Complete Dify Tutorial for Beginners (2026)
This step-by-step tutorial takes you from zero to a working AI chatbot with Dify. No prior experience needed. By the end, you'll have a deployed chatbot powered by your choice of LLM — ready to share with anyone.
What is Dify?
Dify is an open-source platform for building LLM-powered applications. It provides a visual interface to create chatbots, AI agents, and RAG applications — without writing code. Think of it as a complete toolkit for AI app development: model management, knowledge bases, workflow orchestration, and app publishing all in one place.
Dify supports every major AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral) as well as local models via Ollama. You control the prompts, the data, and where everything is hosted.
Prerequisites
Before starting, make sure you have:
What you'll need
A Dify account or server
Dify Cloud (free) or a VPS with Docker installed
An LLM API key
OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Gemini — any one will do
A web browser
Chrome, Firefox, Safari — any modern browser works
Basic terminal knowledge
Only needed if you're self-hosting. Not required for Dify Cloud.
Get Dify Running
You have two paths. Choose the one that fits your situation:
Option A: Dify Cloud
- Go to cloud.dify.ai
- Click "Get Started" and create a free account
- You're in — no setup required
Free tier includes 200 message credits/month. Good for testing.
Option B: Self-Host on Hetzner
- Get a Hetzner CX22 server (~€3.79/mo)
- SSH in and run:
git clone https://github.com/langgenius/dify.git && cd dify/docker && docker compose up -d - Open port 80 — Dify is live
Connect Your LLM
Dify needs to connect to an LLM before you can build anything. This takes under 2 minutes:
Click your avatar (top right) → Settings
Go to Model Providers in the left sidebar
Click OpenAI (or your preferred provider)
Paste your API key and click Save
Get your OpenAI key at platform.openai.com/api-keys
Click "Test" to verify the connection works
Create Your First Chatbot
Let's build a simple customer support chatbot. This takes about 5 minutes:
Open Studio
Click "Studio" in the top navigation bar.
Create App
Click the "+ Create App" button in the top right.
Choose Chatbot
Select "Chatbot" from the app type options. Click Next.
Name your app
Give it a name like "Customer Support Bot". Click Create.
Select your model
In the model selector (top right of the canvas), choose GPT-4o or your preferred model.
Write a system prompt
In the "Instructions" text box, type: "You are a helpful customer support assistant. Be concise, friendly, and accurate. If you don't know the answer, say so."
Click Publish
Hit the blue "Publish" button in the top right. Your chatbot is now live.
Test & Share Your Chatbot
Now let's make sure it works and share it with others:
Preview Panel
On the right side of the Studio, you'll see a chat preview. Type a message and hit Enter to test your bot. Changes to the system prompt take effect immediately in preview mode.
Share Link
After publishing, go to Overview → click "Run" to open the public chat page. Copy the URL and share it with anyone — they can chat with your bot without logging in to Dify.
Embed on a Website
Go to Overview → Embed → copy the iframe or script tag. Paste it into any website to add a chat widget. Fully customizable colors and position.
API Access
Every Dify app automatically gets a REST API. Go to API Reference to get your API key and call it from any application, including n8n, Zapier, or your own code.
Build a Knowledge Base (RAG)
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) lets your chatbot answer questions from your documents. This is one of Dify's killer features:
Click "Knowledge" in the top navigation
Click "+ Create Knowledge"
Upload your documents (PDF, Word, TXT, Markdown, web pages)
Choose chunk settings (default works well for most cases)
Click "Save & Process" — Dify chunks and embeds your documents automatically
Go back to your chatbot in Studio → Context section → click "+ Add" → select your knowledge base
Publish again. Your bot can now answer from your documents.
Create a Workflow
Dify workflows let you build multi-step AI pipelines using a node-based visual editor. This is more powerful than a simple chatbot — you can chain LLM calls, make HTTP requests, run code, and branch based on conditions.
Start
The entry point. Defines input variables (e.g., user_query).
LLM Node
Calls your AI model with a prompt. Can use variables from previous nodes.
HTTP Request
Makes an API call to any external service. Use for fetching data.
Code Node
Run Python or JavaScript to transform data between steps.
IF/ELSE
Branch the workflow based on conditions. Route to different paths.
End
The output node. Defines what to return to the user.
Example: Article summarizer workflow
Next Steps
You've built your first Dify chatbot. Here's what to explore next:
Upgrade from Cloud to Self-Hosted
Move to a VPS for unlimited credits and full data ownership. Start at €3.79/mo.
Self-Host Guide →Compare Hosting Costs
Understand the full cost picture — VPS vs Dify Cloud vs free tier trade-offs.
Pricing Guide →Explore the Best Providers
Compare Hetzner, Hostinger, DigitalOcean, and more for self-hosting Dify.
Compare Providers →Dify vs Alternatives
See how Dify compares to Flowise, n8n, LangFlow, and OpenWebUI.
See Alternatives →Host Dify on Your Own Server
Dify Cloud is great for learning, but the real power comes from self-hosting: unlimited credits, full data privacy, and no monthly SaaS fees. Get started for as little as €3.79/month on Hetzner.