Self-Hosting SSL enabled N8N on a Linux Server

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to self-host n8n, a free and open-source workflow automation tool, on a Linux server using Docker, Nginx, and Certbot for SSL with a custom domain name.

Step 1: Installing Docker

Update the Package Index:

sudo apt update

Install Docker:

sudo apt install docker.io

Start Docker:

sudo systemctl start docker

Enable Docker to Start at Boot:

sudo systemctl enable docker

Step 2: Starting n8n in Docker

Run the following command to start n8n in Docker. Replace your-domain.com with your actual domain name:

sudo docker run -d --restart unless-stopped -it \
--name n8n \
-p 5678:5678 \
-e N8N_HOST="your-domain.com" \
-e WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL="https://your-domain.com/" \
-e WEBHOOK_URL="https://your-domain.com/" \
-v ~/.n8n:/root/.n8n \
n8nio/n8n

Or if you are using a subdomain, it should look like this:

sudo docker run -d --restart unless-stopped -it \
--name n8n \
-p 5678:5678 \
-e N8N_HOST="subdomain.your-domain.com" \
-e WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL="https://subdomain.your-domain.com/" \
-e WEBHOOK_URL="https://subdomain.your-domain.com/" \
-v ~/.n8n:/root/.n8n \
n8nio/n8n

This command does the following:

Downloads and runs the n8n Docker image.
Exposes n8n on port 5678.
Sets environment variables for the n8n host and webhook tunnel URL.
Mounts the n8n data directory for persistent storage.

After executing the command, n8n will be accessible on your-domain.com:5678.

Step 3: Installing Nginx

Nginx is used as a reverse proxy to forward requests to n8n and handle SSL termination.

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx

Step 4: Configuring Nginx

Configure Nginx to reverse proxy the n8n web interface:

Create a New Nginx Configuration File:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n.conf

Paste the Following Configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com; // subdomain.your-domain.com if you have a subdomain

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5678;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        chunked_transfer_encoding off;
        proxy_buffering off;
        proxy_cache off;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_read_timeout  3600s;   # allow up to 1 hour for long-running n8n workflows
        proxy_send_timeout 3600s;   # allow up to 1 hour for large incoming payloads or slow triggers
    }
}

Replace your-domain.com with your actual domain.

Enable the Configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

If you see the error saying /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ doesn't exist. Create it by running: sudo mkdir /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test the Nginx Configuration and Restart:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 5: Setting up SSL with Certbot

Certbot will obtain and install an SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt.

Install Certbot and the Nginx Plugin:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Obtain an SSL Certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com
// If you have a subdomain then it will be subdomain.your-domain.com

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the SSL setup. Once completed, n8n will be accessible securely over HTTPS at your-domain.com.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you follow the above steps in order. Step 5 will modify your /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n.conf file to something like this: image

How to update n8n:

You can follow the instructions here to update the version: https://docs.n8n.io/hosting/installation/docker/#updating

Important: Take a backup of ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n To create a backup, you can copy ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n to your local or another directory on the same VM even before deleting the container. And then, after updating and spinning up a new container, if you see the data getting lost, you can replace ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n with the one you saved earlier.

Ensure that your n8n instance is using a persistent volume or a mapped directory for its data storage. This is crucial because the workflows, user accounts, and configurations are stored in the database file (typically database.sqlite), which should be located in a directory that remains intact even when the container is removed. In your docker-compose.yml, you should have something like this:

volumes:
- ~/.