How to change the base URL in n8n?

You change the base URL in n8n by setting the environment variable N8N_HOST and (optionally) N8N_PORT, then ensuring your reverse‑proxy (like Nginx, Traefik, or Caddy) points to that same hostname. In almost all production setups, the real change happens in the environment variables + your DNS + your proxy. n8n itself does not have a UI field called “Base URL” — it reads it from environment variables.

 

The correct way to change the base URL in n8n

 

n8n decides its own public-facing URL based on environment variables. The important ones are:

• N8N\_HOST – the domain you want n8n to think it’s running on (for example: automations.example.com)
• N8N\_PORT – usually stays 5678 if you're behind a proxy
• N8N\_PROTOCOL – https when running behind a reverse proxy
• WEBHOOK\_URL – optional but important when your internal hostname differs from your external one (prevents incorrect webhook URLs)

Here is what a typical Docker setup looks like when you change the base URL:

environment:
  - N8N_HOST=automations.example.com
  - N8N_PORT=5678
  - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
  - WEBHOOK_URL=https://automations.example.com/  // Ensures external-facing webhooks are correct

After you change these variables, restart the container. n8n will regenerate webhook URLs and treat your new domain as authoritative.

 

Why this matters (quick explanation)

 

n8n uses the base URL for:

• Webhook URLs – n8n needs to tell external services where to reach it.
• OAuth callbacks – if the URL is wrong, Google, Slack, etc. will refuse the redirect.
• Invitation emails and password reset links – these must point to the correct domain.

If the base URL is wrong, you get webhook failures, OAuth auth problems, and broken system links.

 

Behind a reverse proxy? (Most real setups)

 

Almost every production n8n uses a reverse proxy (Traefik/Nginx/Caddy) to handle HTTPS. In that case:

• Your proxy handles SSL certificates and public HTTPS
• n8n listens internally on http://localhost:5678
• You still must set N8N_HOST and N8N_PROTOCOL=https so n8n knows its external identity

If you only change the reverse proxy config but not n8n’s environment variables, you’ll often see webhook URLs still pointing to localhost — that’s a common pitfall.

 

Webhook-specific detail

 

n8n sometimes needs a separate explicit URL for webhooks, especially when running inside containers or behind proxies. That’s why WEBHOOK\_URL exists. If you see webhook calls failing or pointing to the wrong place, set it manually:

WEBHOOK_URL=https://automations.example.com/

This overrides internal guesses and forces n8n to generate the correct external URLs.

 

Checklist to avoid common mistakes

 

• Set N8N\_HOST to the real domain, not the container name.
• Set N8N\_PROTOCOL=https when using any reverse proxy with SSL.
• Restart n8n after changing environment variables.
• Ensure your DNS points the domain to your proxy server.
• If webhook URLs still look wrong, set WEBHOOK\_URL explicitly.

 

If you follow the above, your base URL will be correct, and n8n will generate valid webhook and OAuth URLs for real production use.