n8n Container Deployment Guide - Docker Compose, Redis, and Reverse Proxy Setup

This guide details how to deploy the n8n workflow automation platform using Docker Compose. It covers basic configuration, integrating Redis for caching, and setting up a reverse proxy via Nginx Proxy Manager for secure HTTPS access.

Introduction

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n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that provides a visual node-based interface for connecting services and automating tasks, similar to Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat). With support for over 400 integrations, n8n allows for self-hosting, giving you complete control over your data privacy and security.

Deploying n8n with Docker offers several advantages:

• Environment Isolation: Prevents conflicts with other system services.
• Easy Maintenance: Simplified updates and backups.
• Cross-Platform Support: Runs on any system that supports Docker.
• Resource Management: Allows you to limit container resource usage.

This guide covers:

1. Basic n8n container deployment and initialization.
2. Integrating Redis caching for performance.
3. Setting up a reverse proxy with Nginx Proxy Manager.
4. Troubleshooting common issues.

Prerequisites

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Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• ✅ Docker and Docker Compose installed (Installation Guide).
• ✅ Basic familiarity with command-line operations.
• ✅ (Optional) A domain name and a deployed instance of Nginx Proxy Manager.

Basic Deployment: n8n Container

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Directory Structure

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First, create the directories to store n8n data. Data persistence ensures that workflows, credentials, and other data remain intact across container restarts.

# Create data directories
sudo mkdir -p /appdata/n8n/data
sudo mkdir -p /appdata/n8n/files

# Change owner to 1000:1000 (n8n container default user) to avoid permission errors
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /appdata/n8n

Directory Details:

• /appdata/n8n/data: Stores core data such as the database, workflows, and credentials.
• /appdata/n8n/files: Stores files processed within workflows.

Creating docker-compose.yml

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Create a file named docker-compose.yml with the following content:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    volumes:
      - /appdata/n8n/data:/home/node/.n8n
      - /appdata/n8n/files:/files
    environment:
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Taipei
      - TZ=Asia/Taipei
      - N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true

Key Environment Variables

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Starting the Container

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Run the following command in the directory containing your docker-compose.yml:

# Start n8n container in detached mode
docker compose up -d

Verify the container status:

# Check container status
docker compose ps

You should see output similar to this:

NAME      IMAGE            COMMAND                  SERVICE   CREATED         STATUS         PORTS
n8n       n8nio/n8n:latest "tini -- /docker-ent…"   n8n       10 seconds ago  Up 9 seconds   0.0.0.0:5678->5678/tcp

Accessing the Interface

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Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5678. If deploying on a remote server, replace localhost with your server’s IP address.

Initial Setup

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On your first visit, n8n will ask you to create an owner account:

1. Account Details:

   • Email: Your email address.
   • Name: Your display name.
   • Password: Use a strong password.

2. Finalize:

   • Click “Get Started” to enter the main interface.

3. Interface Overview:

   • Workflows: Manage and create workflows.
   • Credentials: Store authentication details for third-party services.
   • Executions: View workflow execution history.
   • Settings: System configuration.

Congratulations! You have successfully deployed the basic version of n8n. Next, we will integrate Redis to improve performance.

Redis Integration

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Why Use Redis?

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Redis is a high-performance in-memory database. In n8n, you can utilize Redis via Redis nodes within your workflows for caching operations:

• Cache API Responses: Prevent redundant external API calls to reduce latency and costs.
• Store Temporary Variables: Share data between different workflow executions.
• Rate Limiting: Track API usage counts.
• Cache Computation Results: Avoid re-running resource-intensive data processing.

Use Cases:

• ✅ Frequently calling the same external API.
• ✅ Sharing state across multiple workflows.
• ✅ Implementing custom caching logic.

Updating docker-compose.yml

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Stop the existing container:

docker compose down

Edit docker-compose.yml to add the Redis service and network configuration:

services:
  n8n:
    # ... other configs remain unchanged
    depends_on:
      - redis  # Added: Ensure Redis starts first
    networks:
      - n8n-network

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    container_name: n8n-redis
    restart: always
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    volumes:
      - /appdata/n8n/redis/data:/data
    networks:
      - n8n-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

networks:
  n8n-network:
    # ... network configuration remains unchanged

Configuration Details

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Redis Image Choice:

• We use redis:alpine instead of redis:<version> (e.g., redis:8).
• The Alpine version contains only the core Redis functionality, removing extras like bash and git.
• It is ideal for a pure caching database and offers a smaller footprint (approx. 30MB vs 120MB).

Important Parameters:

• --appendonly yes: Enables AOF (Append-Only File) persistence, ensuring data isn’t lost on container restarts (requires the volume mount).
• healthcheck: Periodically checks Redis health to ensure availability.

Network Settings:

• networks: Places n8n and Redis on the same network so they can communicate.
• depends_on: Ensures Redis starts before n8n.

Create Redis Data Directory

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sudo mkdir -p /appdata/n8n/redis/data
# Note: Redis container typically runs as root or redis user,
# standard docker permission handling usually works fine here,
# but check logs if issues arise.

Start Services

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docker compose up -d

Verifying Redis Operation (Optional)

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While you can test the connection directly via an n8n workflow, you can also verify Redis is running via the CLI.

1. Check Container Logs:

# Check Redis logs
docker compose logs redis

You should see output indicating the server is ready to accept connections.

2. Test Redis Connection:

# Test Redis connection
docker exec -it n8n-redis redis-cli ping

Expected response:

PONG

Using Redis in Workflows

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Your Redis container is ready! To use it within an n8n workflow:

1. Add a Redis Node: Search for and add the “Redis” node in the n8n editor.

2. Configure Connection: Create a new Redis Credential with the following details:

• Host: n8n-redis (The container name in the Docker network).
• Port: 6379.
• Password: Leave empty (default config has no password).
• Database: 0 (Default).

3. Choose Operation: The Redis node supports various operations, such as:

• Set: Store data.
• Get: Retrieve data.
• Delete: Remove data.
• Incr/Decr: Increment/Decrement counters.

Example Scenario:

To cache an API response:

1. Use a Redis Get node to check if the cache exists.
2. If missing, call the API and use a Redis Set node to store the result (with an expiration time).
3. If present, use the cached data directly.

Reverse Proxy Setup (Nginx Proxy Manager)

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Prerequisites

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Before starting, ensure:

1. ✅ Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) is deployed.
2. ✅ You own a domain name (e.g., n8n.example.com).
3. ✅ A DNS ‘A’ record points to your server IP.

Adjusting n8n Environment Variables

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Stop the containers and edit docker-compose.yml to update the n8n environment variables:

services:
  n8n:
    # ... other configs remain unchanged
    environment:
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Taipei
      - TZ=Asia/Taipei
      - N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true
      # Added: Reverse Proxy Configuration
      - N8N_HOST=n8n.example.com          # Replace with your domain
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.example.com
    # ... other configs remain unchanged

Key Environment Variables

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Restart the containers to apply changes:

# Restart containers
docker compose down && docker compose up -d

NPM Configuration Steps

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Log in to the Nginx Proxy Manager interface and add a Proxy Host:

1. Details Tab

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• Domain Names: n8n.example.com
• Scheme: http
• Forward Hostname / IP:
  • If NPM and n8n are on the same Docker network: Use the container name n8n.
  • If on different networks: Use the server IP (e.g., 192.168.1.100).
• Forward Port: 5678
• Cache Assets: ✅ Enable (Optional).
• Block Common Exploits: ✅ Enable (Recommended).
• Websockets Support: ✅ Must be enabled (n8n relies on WebSockets).

2. Custom Locations Tab

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For a standard n8n setup, no configuration is needed here. Leave it blank.

3. SSL Tab

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• SSL Certificate: Select “Request a new SSL Certificate”.
• Force SSL: ✅ Enable.
• HTTP/2 Support: ✅ Enable.
• HSTS Enabled: ✅ Enable.
• HSTS Subdomains: ✅ Enable.

4. Advanced Tab (Recommended)

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To prevent long-running workflows from timing out, add the following Nginx configuration:

proxy_buffering off;
proxy_read_timeout 3600s;
proxy_send_timeout 3600s;
proxy_connect_timeout 3600s;

Explanation:

• proxy_buffering off: Disables buffering for real-time data transfer.
• timeouts: Sets read/send/connect timeouts to 1 hour.

Verifying the Reverse Proxy

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1. Access n8n:

Open https://n8n.example.com in your browser. You should see the login screen with a secure lock icon in the address bar.

2. Test Webhooks (Optional):

1. Create a new workflow in n8n.
2. Add a “Webhook” node.
3. Configure the trigger.
4. Copy the Webhook URL (should look like https://n8n.example.com/webhook/...).
5. Test it using curl or Postman.

# Test webhook
curl -X POST https://n8n.example.com/webhook/your-webhook-path

Success indicates the reverse proxy is correctly forwarding requests.

Complete Configuration Example

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Here is the full docker-compose.yml consolidating all features:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    depends_on:
      - redis
    volumes:
      - /appdata/n8n/data:/home/node/.n8n
      - /appdata/n8n/files:/files
    environment:
      # Domain and protocol configuration
      - N8N_HOST=n8n.example.com
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.example.com

      # Environment settings
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Taipei
      - TZ=Asia/Taipei

      # Security settings
      - N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true
    networks:
      - n8n-network

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    container_name: n8n-redis
    restart: always
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    volumes:
      - /appdata/n8n/redis/data:/data
    networks:
      - n8n-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

networks:
  n8n-network:
    name: n8n-network

Environment Variables Summary

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Recommended Directory Structure

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/appdata/n8n/
├── data/                    # Core data
├── files/                   # Workflow files
└── redis/
    └── data/                # Redis persistence data

FAQ

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Q: Unable to access the interface after starting?

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Possible Causes & Solutions:

1. Firewall Blocking:

   # Check firewall rules (Ubuntu/Debian)
   sudo ufw allow 5678/tcp

2. Port Conflict:

   # Check if port 5678 is in use
   sudo lsof -i :5678

   If occupied, map to a different port in docker-compose.yml (e.g., "5679:5678").

3. Container Errors:

   # Check container logs
   docker compose logs n8n

Q: Webhooks are not working?

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Checklist:

1. ✅ Verify WEBHOOK_URL is correct:

   docker exec n8n env | grep WEBHOOK_URL

2. ✅ Ensure NPM Websockets Support is enabled.
3. ✅ Verify SSL validity.
4. ✅ Ensure port 443 is open on your firewall.

Q: Redis connection failed?

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Troubleshooting:

1. Check Network:

   docker network inspect n8n-network

   Ensure both n8n and n8n-redis are listed.

2. Check Health: Ensure the Redis container status is healthy.

3. Ping Test:

   docker exec n8n ping n8n-redis

Q: How do I update n8n?

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Update Steps:

1. Check current version:

   docker exec n8n n8n --version

2. Backup Data.

3. Pull & Restart:

   docker compose pull n8n
   docker compose up -d

References

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• n8n Documentation
• n8n Docker Installation Guide
• Docker Compose Documentation
• Nginx Proxy Manager Guide

Conclusion

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You have successfully deployed a robust, secure n8n instance with Redis caching and HTTPS access. You can now start exploring n8n’s powerful capabilities to automate your workflows efficiently.

If you encounter any issues, refer to the FAQ or seek help on the n8n Community Forum.

Happy Automating!