Docker Deployment

Docker is the recommended way to deploy n8n, providing a consistent environment and easy updates. This guide covers everything from simple deployments to production-ready setups.

Quick Start

Simple Docker Run

The fastest way to get n8n running:

Create a Docker volume

docker volume create n8n_data

This persists your workflows, credentials, and settings between container restarts.

Run n8n container

docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n

Access n8n

Open your browser to http://localhost:5678

The /home/node/.n8n folder contains critical data including:

Encryption key for credentials
Webhook URLs
SQLite database (default)
User settings and configuration

Always persist this folder or your credentials cannot be decrypted after restart!

Docker Compose Deployments

Single Instance with PostgreSQL

A production-ready single instance setup:

version: '3.8'

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:

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

  n8n:
    image: ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    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=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      - N8N_HOST=${N8N_HOST}
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://${N8N_HOST}/
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy

# Database credentials
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-database-password

# n8n configuration
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secure-encryption-key-min-10-chars
N8N_HOST=your-domain.com

Generate a secure encryption key:

openssl rand -base64 32

Store this key securely! If lost, you cannot decrypt existing credentials.

With External Task Runners

Deploy n8n with isolated task runners for enhanced security:

version: '3.8'

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:

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

  n8n:
    image: ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 5678:5678
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      # Task Runner configuration
      - N8N_RUNNERS_MODE=external
      - N8N_RUNNERS_BROKER_LISTEN_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0
      - N8N_RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN=${RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN}
      - N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_CONCURRENCY=10
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy

  n8n-runner:
    image: ghcr.io/n8n-io/runners:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_BROKER_URI=http://n8n:5679
      - N8N_RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN=${RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN}
    depends_on:
      n8n:
        condition: service_healthy
    # Scale runners as needed
    deploy:
      replicas: 2

POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-database-password
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secure-encryption-key
RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN=your-secure-runner-token

Queue Mode (Scaling Setup)

Deploy n8n in queue mode with Redis and multiple workers:

version: '3.8'

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:
  redis_data:

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

  redis:
    image: redis:6.2.14-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    healthcheck:
      test: ['CMD', 'redis-cli', 'ping']
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

  n8n:
    image: ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 5678:5678
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      # Queue mode configuration
      - EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_DB=0
      # Metrics
      - N8N_METRICS=true
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy

  n8n-worker:
    image: ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: worker
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      # Queue mode configuration
      - EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
      - QUEUE_HEALTH_CHECK_ACTIVE=true
      # Worker concurrency
      - N8N_CONCURRENCY_PRODUCTION_LIMIT=10
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    # Scale workers as needed
    deploy:
      replicas: 2

POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-database-password
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secure-encryption-key

Worker Scaling: Adjust deploy.replicas based on your execution volume. Monitor CPU and memory usage to determine the optimal number of workers.

Docker Image Options

n8n provides multiple Docker images:

Main Images
Task Runners
Custom Builds

ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n

Official n8n image from GitHub Container Registry.Tags:

latest - Latest stable release
1.x.x - Specific version (e.g., 1.25.0)
next - Latest unstable/beta release

# Pull latest stable
docker pull ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:latest

# Pull specific version
docker pull ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:1.25.0

# Pull next/beta
docker pull ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n:next

ghcr.io/n8n-io/runners

Isolated task runner image for external mode.

docker pull ghcr.io/n8n-io/runners:latest

Use when:

Enhanced security isolation needed
Independent resource scaling required
Running untrusted workflow code

Building from Source

Build n8n from source for custom modifications:

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n.git
cd n8n

# Build (includes compilation + Docker image)
pnpm build:docker

Building from source requires pre-compilation. See /home/daytona/workspace/source/docker/images/n8n/Dockerfile for details.

Environment Variables for Docker

Key environment variables for Docker deployments:

Database Configuration

# PostgreSQL (recommended for production)
DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=secure-password
DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA=public

# SQLite (default, development only)
DB_TYPE=sqlite
DB_SQLITE_DATABASE=database.sqlite

Queue Mode (Redis)

EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_DB=0
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD=redis-password  # if using auth
QUEUE_HEALTH_CHECK_ACTIVE=true

Task Runners

# n8n main process
N8N_RUNNERS_MODE=external
N8N_RUNNERS_BROKER_LISTEN_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0
N8N_RUNNERS_BROKER_PORT=5679
N8N_RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN=your-secure-token
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_CONCURRENCY=10

# Runner process
N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_BROKER_URI=http://n8n:5679
N8N_RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN=your-secure-token

Security & Access

N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secure-key-min-10-chars
N8N_HOST=your-domain.com
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
N8N_PORT=5678
WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-domain.com/

Volume Mounts

Critical Data LocationsThe /home/node/.n8n directory contains:

config - Instance configuration
database.sqlite - Default database (if using SQLite)
.n8n.settings.json - Encryption key and settings

Always mount this directory to preserve data between restarts!

Recommended Mounts

volumes:
  # Primary data directory (required)
  - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
  
  # Custom certificates (optional)
  - ./custom-certs:/opt/custom-certificates:ro
  
  # Custom nodes (optional)
  - ./custom-nodes:/home/node/.n8n/custom

Updating n8n

Pull the latest image

docker compose pull

Stop and remove old containers

docker compose down

This preserves your data volumes. Your workflows and credentials remain safe.

Start with new image

docker compose up -d

Verify the update

docker compose logs -f n8n

Check for successful startup and database migrations.

Before Updating:

Check Breaking Changes
Backup your database and encryption key
Test updates in a staging environment first
Plan for brief downtime during the update

Health Checks

n8n exposes a health check endpoint at /healthz:

healthcheck:
  test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'wget --spider -q http://localhost:5678/healthz || exit 1']
  interval: 5s
  timeout: 5s
  retries: 10
  start_period: 30s

Health Check Components

The health endpoint checks:

Database connectivity
Redis connectivity (queue mode)
Application readiness

Returns HTTP 200 when healthy, 503 when unhealthy.

Timezone Configuration

Configure timezone for scheduled workflows:

# Set both for consistency
docker run \
  -e GENERIC_TIMEZONE="Europe/Berlin" \
  -e TZ="Europe/Berlin" \
  ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n

GENERIC_TIMEZONE - Used by n8n’s Schedule node
TZ - System timezone for container commands

Custom SSL Certificates

Trust custom SSL certificates:

services:
  n8n:
    volumes:
      - ./custom-certs:/opt/custom-certificates:ro
    environment:
      - NODE_OPTIONS=--use-openssl-ca
      - SSL_CERT_DIR=/opt/custom-certificates

The entrypoint script automatically runs c_rehash on the certificate directory.

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

# Check logs
docker compose logs -f n8n

# Common issues:
# 1. Port 5678 already in use
# 2. Database connection failed
# 3. Invalid encryption key
# 4. Insufficient permissions

Cannot decrypt credentials

This happens when:

Encryption key changed or lost
/home/node/.n8n volume not mounted
Different encryption key between containers

Solution: Ensure consistent N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY and persistent volumes.

Workers not picking up jobs

# Verify Redis connection
docker compose exec redis redis-cli ping

# Check worker logs
docker compose logs -f n8n-worker

# Verify same encryption key and database
docker compose exec n8n env | grep N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY
docker compose exec n8n-worker env | grep N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY

High memory usage

# Set resource limits
services:
  n8n:
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          memory: 1G

Also consider:

Reducing N8N_CONCURRENCY_PRODUCTION_LIMIT
Adding more workers instead of increasing main process memory
Enabling execution data pruning

Next Steps

Configuration

Deep dive into all configuration options

Scaling

Learn about scaling with queue mode

Getting Started

Self-Hosting

Building Workflows

AI Workflows

Node Development

CLI Reference

Docker Deployment

Quick Start

Simple Docker Run

Docker Compose Deployments

Single Instance with PostgreSQL

With External Task Runners

Queue Mode (Scaling Setup)

Docker Image Options

ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n

ghcr.io/n8n-io/runners

Building from Source

Environment Variables for Docker

Volume Mounts

Recommended Mounts

Updating n8n

Health Checks

Timezone Configuration

Custom SSL Certificates

Troubleshooting

Next Steps

Configuration

Scaling

​Quick Start

​Simple Docker Run

​Docker Compose Deployments

​Single Instance with PostgreSQL

​With External Task Runners

​Queue Mode (Scaling Setup)

​Docker Image Options

​ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n

​ghcr.io/n8n-io/runners

​Building from Source

​Environment Variables for Docker

​Volume Mounts

​Recommended Mounts

​Updating n8n

​Health Checks

​Timezone Configuration

​Custom SSL Certificates

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Configuration

Scaling

Quick Start

Simple Docker Run

Docker Compose Deployments

Single Instance with PostgreSQL

With External Task Runners

Queue Mode (Scaling Setup)

Docker Image Options

ghcr.io/n8n-io/n8n

ghcr.io/n8n-io/runners

Building from Source

Environment Variables for Docker

Volume Mounts

Recommended Mounts

Updating n8n

Health Checks

Timezone Configuration

Custom SSL Certificates

Troubleshooting

Next Steps