)

Built from local Dockerfile
Connects to MinIO for file storage
API accessible at http://localhost:8080
Uses local development API key: local-dev-key-123

MinIO (Ports 9000, 9001)

API Endpoint: http://localhost:9000 (S3-compatible API)
Web Console: http://localhost:9001
Bucket: nca-toolkit-local (auto-created and configured as public)
Credentials: minioadmin / minioadmin123

n8n (Port 5678)

Web Interface: http://localhost:5678
Webhook URL: http://localhost:5678/
File Sharing: ./local-files directory mounted for easy file access
Can connect to both NCA Toolkit and MinIO services

Development Workflow

Making Code Changes

Edit source code in your local directory

Rebuild the NCA Toolkit container:

docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml build ncat
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml up -d

Viewing Logs

# All services
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml logs -f

# Specific service
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml logs -f ncat
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml logs -f minio
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml logs -f n8n

Managing Storage

Access MinIO Console

Open http://localhost:9001
Login with minioadmin / minioadmin123
Browse the nca-toolkit-local bucket
Upload/download files as needed

Reset MinIO Data

docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml down
docker volume rm no-code-architects-toolkit_minio_data
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml up -d

Service Communication

All services communicate through the nca-network Docker network:

n8n → NCA Toolkit: http://ncat:8080
n8n → MinIO: http://minio:9000 (S3 API)
NCA Toolkit → MinIO: http://minio:9000 (internal network)

n8n Integration with NCA Toolkit

Quick Test Setup

Access n8n: Open http://localhost:5678
Create a new workflow
Add an HTTP Request node with these settings:
- Method: GET
- URL: http://ncat:8080/v1/toolkit/test
- Headers:
  - Key: x-api-key
  - Value: local-dev-key-123

Example: Testing the Toolkit Connection

HTTP Request Node Configuration:

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "http://ncat:8080/v1/toolkit/test",
  "headers": {
    "x-api-key": "local-dev-key-123"
  }
}

Expected Response:

{
  "message": "NCA Toolkit is working correctly",
  "status": "success"
}

Example: Media Processing Workflow

HTTP Request Node for Media Transcription:

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "http://ncat:8080/v1/media/transcribe",
  "headers": {
    "x-api-key": "local-dev-key-123",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  "body": {
    "media_url": "https://example.com/audio.mp3",
    "language": "en",
    "response_format": "json"
  }
}

All Available NCA Toolkit Endpoints

Use the base URL http://ncat:8080 with any of the API endpoints documented in the main README:

http://ncat:8080/v1/toolkit/test - Test connection
http://ncat:8080/v1/media/transcribe - Transcribe audio/video
http://ncat:8080/v1/video/caption - Add captions to videos
http://ncat:8080/v1/image/screenshot/webpage - Screenshot web pages
And all other endpoints listed in the main documentation

Tips for n8n Integration

Always use the internal network URL: http://ncat:8080 (not http://localhost:8080)
Include the API key header: x-api-key: local-dev-key-123
For file uploads: Use the MinIO integration or webhook URLs for large files
Error handling: Add error handling nodes to manage API timeouts or failures

Data Persistence

The following data persists between container restarts:

Application Storage: storage volume (/app/storage)
Application Logs: logs volume (/app/logs)
MinIO Data: minio_data volume
n8n Workflows: n8n_data volume (/home/node/.n8n)
Shared Files: ./local-files directory

Troubleshooting

Services Won't Start

# Check service status
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml ps

# View error logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml logs

Port Conflicts

If ports 8080, 5678, 9000, or 9001 are already in use, modify the port mappings in docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml:

ports:
  - "8081:8080"  # Change 8080 to 8081

MinIO Bucket Issues

The minio-init service automatically creates and configures the bucket. If issues occur:

# Restart the init service
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml restart minio-init

# Check init logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml logs minio-init

API Authentication Errors

Ensure you're using the correct API key from .env.local.minio.n8n:

Default: local-dev-key-123
Header: x-api-key: local-dev-key-123

Stopping the Environment

# Stop all services
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml down

# Stop and remove volumes (deletes all data)
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.minio.n8n.yml down -v

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   NCA Toolkit   │    │       n8n       │    │     MinIO       │
│   localhost:8080│◄──►│   localhost:5678│◄──►│  localhost:9000 │
│                 │    │                 │    │  (S3 API)       │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         └───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┘
                                 │
                      ┌─────────────────┐
                      │  MinIO Console  │
                      │  localhost:9001 │
                      └─────────────────┘
                                 │
                      ┌─────────────────┐
                      │  nca-network    │
                      │ (Docker Bridge) │
                      └─────────────────┘

This setup provides a complete local development environment with file storage, workflow automation, and the NCA Toolkit API all working together seamlessly.

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Local Development with MinIO and n8n

What's Included

Prerequisites

Quick Start

1. Prepare Environment Configuration

2. Start the Development Environment

3. Access the Applications

4. Verify Setup

Environment Configuration

Application Settings

MinIO S3 Storage Settings

n8n Configuration

Service Details

NCA Toolkit (Port 8080)

MinIO (Ports 9000, 9001)

n8n (Port 5678)

Development Workflow

Making Code Changes

Viewing Logs

Managing Storage

Access MinIO Console

Reset MinIO Data

Service Communication

n8n Integration with NCA Toolkit

Quick Test Setup

Example: Testing the Toolkit Connection

Example: Media Processing Workflow

All Available NCA Toolkit Endpoints

Tips for n8n Integration

Data Persistence

Troubleshooting

Services Won't Start

Port Conflicts

MinIO Bucket Issues

API Authentication Errors

Stopping the Environment

Architecture Overview

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Local Development with MinIO and n8n

What's Included

Prerequisites

Quick Start

1. Prepare Environment Configuration

2. Start the Development Environment

3. Access the Applications

4. Verify Setup

Environment Configuration

Application Settings

MinIO S3 Storage Settings

n8n Configuration

Service Details

NCA Toolkit (Port 8080)

MinIO (Ports 9000, 9001)

n8n (Port 5678)

Development Workflow

Making Code Changes

Viewing Logs

Managing Storage

Access MinIO Console

Reset MinIO Data

Service Communication

n8n Integration with NCA Toolkit

Quick Test Setup

Example: Testing the Toolkit Connection

Example: Media Processing Workflow

All Available NCA Toolkit Endpoints

Tips for n8n Integration

Data Persistence

Troubleshooting

Services Won't Start

Port Conflicts

MinIO Bucket Issues

API Authentication Errors

Stopping the Environment

Architecture Overview