Self-host Gydmation AI

Gydmation runs on your own machine, in Docker. Your prompts, workflows, and n8n credentials are stored there, not on our servers.

Overview

Gydmation ships as a single Docker image. There's no separate database to configure, no cloud account required to run it — Docker Compose handles the whole setup with two commands.

Why self-hosted: your workflows and n8n connection stay on your machine and are never sent to our servers. Your prompts go only to the AI model you choose; on Pro they pass through our model service to Anthropic without being stored. We keep only your account and, if you're on Pro, your billing status.

Requirements

  • Docker Desktop, installed and running — get it here if you don't have it
  • About 4GB of free disk space for the image
  • Windows, macOS, or Linux — anywhere Docker Desktop runs

Installing Gydmation

Download the setup package (free, with a Gydmation account), then start it.

Download Gydmation AI View on GitHub
  1. Download the setup package. Sign in or create a free account first; the download starts right after.
  2. Extract the ZIP somewhere you'll remember — for example C:\Gydmation on Windows, or ~/Gydmation on macOS/Linux. (Avoid C:\Program Files — Windows locks that folder down to admin-only access, which can make Docker Compose fail with a permissions error.)
  3. Easiest: double-click Start-Gydmation.bat on Windows, or run sh start-gydmation.sh on macOS/Linux. It downloads, starts and opens Gydmation for you. Or open a terminal inside that folder and run the commands below.

Developers can also get docker-compose.yml from the GitHub repository.

Then run:

# pulls the image from Docker Hub
docker compose pull
# starts it
docker compose up -d

The first run also sets up an AI model in the background — this takes a few minutes, and happens again briefly on every restart. That's expected.

Opening it

Once it's running, open:

http://localhost:8080

You'll land on the sign-up screen the first time. Signing in again later just uses that same address.

Changing the port

Already using port 8080 for something else? Set it before starting:

$env:GYDMATION_PORT=3000
docker compose up -d

Then open http://localhost:3000 instead.

Updating

Same two commands as installing:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Docker only downloads what's changed. Your account, history, and settings are untouched by an update.

Your data

Everything — your account, chat history, connected n8n credentials — lives in a Docker volume, separate from the application image. Stopping or updating Gydmation never touches it.

docker compose down

This stops the app without removing your data. It's exactly where you left it next time you run docker compose up -d.

Uninstalling

To remove Gydmation and its data completely:

docker compose down
docker volume rm gydmation-data

The second command deletes your data permanently — only run it if you actually want everything gone.

Troubleshooting

"docker" isn't recognized

Docker Desktop isn't running, or isn't installed. Open the Docker Desktop application and wait for it to say "Running," then try again.

Port already in use

Something else is using 8080. See Changing the port above.

Still stuck?

docker compose logs -f

This almost always shows exactly what's wrong. If you're stuck, email us that output: support@hacroo.com