Running Flowise using Queue

By default, Flowise runs in a NodeJS main thread. However, with large number of predictions, this does not scale well. Therefore there are 2 modes you can configure: main (default) and queue.

Queue Mode

With the following environment variables, you can run Flowise in queue mode.

In queue mode, the main server will be responsible for processing requests, sending jobs to message queue. Main server will not execute the job. One or multiple workers receive jobs from the queue, execute them and send the results back.

This allows for dynamic scaling: you can add workers to handle increased workloads or remove them during lighter periods.

Here’s how it works:

1. The main server receive prediction or other requests from the web, adding them as jobs to the queue.
2. These job queues are essential lists of tasks waiting to be processed. Workers, which are essentially separate processes or threads, pick up these jobs and execute them.
3. Once the job is completed, the worker:
   • Write the results in the database.
   • Send an event to indicate the completion of the job.
4. Main server receive the event, and send the result back to UI.
5. Redis pub/sub is also used for streaming data back to UI.

Local Setup

Start Redis

Before starting main server and workers, Redis need to be running first. You can run Redis on a separate machine, but make sure that it’s accessible by the server and worker instances.

For example, you can get Redis running on your Docker following this guide.

Start Main Server

This is the same as you were to run Flowise by default, with the exceptions of configuring the environment variables mentioned above.

pnpm start

Start Worker

Same as main server, environment variables above must be configured. We recommend just using the same .env file for both main and worker instances. The only difference is how to run the workers. Open another terminal and run:

pnpm run start-worker

Docker Setup

Method 1: Pre-built Images (Recommended)

This method uses pre-built Docker images from Docker Hub, making it the fastest and most reliable deployment option.

Step 1: Setup Environment

Create a .env file in the docker directory:

# Basic Configuration
PORT=3000
WORKER_PORT=5566
 
# Queue Configuration (Required)
MODE=queue
QUEUE_NAME=flowise-queue
REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
 
# Optional Queue Settings
WORKER_CONCURRENCY=5
REMOVE_ON_AGE=24
REMOVE_ON_COUNT=1000
QUEUE_REDIS_EVENT_STREAM_MAX_LEN=1000
ENABLE_BULLMQ_DASHBOARD=false
 
# Database (Optional - defaults to SQLite)
DATABASE_PATH=/root/.flowise
 
# Storage
BLOB_STORAGE_PATH=/root/.flowise/storage
 
# Secret Keys
SECRETKEY_PATH=/root/.flowise
 
# Logging
LOG_PATH=/root/.flowise/logs

Step 2: Deploy

cd docker
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-prebuilt.yml up -d

Step 3: Verify Deployment

# Check container status
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-prebuilt.yml ps
 
# View logs
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-prebuilt.yml logs -f flowise
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-prebuilt.yml logs -f flowise-worker

Method 2: Build from Source

This method builds Flowise from source code, useful for development or custom modifications.

Step 1: Setup Environment

Create the same .env file as in Method 1.

Step 2: Deploy

cd docker
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-source.yml up -d

Step 3: Build Process

The source build will:

• Build the main Flowise application from source
• Build the worker image from source
• Set up Redis and networking

Step 4: Monitor Build

# Watch build progress
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-source.yml logs -f
 
# Check final status
docker compose -f docker-compose-queue-source.yml ps

Health Checks

All compose files include health checks:

# Check main instance health
curl http://localhost:3000/api/v1/ping
 
# Check worker health
curl http://localhost:5566/healthz

Queue Dashboard

Set ENABLE_BULLMQ_DASHBOARD to true will allow users to view all the jobs, status, result, data by navigating to <your-flowise-url.com>/admin/queues