Install n8n with Docker Compose

n8n is a node-based workflow automation tool in the spirit of Zapier, except self-hosted, fair-code, and far more capable once you stop dragging boxes and start writing JavaScript. It's the most useful thing you can put on a home server for glue work nobody notices is missing.

What it is

Triggers (webhook, cron, RSS, email) feed into nodes that call APIs, transform data, run shell commands, and hit Postgres. It has 400+ integrations, a usable code node, and sub-workflow support. Most people use it for small glue: notify yourself, sync two databases, generate a report on a schedule.

Before you start

• The encryption key is not optional. n8n encrypts stored credentials with it. Lose it and every saved password in every workflow is unreadable, forever.
• Use Postgres from day one. The default SQLite mode writes the whole database on every save and gets slow and occasionally corrupt under load.
• Understand the webhook split: n8n offers WEBHOOK_URL for browser-facing links and a separate WEBHOOK_TEST_URL used while a workflow is in test mode. Point both at the same proxy or testers will get 404s.

1 — Create the directory

mkdir -p ~/services/n8n/data
cd ~/services/n8n
openssl rand -hex 24   # N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY

2 — Write the compose file

services:
  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678"
    environment:
      N8N_HOST: workflow.example.com
      N8N_PORT: "5678"
      N8N_PROTOCOL: https
      WEBHOOK_URL: https://workflow.example.com/
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: UTC
      TZ: UTC
      N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: CHANGE_ME_48_hex_chars
      N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS: "true"
      N8N_SECURE_COOKIE: "true"
      N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED: "false"
      N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED: "true"
      DB_TYPE: postgresdb
      DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST: db
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT: 5432
      DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE: n8n
      DB_POSTGRESDB_USER: n8n
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD: CHANGE_ME
    volumes:
      - ./data:/home/node/.n8n

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    container_name: n8n-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: n8n
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: CHANGE_ME
      POSTGRES_DB: n8n
    volumes:
      - ./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U n8n"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

3 — Start it

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f n8n | grep -i "editor is now accessible\|error"

4 — First-run setup

1. Create the owner account at http://yourhost:5678. If open registration is left on, anyone who finds the URL creates an account — turn it off in Settings → General → User management immediately after.
2. Set a timezone in Settings to match your own, or cron triggers fire at the wrong hour and you waste an evening debugging it.
3. Build one trivial workflow to prove the loop: a Schedule Trigger every 5 minutes → a HTTP Request node hitting a public API → a log. Once that fires, everything else is just adding nodes.
4. Wire up the credentials you'll actually use, and enable External secrets if you'd rather not store API keys in the database at all.

5 — Operating notes

# export everything, on a schedule
docker exec -u node n8n n8n export:workflow --all --output=/data/backup

# import elsewhere
docker exec -u node n8n n8n import:workflow --separate --input=/data/backup