Local Development Setup

This setup provides a local development environment for the No Code Architect Toolkit using Docker Compose with MinIO for S3-compatible storage.

What’s Included

• NCA Toolkit: Built locally from Dockerfile (no pre-built image)
• n8n: Workflow automation platform for connecting services
• MinIO: S3-compatible object storage with web console
• No SSL/Traefik: Simplified setup for local development

Quick Start

1. Start the local environment:

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

2. Access the applications:

   • NCA Toolkit: http://localhost:8080
   • n8n: http://localhost:5678
   • MinIO Console: http://localhost:9001 (minioadmin / minioadmin123)

3. View logs:

   docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml logs -f
   

4. Stop the environment:

   docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml down
   

Configuration

Environment Variables

All configuration is in .env.local:

• API_KEY: local-dev-key-123
• S3 Storage: Configured for local MinIO instance
• Debug Mode: Enabled for development

MinIO Setup

• Access Key: minioadmin
• Secret Key: minioadmin123
• Bucket: nca-toolkit-local (auto-created)
• Endpoint: http://minio:9000 (internal) / http://localhost:9000 (external)

Data Persistence

• Application storage: Persisted in storage volume
• Application logs: Persisted in logs volume
• MinIO data: Persisted in minio_data volume

Troubleshooting

Rebuild Application

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

Reset MinIO Data

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

View MinIO Bucket

1. Open http://localhost:9001
2. Login with minioadmin / minioadmin123
3. Browse the nca-toolkit-local bucket

Service Communication

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

Data Persistence

• Application storage: Persisted in storage volume
• Application logs: Persisted in logs volume
• MinIO data: Persisted in minio_data volume
• n8n data: Persisted in n8n_data volume
• n8n files: Shared via ./local-files directory

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   NCA Toolkit   │    │       n8n       │    │     MinIO       │
│   localhost:8080│    │   localhost:5678│    │  localhost:9000 │
│                 │    │                 │    │  (S3 API)       │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         └───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┘
                                 │
                      ┌─────────────────┐
                      │  MinIO Console  │
                      │  localhost:9001 │
                      └─────────────────┘

The setup uses a custom Docker network (nca-network) for service communication and exposes only necessary ports to the host.