Sim is a lightweight, user-friendly platform for building AI agent workflows.
## Getting Started
1. Use our [cloud-hosted version](https://sim.ai)
2. Self-host using one of the methods below
## Self-Hosting Options
### Option 1: NPM Package (Simplest)
The easiest way to run Sim locally is using our [NPM package](https://www.npmjs.com/package/simstudio?activeTab=readme):
```bash
npx simstudio
```
After running these commands, open [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/) in your browser.
#### Options
- `-p, --port `: Specify the port to run Sim on (default: 3000)
- `--no-pull`: Skip pulling the latest Docker images
#### Requirements
- Docker must be installed and running on your machine
### Option 2: Docker Compose
```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/simstudioai/sim.git
# Navigate to the project directory
cd sim
# Start Sim
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
```
Access the application at [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/)
#### Using Local Models
To use local models with Sim:
1. Pull models using our helper script:
```bash
./apps/sim/scripts/ollama_docker.sh pull
```
2. Start Sim with local model support:
```bash
# With NVIDIA GPU support
docker compose --profile local-gpu -f docker-compose.ollama.yml up -d
# Without GPU (CPU only)
docker compose --profile local-cpu -f docker-compose.ollama.yml up -d
# If hosting on a server, update the environment variables in the docker-compose.prod.yml file to include the server's public IP then start again (OLLAMA_URL to i.e. http://1.1.1.1:11434)
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
```
### Option 3: Dev Containers
1. Open VS Code with the [Remote - Containers extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers)
2. Open the project and click "Reopen in Container" when prompted
3. Run `bun run dev:full` in the terminal or use the `sim-start` alias
- This starts both the main application and the realtime socket server
### Option 4: Manual Setup
**Requirements:**
- [Bun](https://bun.sh/) runtime
- PostgreSQL 12+ with [pgvector extension](https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector) (required for AI embeddings)
**Note:** Sim uses vector embeddings for AI features like knowledge bases and semantic search, which requires the `pgvector` PostgreSQL extension.
1. Clone and install dependencies:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/simstudioai/sim.git
cd sim
bun install
```
2. Set up PostgreSQL with pgvector:
You need PostgreSQL with the `vector` extension for embedding support. Choose one option:
**Option A: Using Docker (Recommended)**
```bash
# Start PostgreSQL with pgvector extension
docker run --name simstudio-db \
-e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_password \
-e POSTGRES_DB=simstudio \
-p 5432:5432 -d \
pgvector/pgvector:pg17
```
**Option B: Manual Installation**
- Install PostgreSQL 12+ and the pgvector extension
- See [pgvector installation guide](https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#installation)
3. Set up environment:
```bash
cd apps/sim
cp .env.example .env # Configure with required variables (DATABASE_URL, BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, BETTER_AUTH_URL)
```
Update your `.env` file with the database URL:
```bash
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:your_password@localhost:5432/simstudio"
```
4. Set up the database:
```bash
bunx drizzle-kit migrate
```
5. Start the development servers:
**Recommended approach - run both servers together (from project root):**
```bash
bun run dev:full
```
This starts both the main Next.js application and the realtime socket server required for full functionality.
**Alternative - run servers separately:**
Next.js app (from project root):
```bash
bun run dev
```
Realtime socket server (from `apps/sim` directory in a separate terminal):
```bash
cd apps/sim
bun run dev:sockets
```
## Tech Stack
- **Framework**: [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/) (App Router)
- **Runtime**: [Bun](https://bun.sh/)
- **Database**: PostgreSQL with [Drizzle ORM](https://orm.drizzle.team)
- **Authentication**: [Better Auth](https://better-auth.com)
- **UI**: [Shadcn](https://ui.shadcn.com/), [Tailwind CSS](https://tailwindcss.com)
- **State Management**: [Zustand](https://zustand-demo.pmnd.rs/)
- **Flow Editor**: [ReactFlow](https://reactflow.dev/)
- **Docs**: [Fumadocs](https://fumadocs.vercel.app/)
- **Monorepo**: [Turborepo](https://turborepo.org/)
- **Realtime**: [Socket.io](https://socket.io/)
- **Background Jobs**: [Trigger.dev](https://trigger.dev/)
## Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please see our [Contributing Guide](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) for details.
## License
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
Made with ❤️ by the Sim Team