Paperless-AI Installation: AI-Powered Document Analysis for Paperless-NGX

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Paperless-AI is an AI-powered extension for Paperless-NGX that takes your document management to the next level. With automatic document classification, intelligent tagging, and semantic search, you can manage your documents even more efficiently. In this guide, we'll show you how to add Paperless-AI to your existing Paperless-NGX installation.

Prerequisite: This guide assumes you already have Paperless-NGX installed. If not, first follow our Paperless-NGX installation guide.

Features of Paperless-AI

Paperless-AI extends Paperless-NGX with impressive AI capabilities:

🔄 Automatic Document Processing

Automatically detects new documents
Analyzes content using AI models
Automatically assigns title, tags, document type, and correspondent

🧠 RAG-Based AI Chat

Ask natural language questions about your documents:

"When did I sign my rental agreement?"
"What was the amount of the last electricity bill?"
"Which documents mention my health insurance?"

⚙️ Flexible Configuration

Enable only the features you want
Define rules for document processing
Supports various AI models

Requirements

Ubuntu Server (tested with 24.04)
Working Paperless-NGX installation
Docker and Docker Compose

Installation

1. Navigate to the Paperless directory

cd /opt/paperless

2. Clone and start Paperless-AI

sudo git clone https://github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai.git
cd paperless-ai
sudo docker-compose up -d

That's it! Paperless-AI is now running on port 3000.

3. Get API key from Paperless-NGX

Log into your Paperless-NGX installation and navigate to your profile settings. There you'll find your API token, which you'll need for connecting to Paperless-AI.

Set up HTTPS with Caddy

Since you're already running Paperless-NGX with Caddy, we'll add Paperless-AI as a subdomain.

1. Create DNS record

Create an A record for your subdomain:

Subdomain: paperless-ai
Type: A
Target: Your server's IP address

2. Extend Caddy configuration

Edit your existing Caddy configuration:

sudo nano /opt/paperless/caddy/Caddyfile

Add the following section:

# Paperless-AI subdomain
paperless-ai.your-domain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

3. Reload Caddy

sudo systemctl reload caddy

Caddy will automatically create an SSL certificate for the new subdomain.

Initial Configuration

1. Open Paperless-AI Setup Wizard

Open in your browser:

https://paperless-ai.your-domain.com

The setup wizard starts automatically on first access.

2. Set up Paperless-NGX connection

In the setup wizard:

Paperless URL: Enter the HTTPS URL of your Paperless-NGX installation
Example: https://paperless.your-domain.com
Username: Your Paperless-NGX username
API Token: Paste the previously copied API token

3. Configure AI model

Choose your preferred AI model:

Option 1: OpenAI

Model: gpt-4o-mini (cost-effective and efficient)
API Key: Enter your OpenAI API key

Option 2: Other supported providers

DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Perplexity, Together.ai and many more
Local models with Ollama for maximum privacy

Privacy tip: For sensitive documents, we recommend using local AI models. We also offer dedicated AI servers where you can run your own models.

4. Enable features

After successful setup, you'll reach the dashboard. Enable the desired features:

Title Generation: Automatic title assignment based on document content
Tag Assignment: Intelligent tag assignment
Document Type Classification: Automatic document type detection
Correspondent Detection: Detection of senders/correspondents

Restart container (important!)

After initial configuration, the container must be restarted once to build the RAG index:

cd /opt/paperless/paperless-ai
sudo docker-compose restart

Usage

Automatic Processing

As soon as new documents arrive in Paperless-NGX, they are automatically analyzed by Paperless-AI and enriched with metadata.

AI Chat for Documents

Open a document in Paperless-NGX
Click the "AI Chat" button
Ask questions about the document content

Manual Processing

For sensitive documents, you can manually select documents for processing at https://paperless-ai.your-domain.com/manual.

Operation Tips

1. Define rules

You can create rules to control which documents are processed:

Process only specific tags
Exclude documents with sensitive information
Automatic actions for certain document types

2. Optimize performance

Use gpt-4o-mini for good value
For many documents: Enable batch processing in settings
Local models: At least 8GB RAM for optimal performance

3. Monitoring

# View logs
sudo docker-compose logs -f

# Check container status
sudo docker ps

Troubleshooting

Connection to Paperless-NGX fails

Check if the URL is correct (with https://)
Ensure the API token is valid
Check firewall rules

AI model not responding

Check API key and credit
Check logs: sudo docker-compose logs -f

Container won't start

# Check permissions
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /opt/paperless/paperless-ai

# Restart container
sudo docker-compose down
sudo docker-compose up -d

Conclusion

With Paperless-AI, you transform your Paperless-NGX installation into an intelligent document management system. AI-powered analysis and categorization saves time and makes your documents even more discoverable through semantic search.

Want to use Paperless-AI in your company? We support you with installation, configuration, and operation - including privacy-compliant AI models on dedicated servers.

Schedule consultation now