Quick Start - Local Testing

Try n8n locally on your computer first:

• Using npx (easiest): npx n8n
• Using npm: npm install n8n -g && n8n
• Using Docker: docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n

After starting, open http://localhost:5678 in your browser.

Production Hosting Platforms

For production use, host n8n on a cloud platform:

• DigitalOcean: One-click n8n droplet available
• Railway: Deploy with git integration
• AWS EC2: Full control, requires setup
• Heroku: Quick deployment with add-ons
• Google Cloud Run: Serverless container hosting
• Azure: Container instances or App Service

Step-by-Step: Deploy to DigitalOcean

1. Create a DigitalOcean account
2. Create a new Droplet (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, minimum $6/month)
3. SSH into your droplet: ssh root@your-droplet-ip
4. Install Docker: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh && sh get-docker.sh
5. Install Docker Compose: apt install docker-compose -y
6. Create the docker-compose.yml file (see above)
7. Start n8n: docker-compose up -d
8. Configure firewall: ufw allow 5678 && ufw enable
9. Access n8n at http://your-droplet-ip:5678
10. Set up SSL with Caddy or Nginx (see Security section)

Step-by-Step: Deploy to Railway

1. Create a Railway account
2. Click "New Project" → "Deploy from Docker Image"
3. Use image: n8nio/n8n:latest
4. Add environment variables:
   • N8N_PORT=5678
   • N8N_PROTOCOL=https
   • WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-app.railway.app/
5. Add a volume: /home/node/.n8n
6. Deploy and wait for the URL to be generated

Essential Environment Variables

• N8N_HOST - The host on which n8n should be reachable (e.g., n8n.yourdomain.com)
• N8N_PORT - The port n8n should run on (default: 5678)
• N8N_PROTOCOL - The protocol: http or https (use https in production)
• WEBHOOK_URL - The URL for webhook calls (e.g., https://n8n.yourdomain.com/)
• GENERIC_TIMEZONE - Your timezone (e.g., America/New_York, Europe/London)
• NODE_ENV - Set to production for production deployments

Database Configuration (PostgreSQL)

For production, use PostgreSQL instead of SQLite:

• DB_TYPE=postgresdb
• DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=localhost
• DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
• DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
• DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
• DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

Authentication Configuration

• N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true - Enable basic auth
• N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin - Admin username
• N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=secure_password - Admin password

Complete docker-compose.yml Example

version: '3.8'

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15
    restart: always
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=n8n
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=n8n_password
      - POSTGRES_DB=n8n
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=n8n_password
      - N8N_HOST=yourdomain.com
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://yourdomain.com/
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      - postgres

volumes:
  postgres_data:
  n8n_data:

Authentication Methods

• Basic email/password authentication
• LDAP integration
• SAML SSO
• OAuth providers

Scaling Considerations

• Queue mode for workflow execution
• Database optimization
• Load balancing strategies
• Resource monitoring

SSL/TLS Setup with Nginx

1. Install Certbot: apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

2. Get SSL certificate: certbot --nginx -d n8n.yourdomain.com

3. Configure Nginx (/etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name n8n.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name n8n.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/n8n.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/n8n.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5678;
        proxy_set_header Connection '';
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        chunked_transfer_encoding off;
        proxy_buffering off;
        proxy_cache off;
    }
}

Security Features

• SSL/TLS encryption: Always use HTTPS in production
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Enable in user settings
• Single Sign-On (SSO): Available in Enterprise edition
• Basic Authentication: Use environment variables to set credentials
• Firewall Rules: Only expose necessary ports (80, 443)
• Regular Updates: Keep n8n updated for security patches

Firewall Configuration (UFW)

# Allow SSH (be careful not to lock yourself out!)
ufw allow 22

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS
ufw allow 80
ufw allow 443

# Enable firewall
ufw enable

# Check status
ufw status

n8n Won't Start

Check logs:

# Docker
docker logs n8n

# Docker Compose
docker-compose logs n8n

Common fixes:

• Ensure port 5678 is not already in use
• Check file permissions for volumes
• Verify environment variables are correct

Webhooks Not Working

Check:

• WEBHOOK_URL is set correctly
• Firewall allows incoming traffic
• SSL is properly configured if using HTTPS
• Domain DNS is pointing to your server

Database Connection Errors

PostgreSQL troubleshooting:

• Verify database credentials in environment variables
• Ensure PostgreSQL container is running: docker ps
• Check network connectivity between containers
• Test connection: docker exec -it postgres psql -U n8n -d n8n

Performance Issues

Optimize for production:

• Use PostgreSQL instead of SQLite
• Enable queue mode for workflow execution
• Increase server resources (CPU, RAM)
• Monitor with tools like Grafana or Prometheus

Getting Help

• Official Documentation: docs.n8n.io
• Community Forum: community.n8n.io
• GitHub Issues: github.com/n8n-io/n8n
• Discord: Join the n8n Discord server