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Quickstart

This guide helps you get started with Instill Core, whether you're self-hosting the Community Edition or using the fully managed platform.

Editions

Instill Core is available in two editions:

  • Instill Core CE (Community Edition) – An open-source, self-hosted version available on GitHub. Ideal for developers and teams who want to run and manage the platform independently.
  • Instill Core (Enterprise Edition) – A fully managed, cloud-hosted service maintained by Instill AI. Perfect for teams that want a production-ready experience without managing infrastructure.

Both editions share the same core architecture and capabilities.

Instill Core CE (Self-hosted)

Run Instill Core CE on your local machine or infrastructure using Docker Compose.

Prerequisites

Operating System

Requirements and Instructions

macOS or Linux

Instill Core works natively

Windows

  • Use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2)
  • Install latest yq from GitHub repository
  • Install latest Docker Desktop and enable WSL2 integration (tutorial)
  • (Optional) Install cuda-toolkit on WSL2 (NVIDIA tutorial)

All systems

  • Docker Engine v25 or later
  • Docker Compose v2 or later
  • Install latest stable Docker and Docker Compose

Hardware Requirements: See our Docker Resource Requirements

Launch Instill Core CE

To launch:

git clone -b $VERSION https://github.com/instill-ai/instill-core.git && cd instill-core
make run

Replace $VERSION with the latest release tag.

📘

If you switch versions later, run make run for auto-upgrade.

Login

Once the services are up and running, visit {user.consoleBaseUrl} to access the Console UI.

Use the default credentials:

  • Username: admin
  • Password: password

You'll be asked to change your password (min. 8 characters) before using the Console.

Shutdown

To stop and clean up all resources:

make down

For Kubernetes, CLI-based deployment, or advanced setup, refer to our Deployment Guide.

Instill Core (Enterprise Edition)

The fully managed version of Instill Core is hosted and operated by the Instill AI team. It includes:

  • Automatic provisioning and scaling
  • Built-in monitoring and maintenance
  • Seamless upgrades and uptime
📘

To request access to Instill Core (EE), please sign up for early access.

Next Steps

Now that you're set up, dive into the platform's core capabilities:

Artifact

Parse and structure files into an AI-ready, RAG-compatible Catalog.

Pipeline

Build modular pipelines to automate unstructured data ETL and AI workflows.

Model

Serve, orchestrate and monitor AI models across your workflows

Examples and Tutorials

Explore practical examples, product recipes, and how-tos:

These resources demonstrate how to build real-world applications with Instill Core CE or EE.

Updated 8 days ago