How to run n8n as a background service?

To run n8n as a background service, the most reliable production‑grade way is to run it under a real process manager — usually systemd if you're on a Linux server, or Docker in detached mode. Both approaches keep n8n running after logout, auto‑restart it if it crashes, and allow logs to be stored properly. In production, systemd or Docker is what you want, not nohup or running it in a screen session.

 

Running n8n as a systemd service (most common on a real server)

 

This is the standard method on Linux servers. systemd is the thing that starts services in the background when the server boots, keeps them alive, and restarts them if they fail.

Assumptions: n8n is installed globally using npm or binaries and you launch it with n8n start.

Create a service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/n8n.service

Put this inside:

[Unit]
Description=n8n automation service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=YOUR_USERNAME               // the Linux user that should run n8n
Environment=WEBHOOK_URL=http://your-server.com/      // environment variables go here
ExecStart=/usr/bin/n8n start                          // path to n8n command
Restart=always                                         // auto-restart on crash
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then enable and start it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable n8n
sudo systemctl start n8n

Check logs anytime:

sudo journalctl -u n8n -f

Now n8n runs fully in the background, survives disconnects, and starts on reboot — exactly what production needs.

 

Running n8n as a background service via Docker (production‑friendly too)

 

If you're deploying n8n with Docker, you simply run it in detached mode so it becomes a background service automatically.

docker run -d \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -e GENERIC_TIMEZONE="Europe/Berlin" \
  -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n

Docker takes care of keeping it running. If Docker or the container restarts, n8n starts again. Add --restart unless-stopped for auto‑restart:

docker run -d \
  --name n8n \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  n8nio/n8n

 

Why not use nohup, screen, tmux, or &?

 

• They don’t auto‑start on reboot.
• They don’t auto‑restart when n8n crashes.
• Logs are messy and easy to lose.
• This is fine for temporary dev work, not production.

You always want a real service manager in production.

 

How n8n behaves when run as a service

 

• Triggers (webhooks, cron, IMAP, etc.) continue running even if you log out.
• Error workflows run normally because the main n8n process stays alive.
• Background executions survive restarts as long as you're using a database like Postgres (SQLite won’t survive container restarts reliably).
• Logs are accessible through systemd or Docker logs, which is essential when debugging stuck workflows or webhook failures.

 

Bottom line

 

The proper way to run n8n as a background service is either:

• systemd if n8n runs directly on the server
• Docker with the -d flag and a restart policy

Both keep your automation environment stable, durable, and production‑ready — exactly what you want for real n8n workflows with triggers, webhooks, and long‑running tasks.