How to enable logging in n8n?

The short version is: n8n’s logging is controlled entirely by environment variables. You enable or increase logging by setting variables like N8N_LOG_OUTPUT, N8N_LOG_LEVEL, and N8N_LOG_FILE_LOCATION when starting the n8n server (Docker, CLI, or any hosting). There is no “logging UI” inside n8n — it’s done at server level through these env vars.

 

How to Enable Logging in n8n

 

You enable logging by setting n8n’s built‑in logging environment variables before starting the instance. The most common setup is to enable file logging and set the log level to something more verbose (like debug). For example:

// Example: enable logging when starting n8n manually
export N8N_LOG_OUTPUT=file
export N8N_LOG_FILE_LOCATION=/var/log/n8n.log
export N8N_LOG_LEVEL=debug

n8n start

 

What Each Setting Does

 

• N8N_LOG_OUTPUT defines where logs are sent. Typical values:
  • console → logs go to STDOUT (useful in Docker)
  • file → logs written to the file you specify
  • console,file → both
• N8N_LOG_FILE\_LOCATION is the full path to your log file if using file output.
• N8N_LOG_LEVEL controls verbosity:
  • silent
  • error
  • warn
  • info (default)
  • verbose
  • debug
• N8N_LOG_WORKFLOW_OPERATION_SUCCESS and N8N_LOG_WORKFLOW_OPERATION_ERROR let you choose whether workflow start/stop events are logged.
• N8N_LOG_DB enables database query logging (useful for debugging but noisy and heavy in production).

 

Docker Example (most common in production)

 

In Docker you pass these as environment variables:

docker run \
  -e N8N_LOG_OUTPUT=file \
  -e N8N_LOG_FILE_LOCATION=/home/node/.n8n/n8n.log \
  -e N8N_LOG_LEVEL=debug \
  -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  n8nio/n8n

 

Understanding What's Actually Logged

 

n8n does not log individual node data by default (that would be huge and unsafe). Instead, it logs operational information: workflow started, finished, errors, internal warnings, API errors, and execution-level events. It’s helpful for debugging production issues like timeouts, credential problems, or unexpected triggers firing.

If you set N8N_LOG_LEVEL=debug, you get very detailed internal logs. Useful during development, but you typically don’t leave this on in production unless investigating an issue.

 

Where the Logs Actually Go

 

• If you chose console → they appear in Docker logs or system journal
• If you chose file → the file you configured
• In Cloud versions (n8n.cloud) → you rely on the platform’s logging stream; you cannot change env vars

 

Practical Advice for Production

 

• Use info or warn in normal operation.
• Only use debug temporarily — it creates a lot of output.
• Rotate logs (Docker logging driver or logrotate) because n8n itself does not auto-rotate files.
• Never log sensitive data manually unless you know it’s safe.

 

If you set these environment variables correctly, logging is fully enabled and works consistently across CLI, Docker, and most self‑hosted deployments.