AI Assistant UI not appearing on self-hosted v1.109.1 despite correct ENV VARS

Hello everyone,

I’m having an issue where the AI Assistant UI is not appearing on my self-hosted n8n instance. I only see the classic “Add first step…” canvas (I can’t see the “what would you like to automate?” text box meassage).

Here are my setup details and the troubleshooting steps I’ve already taken:

My Setup:

  • n8n Version: 1.109.1

  • Deployment Method: Docker via EasyPanel

  • Database: SQLite

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

  1. I have confirmed my n8n is running version 1.109.1.

  2. I have cleared my browser cache completely (Safari, Chrome) and tested in Incognito mode and on different browsers. The issue persists.

  3. My server logs are clean and show a healthy startup without errors.

  4. I have configured my environment variables, and I have used docker exec to verify that n8n is correctly seeing them inside the container.

Here is the output of the env command from inside my n8n container:

  • GIT_SHA=undefined
    NODE_VERSION=22.17.0
    HOSTNAME=2a4cf58dbc27
    YARN_VERSION=1.22.22
    SHLVL=1
    PORT=5678
    HOME=/home/node
    N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true
    NODE_ICU_DATA=/usr/local/lib/node_modules/full-icu
    N8N_AI_ENABLED=true
    TERM=xterm
    PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
    N8N_OPENAI_API_KEY=[my-APIKEY-is-correct]
    SHELL=/bin/sh
    DB_SQLITE_POOL_SIZE=10
    N8N_RELEASE_TYPE=stable
    N8N_TRUST_PROXY=true
    PWD=/home/node
    WEBHOOK_URL=https://testes-aulas-n8n.p2eq2n.easypanel.host
    DEPLOY_TIMESTAMP=1756425118115
    NODE_ENV=production
    
    

As you can see, N8N_AI_ENABLED is set to true and the OpenAI key is present. I also have N8N_TRUST_PROXY set correctly.

Is there any other configuration I might be missing for this feature to appear in the UI for version 1.109.1?

Here’s the UI I would like to have, but instead of that I just have the regular “start manualy” option.

Thank you!

Super curious about this question, if anyone can help here, it would be great :slight_smile: