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Deploy n8n Locally with Docker
Spin up a production‑ready n8n instance on your own machine using Docker Compose, PostgreSQL, and Nginx. Follow the six steps below and you’ll have a secure, self‑hosted automation platform in about 30 minutes.
Prepare your environment
Install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin
on a Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 is recommended). Make sure ports
80 and 443 are open in your firewall, and point
a domain (e.g. n8n.yourdomain.com) to the server’s IP.
For a fully automated setup, check out our Docker Node Deployment: Port, Volume & Compose Configuration.
Create the project and configure environment variables
Create a directory ~/n8n-stack and inside it a .env file
with the essential variables:
DOMAIN=n8n.yourdomain.comN8N_HOST=${DOMAIN}andN8N_PROTOCOL=httpsWEBHOOK_URL=https://${DOMAIN}/N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY(generate withopenssl rand -hex 32)DB_TYPE=postgresdband PostgreSQL connection details
Read the full environment variable reference in our Database Configuration Guide.
Write the docker‑compose.yml
Define four services: n8n (main app), n8n-worker
(queue‑mode execution), postgres (PostgreSQL 16‑alpine), and
redis (Redis 7‑alpine). Mount named volumes for persistent
data and bind n8n to 127.0.0.1:5678 so only the reverse proxy
can reach it.
Grab a complete, tested Compose file from the Full Production Stack Guide.
Set up the reverse proxy and SSL
Add an Nginx service (or Caddy for zero‑config TLS) that
terminates HTTPS on port 443 and proxies requests to http://n8n:5678.
Forward the X‑Forwarded‑For, X‑Forwarded‑Proto, and
Host headers, and set a generous proxy_read_timeout
for long‑running workflows.
For step‑by‑step Nginx configuration, see our Self‑Host Security Hardening Guide.
Launch and verify the stack
Run docker compose up -d and watch the logs. Once all
containers are healthy, visit https://n8n.yourdomain.com.
Create your owner account and confirm that the webhook URL is correct
(it should start with https://).
For guidance on scaling beyond a single server, explore the Scaling & Concurrency Guide.
Harden the instance
Enable Basic Auth, block Code‑node access to
process.env, disable the ExecuteCommand node, restrict
file access, and configure UFW to only allow ports 80 and 443.
Pin your Docker image tags to avoid surprise upgrades.
The definitive hardening checklist lives in the Security Hardening Guide.
Deployment Flow (Mermaid)
flowchart TD
A[Install Docker & Docker Compose] --> B[Create .env with secrets & domain]
B --> C[Write docker-compose.yml
n8n, worker, postgres, redis, nginx]
C --> D[Start stack: docker compose up -d]
D --> E[Verify health checks
Postgres, Redis, n8n]
E --> F[Access n8n at https://yourdomain.com
Create owner account]
F --> G[Enable Basic Auth & Hardening]
G --> H[Production Ready ✅]
