Run private automations on a Mac you already own
Self-Hosted Automation
Private AI automations on a single Mac Mini
The situation
The problem
We worked with an established business owner who is both data concsious and a bottleneck for his own business growth. The entire business operation is in his head. The work that needed automating touched information he did not want on someone else's servers.
How it usually works
Cloud automation platforms see every payload. Triggers, documents, and customer records flow through a hosted runtime you do not own. Convenience is rented at scaling usage fees; the data path is not yours.
How we ran it
He purchased a 64GB Mac Mini and used Courier for the local model runtime; n8n orchestrates the workflows. All the sensitive information run through his device without any usage fees. Recursion cannot see the Mac, the jobs, or the volume.
Strategy
The owner is saving time for himself and staff with intelligent systems without giving up IP or worrying about price hikes.
Implementation
A self-hosted n8n and Courier stack on a single Mac Mini. Courier runs the models locally; n8n wires the private automations. No new cloud tenancy for the work that used to live in his head.