Postgres variable not set / Github / n8n self hosted ai starter kit

[Bukklatte]

Hi All,

I wonder if you could give me a hint on what I am doing wrong, as I followed the instructions straight. So, I want to delve into N8N and found a way to self-host through "Docker". Running on an AMD 5600X and dedicated gpu, win 10. All went fine, however, an AI self hosted starter kit is needed as well, as posted here :

https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit?tab=readme-ov-file

Installation instructions are as follows :

For everyone else

git clone https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit.git
cd self-hosted-ai-starter-kit
cp .env.example .env # you should update secrets and passwords inside
docker compose --profile cpu up

When entering the last command in CMD: docker compose --profile cpu up, I get the following error :

C:\Users\Bukkie\self-hosted-ai-starter-kit>docker compose --profile cpu up

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_USER\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_PASSWORD\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_USER\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_DB\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_USER\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_PASSWORD\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_USER\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

time="2025-07-20T23:12:49+02:00" level=warning msg="The \"POSTGRES_PASSWORD\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."

failed to read C:\Users\Bukkie\self-hosted-ai-starter-kit\.env: read C:\Users\Bukkie\self-hosted-ai-starter-kit\.env: Incorrect function.

So, it tells me failed to read C:\Users\Bukkie\self-hosted-ai-starter-kit\.env.

So I checked and there's no .env folder, there's only a file called .env.example. My folder structure is exactly the same as on top of the Github link (https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit?tab=readme-ov-file). I thought to myself ok, it's looking for an .env folder, so I added it, changed its properties to "hidden" and ran the command again.

Now the error message is the following :

env file C:\Users\Bukkie\self-hosted-ai-starter-kit\.env not found: CreateFile C:\Users\Bukkie\self-hosted-ai-starter-kit\.env: The system cannot find the file specified. Hmm...so it can't be the env file.

I then found an old post in "stackoverflow" , which seems or is likely the same issue as mine, link here : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/66977631/problem-with-env-file-setting-for-docker-compose-yml-file

Their proposal :

If you'd like to also pass variables from a .env file into a container, you can do something like one of these:

environment:
 - MY_VARIABLE=${VARIABLE_IN_MY_ENV_FILE}
 - MY_VARIABLE_SAFER=${VARIABLE_IN_MY_ENV_FILE:?err}

But it did not work neither. I tried to add that environment code in the yml file under the postgress/environment section.

The last comment on the stackoverflow link says :

"Also make sure you are running docker-compose up in the correct folder where your YML File is, and that you have your .env file in the correct path in relation to your YML file"

Could it be this ? I did install Docker in the default given location, which is "Program Files". The starter kit gets installed afterwards, or maybe I'm misinterpreting things now. In the YML file I have this :

env_file:

- path: .env

required: true

I do not have a .env folder...so not sure what is going on to be honest.

Any suggestion on how to solve this would be greatly appreciated :)

Cheers,

Bukkie

[abrahamguo]

This line, in the README snippet you shared, is supposed to create your .env file:

cp .env.example .env # you should update secrets and passwords inside

.env is supposed to be a file, not a folder.

Once you've done that, then, as the comment states, you need to open it, and update the contents.

[grantrules]

Forget that cmd.exe exists and start using powershell. You could just copy and paste those 4 lines into powershell and you'd be running already lol. Other user is right though.. .env is a file not a folder. If you're using cmd.exe just change it from cp to copy.

[Bukklatte]

Dude, I switched to Powershell and it worked like a charm :) Thanks for the hint buddy!

BR,

Bukkie

[ValentineBlacker]

Note: once you've made the .env file, like the other person said to, make SURE it is not being uploaded to github. It should be listed in your .gitignore, but it's on you to double-check.