Introduction
What Niles is, and which page to read first.
Niles (NYE-uls), Neural Intelligence, Lightweight Edge System, is an open-source, AI-first home automation system for a household that wants voice answers in well under a second, config and naming instead of setup screens, and a language model built in.
It is self-hosted, with Docker Compose or Kubernetes, reaches Zigbee devices through Zigbee2MQTT, and listens through its own satellites: a reSpeaker XVF3800 with Niles's firmware and an on-device "Niles" wake word. A command goes to a regex router first, then to a fast model with tools, and the bigger jobs go to the assistant (Claude Code or ChatGPT, on the household's own subscription).
Living with Niles: start with Talking to Niles for what you can say, and Lighting and scenes for what it does with your lights. The rest of Using Niles covers the app: the chat, what Niles saves for you, approvals, automations, add-ons and accounts, and who can see what.
Setting it up: Self-hosting runs Niles with Docker Compose or Kubernetes, Satellites and hardware lists what a house needs, and Naming your devices is the one rule the rest depends on.
Building on Niles: Overall architecture points to the crate map and the house rules, Voice loop follows a command through the tiers, and Writing add-ons is the guide for third-party add-ons. To change Niles itself, read CONTRIBUTING.md and the code of conduct.