How to self-host n8n with Docker Compose

What is n8n?

n8n is a workflow automation platform that connects APIs, databases and AI models with a visual node editor, much like Zapier or Make. Its source code is on GitHub under the Sustainable Use License, a fair-code license that lets you self-host it for free for internal use. It ships hundreds of integrations, JavaScript and Python code nodes, and AI agent building blocks.

Requirements

• A Linux server with 1 vCPU and 2 GB of RAM to start. Give it more if you run many parallel executions.
• Docker Engine and Docker Compose v2.
• A domain name with a DNS record pointing at the server. Third-party services need a public HTTPS URL to call your webhooks.

Step 1: Prepare the server

The steps below assume Ubuntu 24.04 with Docker installed. If you need Docker, follow the official install guide. Then create a folder for the stack:

mkdir -p ~/n8n && cd ~/n8n

Step 2: Create the Docker Compose file

This stack runs n8n with Postgres, which the n8n team recommends for anything beyond testing. Save it as docker-compose.yml:

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: n8n
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_DB: n8n
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U n8n -d n8n"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 10

  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:stable
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678"
    environment:
      DB_TYPE: postgresdb
      DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST: postgres
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT: 5432
      DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE: n8n
      DB_POSTGRESDB_USER: n8n
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      N8N_HOST: ${N8N_HOST}
      N8N_PROTOCOL: https
      N8N_PORT: 5678
      WEBHOOK_URL: https://${N8N_HOST}/
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: ${TZ}
      TZ: ${TZ}
      N8N_PROXY_HOPS: 1
      EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE: "true"
      EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE: 336
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy

volumes:
  db_data:
  n8n_data:

Create a .env file in the same folder:

N8N_HOST=n8n.example.com
TZ=Europe/London
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=CHANGE_ME
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=CHANGE_ME

Generate each secret with openssl rand -hex 32 and use a different value for each. Store a copy of N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY in your password manager: without it, a restored database is useless because every credential is encrypted with it. WEBHOOK_URL makes n8n show and register the public address for webhook triggers, and N8N_PROXY_HOPS=1 tells it to trust the X-Forwarded-* headers from your reverse proxy. EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE is in hours, so 336 keeps two weeks of execution history.

The stable tag follows the current stable release. To pin, replace it with an exact version from the n8n releases page.

Step 3: Start and open the app

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f n8n

When the log shows that the editor is accessible, finish Step 4 so you can open https://n8n.example.com. To test before DNS is ready, use an SSH tunnel: ssh -L 5678:127.0.0.1:5678 user@server, then browse to http://localhost:5678. On first load n8n asks you to create the owner account. That account has full admin rights, so use a strong password and turn on two-factor authentication in your user settings.

Step 4: Put it behind HTTPS

Port 5678 is bound to 127.0.0.1 in the Compose file, so only a reverse proxy on the same host can reach it. With Caddy:

n8n.example.com {
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:5678
}

Caddy issues the certificate automatically and passes WebSocket traffic, which the editor needs for live execution updates. With Nginx Proxy Manager, create a proxy host to port 5678 and switch on "Websockets Support".

Backups and upgrades

Back up the Postgres database (docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U n8n n8n > n8n.sql), the n8n_data volume, and your .env file with the encryption key. You can also export workflows as JSON with docker compose exec n8n n8n export:workflow --all --output=/home/node/.n8n/backup.json.

Read the release notes before a major version jump, then upgrade:

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Database migrations run automatically when the new container starts.

Troubleshooting

• "Mismatching encryption keys" on start: the key in .env does not match the one saved in the n8n_data volume. Restore the original key rather than generating a new one.
• Webhook URLs show localhost:5678: WEBHOOK_URL is missing or wrong. Fix it and run docker compose up -d to recreate the container.
• Editor shows "Connection lost": the proxy is dropping WebSocket connections. Enable WebSocket support or check timeouts on your proxy.
• Database grows quickly: keep execution pruning on and lower EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE.

Next steps

Set up SMTP so you can invite team members, connect your first credentials, and import a template from the n8n workflow library. For high-volume use, look at queue mode with Redis and separate worker containers.