How to Install n8n on Docker

The fastest way to try n8n is a single docker run command. This pulls the official n8n image and starts the container with port 5678 exposed. The --rm flag removes the container when you stop it, and -it enables interactive mode so you can see the logs. This setup is for testing only — data is lost when the container stops.

1docker run -it --rm \
2  --name n8n \
3  -p 5678:5678 \
4  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

To keep your workflows, credentials, and execution data across container restarts, mount a Docker volume to /home/node/.n8n inside the container. This directory contains n8n's SQLite database, encryption keys, and configuration. Use a named volume for Docker-managed storage, or a bind mount for a specific directory on the host.

1docker run -d \
2  --name n8n \
3  --restart always \
4  -p 5678:5678 \
5  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
6  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

Configure n8n with environment variables using the -e flag. At minimum, set N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY to a random 32-character hex string. This key encrypts stored credentials. Without it, n8n generates a random key on first start, but if the key is lost (e.g., the container is recreated without the volume), credentials become unreadable. Also set WEBHOOK_URL if n8n is behind a reverse proxy.

1# Generate an encryption key
2openssl rand -hex 32
3
4# Run n8n with environment variables
5docker run -d \
6  --name n8n \
7  --restart always \
8  -p 5678:5678 \
9  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
10  -e N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your_generated_key_here \
11  -e WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.yourdomain.com \
12  -e GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York \
13  -e TZ=America/New_York \
14  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

For production deployments, use a docker-compose.yml file to define your n8n service along with any dependencies. Docker Compose makes it easy to manage environment variables, volumes, networking, and multi-service setups. Create a docker-compose.yml file in your project directory with the n8n service definition.

1version: '3.8'
2
3services:
4  n8n:
5    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
6    restart: always
7    ports:
8      - '5678:5678'
9    environment:
10      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
11      - WEBHOOK_URL=${WEBHOOK_URL:-http://localhost:5678}
12      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=${TIMEZONE:-UTC}
13      - TZ=${TIMEZONE:-UTC}
14      - N8N_PORT=5678
15    volumes:
16      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
17
18volumes:
19  n8n_data:

Navigate to the directory containing your docker-compose.yml file. Create a .env file with your secrets. Then run docker compose up -d to start n8n in the background. Use docker compose logs -f n8n to follow the logs and verify n8n starts successfully.

1# Create .env file
2echo 'N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your_generated_key_here' > .env
3echo 'WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.yourdomain.com' >> .env
4echo 'TIMEZONE=America/New_York' >> .env
5
6# Start n8n
7docker compose up -d
8
9# Check logs
10docker compose logs -f n8n

To update n8n, pull the latest image and recreate the container. Docker Compose makes this simple with two commands. Your data is preserved in the named volume. Always back up your data before updating, especially across major version changes.

1# With Docker Compose
2docker compose pull
3docker compose up -d
4
5# With plain Docker
6docker stop n8n
7docker rm n8n
8docker pull docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
9docker run -d --name n8n --restart always \
10  -p 5678:5678 \
11  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
12  -e N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your_key \
13  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n