How to Migrate n8n to a New Server Without Losing Data

The encryption key is the most critical piece of the migration. Without it, all saved credentials (API keys, OAuth tokens, database passwords) are permanently lost. Find the key in your environment variables, Docker Compose file, systemd service file, or .env file. If you never set one explicitly, n8n auto-generated one and stored it in the .n8n directory. Check the file at ~/.n8n/config by looking for the encryptionKey field. Save this key somewhere secure — you will need it on the new server.

1# Check environment variable
2echo $N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY
3
4# Check Docker Compose
5grep N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY docker-compose.yml
6
7# Check auto-generated key (if no env var was set)
8cat ~/.n8n/config | grep encryptionKey

You can export workflows through the n8n UI or CLI. In the UI, go to each workflow, click the three-dot menu, and select Export. To export all workflows at once, use the n8n CLI. Run the export command to save all workflows as JSON files to a directory. These JSON files contain the complete workflow structure, node configurations, and connections. They do not contain credentials — those are stored separately in the database.

1# Export all workflows to a directory
2n8n export:workflow --all --output=./n8n-backup/workflows/
3
4# Export all credentials (encrypted with N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY)
5n8n export:credentials --all --output=./n8n-backup/credentials/
6
7# If using Docker
8docker exec -it n8n n8n export:workflow --all --output=/tmp/workflows/
9docker cp n8n:/tmp/workflows/ ./n8n-backup/workflows/

If you are using SQLite (the default), the database is a single file at ~/.n8n/database.sqlite. Copy this file to the new server's .n8n directory. If you are using PostgreSQL, create a database dump using pg_dump and restore it on the new server's PostgreSQL instance. The database contains workflows, credentials, execution history, and settings. Copying it directly is the fastest way to migrate everything at once, but it requires the same N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY on the new server.

1# SQLite migration
2scp ~/.n8n/database.sqlite user@new-server:~/.n8n/database.sqlite
3
4# PostgreSQL migration
5pg_dump -h localhost -U n8n -d n8n > n8n_backup.sql
6scp n8n_backup.sql user@new-server:~/
7
8# On the new server
9psql -h localhost -U n8n -d n8n < ~/n8n_backup.sql

On the new server, install n8n and configure it with the same N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY from the old server. Set the key as an environment variable in your Docker Compose file, systemd service, or .env file. Also update the WEBHOOK_URL to the new server's domain. If you changed database types (e.g., SQLite to PostgreSQL), set the DB_TYPE and related connection variables. Start n8n and verify that all workflows appear in the editor and all credentials are accessible.

1# Docker Compose on new server
2environment:
3  - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-key-from-old-server
4  - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.new-domain.com/
5  - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
6  - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
7  - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
8  - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
9  - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
10  - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
11  - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York

After starting n8n on the new server, verify the migration by checking three things. First, open several workflows in the editor and confirm all nodes and connections are intact. Second, go to Settings > Credentials and test each credential by clicking the Test button. Third, manually execute a workflow that uses credentials (like an API call) to confirm it works end to end. Once verified, activate the workflows you need running. Deactivate or delete the workflows on the old server to prevent duplicate triggers.