n8n Local Stack Deployment

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 14:11:54 +0000

n8n Community Edition: Multi-Component Docker Setup Guide

n8n Community + Nginx + Redis + Postgres + Certbot (optional)
Follow the guide - or ask your AI to
Automated setup developed & tested with Claude Code / Opus 4
Remember to update host references (e.g. N8N_HOST=your-domain.com -> localhost)
NOTE/TODO: certbot setup currently untested

Sequence of Commands (references scripts below)

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# 1. Create directories
mkdir -p n8n-production/{nginx,certs,n8n_data,postgres_data,postgres-init,backup,certbot/{www,conf}}
cd n8n-production

# 2. Create PostgreSQL initialization script
mkdir -p postgres-init
cat > postgres-init/init-db.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
set -e

psql -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 --username "$POSTGRES_USER" --dbname "$POSTGRES_DB" <<-EOSQL
 CREATE USER n8n_user WITH PASSWORD '$POSTGRES_NON_ROOT_PASSWORD';
 GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE n8n TO n8n_user;
 ALTER DATABASE n8n OWNER TO n8n_user;
EOSQL
EOF
chmod +x postgres-init/init-db.sh

# 3. Generate keys and update .env
chmod +x generate-keys.sh
./generate-keys.sh

# 4. Create self-signed cert (for initial setup)
openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:4096 \
 -keyout certs/privkey.pem \
 -out certs/fullchain.pem \
 -subj "/C=US/ST=State/L=City/O=Organization/CN=your-domain.com"

# 5. Start services
docker-compose up -d

# 6. Check logs
docker-compose logs -f

# 7. Initialize admin user (visit https://your-domain.com)

Directory Structure Reference

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n8n-production/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── .env
├── nginx/
│ └── default.conf
├── postgres-init/
│ └── init-db.sh
├── certs/
├── n8n_data/
├── postgres_data/
├── backup/
└── certbot/
 ├── www/
 └── conf/

Environment Variables (.env file)

Create .env file with your sensitive data:

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# Domain Configuration
N8N_HOST=your-domain.com
SUBDOMAIN=n8n
DOMAIN_EMAIL=admin@your-domain.com

# Database Passwords (generate strong passwords)
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=CHANGE_ME_strong_password_123!
POSTGRES_NON_ROOT_PASSWORD=CHANGE_ME_different_password_456!

# n8n Security Keys (generate these!)
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=CHANGE_ME_generate_with_openssl_rand_hex_32
N8N_JWT_SECRET=CHANGE_ME_generate_with_openssl_rand_hex_32

# SMTP Configuration (example for Gmail)
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your-email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASS=your-app-specific-password
SMTP_SENDER=n8n Automation <your-email@gmail.com>

# Timezone
TIMEZONE=America/New_York

Docker Container File-Based Configuration (docker-compose.yml)

docker-compose.yml:

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version: '3.8'

services:
 # PostgreSQL Database
 postgres:
 image: postgres:15-alpine
 container_name: n8n_postgres
 restart: unless-stopped
 environment:
 - POSTGRES_USER=n8n
 - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
 - POSTGRES_DB=n8n
 - POSTGRES_NON_ROOT_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_NON_ROOT_PASSWORD}
 volumes:
 - ./postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
 - ./postgres-init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
 - ./backup:/backup
 healthcheck:
 test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -h localhost -U n8n"]
 interval: 10s
 timeout: 5s
 retries: 5
 networks:
 - n8n-network

 # Redis for queue mode (optional)
 redis:
 image: redis:7-alpine
 container_name: n8n_redis
 restart: unless-stopped
 command: redis-server --appendonly yes
 volumes:
 - redis_data:/data
 healthcheck:
 test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
 interval: 10s
 timeout: 5s
 retries: 5
 networks:
 - n8n-network

 # n8n Application
 n8n:
 image: n8nio/n8n:latest
 container_name: n8n
 restart: unless-stopped
 depends_on:
 postgres:
 condition: service_healthy
 redis:
 condition: service_healthy
 environment:
 # Database Configuration
 - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
 - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
 - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
 - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
 - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n_user
 - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_NON_ROOT_PASSWORD}

 # Redis Configuration
 - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
 - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
 - EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue

 # n8n Configuration
 - N8N_HOST=${N8N_HOST}
 - N8N_PORT=5678
 - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
 - WEBHOOK_URL=https://${N8N_HOST}/
 - N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL=https://${N8N_HOST}/

 # Security
 - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
 - N8N_USER_MANAGEMENT_JWT_SECRET=${N8N_JWT_SECRET}

 # User Management (enabled for production)
 - N8N_USER_MANAGEMENT_DISABLED=false
 - N8N_USER_MANAGEMENT_JWT_DURATION_HOURS=168

 # Email Configuration
 - N8N_EMAIL_MODE=smtp
 - N8N_SMTP_HOST=${SMTP_HOST}
 - N8N_SMTP_PORT=${SMTP_PORT}
 - N8N_SMTP_USER=${SMTP_USER}
 - N8N_SMTP_PASS=${SMTP_PASS}
 - N8N_SMTP_SENDER=${SMTP_SENDER}
 - N8N_SMTP_SSL=false

 # Execution Configuration
 - EXECUTIONS_PROCESS=main
 - EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_ERROR=all
 - EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_SUCCESS=all
 - EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_PROGRESS=true
 - EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_MANUAL_EXECUTIONS=true
 - EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE=336  # 14 days
 - EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE_TIMEOUT=3600

 # Performance
 - N8N_CONCURRENCY_LIMIT=10
 - N8N_PAYLOAD_SIZE_MAX=16

 # Timezone
 - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=${TIMEZONE}
 - TZ=${TIMEZONE}

 # Diagnostics
 - N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED=false
 - N8N_PERSONALIZATION_ENABLED=false

 # Version Notifications
 - N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED=true

 # Logs
 - N8N_LOG_LEVEL=info
 - N8N_LOG_OUTPUT=console

 volumes:
 - ./n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
 - ./backup:/backup:ro
 expose:
 - "5678"
 networks:
 - n8n-network

 # Nginx Reverse Proxy
 nginx:
 image: nginx:alpine
 container_name: n8n_nginx
 restart: unless-stopped
 depends_on:
 - n8n
 ports:
 - "80:80"
 - "443:443"
 volumes:
 - ./nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro
 - ./certs:/etc/nginx/certs:ro
 - ./certbot/www:/var/www/certbot:ro
 - ./certbot/conf:/etc/letsencrypt:ro
 networks:
 - n8n-network

 # Certbot for Let's Encrypt (optional)
 certbot:
 image: certbot/certbot
 container_name: n8n_certbot
 volumes:
 - ./certbot/conf:/etc/letsencrypt
 - ./certbot/www:/var/www/certbot
 entrypoint: "/bin/sh -c 'trap exit TERM; while :; do certbot renew; sleep 12h & wait $${!}; done;'"

volumes:
 redis_data:

networks:
 n8n-network:
 driver: bridge

Nginx Configuration

nginx/default.conf:

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# Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
server {
 listen 80;
 server_name your-domain.com;

 location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
 root /var/www/certbot;
 }

 location / {
 return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
 }
}

# HTTPS Server
server {
 listen 443 ssl http2;
 server_name your-domain.com;

 # SSL Configuration (update paths based on your cert location)
 ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/fullchain.pem;
 ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/privkey.pem;

 # Or for Let's Encrypt:
 # ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/fullchain.pem;
 # ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/privkey.pem;

 # SSL Security Settings
 ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
 ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384;
 ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;
 ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
 ssl_session_timeout 10m;

 # Security Headers
 add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
 add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
 add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
 add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
 add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;

 # Proxy Settings
 client_max_body_size 16M;
 proxy_read_timeout 300s;
 proxy_connect_timeout 75s;

 location / {
 proxy_pass http://n8n:5678;
 proxy_http_version 1.1;
 proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
 proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
 proxy_set_header Host $host;
 proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
 proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
 proxy_buffering off;
 }
}

Helper Scripts

Generate Security Keys

generate-keys.sh:

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#!/bin/bash
echo "Generating secure keys for n8n..."
echo ""
echo "N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
echo "N8N_JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
echo "POSTGRES_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32 | tr -d '=')"
echo "POSTGRES_NON_ROOT_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32 | tr -d '=')"

Database Backup Script

backup-db.sh:

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#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="./backup"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_FILE="$BACKUP_DIR/n8n_backup_$TIMESTAMP.sql"

echo "Creating backup: $BACKUP_FILE"
docker exec n8n_postgres pg_dump -U n8n n8n > "$BACKUP_FILE"

# Compress backup
gzip "$BACKUP_FILE"

# Keep only last 7 days of backups
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "n8n_backup_*.sql.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

echo "Backup completed: ${BACKUP_FILE}.gz"

Health Check Script

health-check.sh:

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#!/bin/bash
# Add to crontab for monitoring

check_service() {
 if docker ps | grep -q $1; then
 echo "✓ $1 is running"
 else
 echo "✗ $1 is down!"
 # Send alert (email, webhook, etc.)
 fi
}

check_service "n8n"
check_service "n8n_postgres"
check_service "n8n_redis"
check_service "n8n_nginx"

Let’s Encrypt Setup (Production SSL)

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# Initial certificate request
docker-compose run --rm certbot certonly \
 --webroot \
 --webroot-path=/var/www/certbot \
 --email admin@your-domain.com \
 --agree-tos \
 --no-eff-email \
 -d your-domain.com

# Update nginx config to use Let's Encrypt certs
# Then reload nginx
docker-compose exec nginx nginx -s reload

Maintenance Command Reference

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# View logs
docker-compose logs -f n8n

# Restart services
docker-compose restart

# Update n8n
docker-compose pull n8n
docker-compose up -d n8n

# Database backup
./backup-db.sh

# Database restore
docker exec -i n8n_postgres psql -U n8n n8n < backup/backup_file.sql

# Clean up old executions
docker exec n8n n8n executeBatch:clearExecutionData --days=30

# Monitor resources
docker stats

Security Checklist

Strong passwords in .env file
Encryption key generated and secured
SSL/TLS configured (self-signed or Let’s Encrypt)
Firewall rules configured (only 80/443 open)
Regular backups scheduled
Monitoring/alerting configured
User management enabled
SMTP configured for notifications
Resource limits set in docker-compose
Log rotation configured

Performance Tuning

Add to n8n service in docker-compose.yml:

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 deploy:
 resources:
 limits:
 cpus: '2'
 memory: 4G
 reservations:
 cpus: '1'
 memory: 2G

Troubleshooting

Common issues:

502 Bad Gateway: n8n not ready yet, check logs
Database connection failed: Check postgres health
- If you see “Role n8n_user does not exist”, ensure postgres-init script is properly mounted
- May need to remove postgres_data folder and restart to reinitialize database
Workflows not executing: Check redis connection
High memory usage: Adjust execution data retention
SSL errors: Verify certificate paths and permissions

Automated-Deployment on Sam Elsner