tools-only n8n Docs
Documentation for n8n, a workflow automation platform.
Documentation for n8n, a workflow automation platform. This file helps LLMs understand and use the documentation more effectively.
All documentation
Welcome to n8n Docs
This is the documentation for n8n, a fair-code licensed workflow automation tool that combines AI capabilities with business process automation.
It covers everything from setup to usage and development. It's a work in progress and all contributions are welcome.
Where to start
Quickstarts
Jump in with n8n's quickstart guides.
Try it out
Choose the right n8n for you
Cloud, npm, self-host . . .
Options
Explore integrations
Browse n8n's integrations library.
Find your apps
Build AI functionality
n8n supports building AI functionality and tools.
Advanced AI
About n8n
n8n (pronounced n-eight-n) helps you to connect any app with an API with any other, and manipulate its data with little or no code.
- Customizable: highly flexible workflows and the option to build custom nodes.
- Convenient: use the npm or Docker to try out n8n, or the Cloud hosting option if you want us to handle the infrastructure.
- Privacy-focused: self-host n8n for privacy and security.
n8n v1.0 migration guide
This document provides a summary of what you should be aware of before updating to version 1.0 of n8n.
The release of n8n 1.0 marks a milestone in n8n's journey to make n8n available for demanding production environments. Version 1.0 represents the hard work invested over the last four years to make n8n the most accessible, powerful, and versatile automation tool. n8n 1.0 is now ready for use in production.
New features
Python support in the Code node
Although JavaScript remains the default language, you can now also select Python as an option in the Code node and even make use of many Python modules. Note that Python is unavailable in Code nodes added to a workflow before v1.0.
Execution order
n8n 1.0 introduces a new execution order for multi-branch workflows:
In multi-branch workflows, n8n needs to determine the order in which to execute nodes on branches. Previously, n8n executed the first node of each branch, then the second of each branch, and so on (breadth-first). The new execution order ensures that each branch executes completely before starting the next one (depth-first). Branches execute based on their position on the canvas, from top to bottom. If two branches are at the same height, the leftmost one executes first.
n8n used to execute multi-input nodes as long as they received data on their first input. Nodes connected to the second input of multi-input nodes automatically executed regardless of whether they received data. The new execution order introduced in n8n 1.0 simplifies this behavior: Nodes are now executed only when they receive data, and multi-input nodes require data on at least one of their inputs to execute.
Your existing workflows will use the legacy order, while new workflows will execute using the v1 order. You can configure the execution order for each workflow in workflow settings.
Deprecations
MySQL and MariaDB
n8n has deprecated support for MySQL and MariaDB as storage backends for n8n. These database systems are used by only a few users, yet they require continuous development and maintenance efforts. n8n recommends migrating to PostgreSQL for better compatibility and long-term support.
EXECUTIONS_PROCESS and "own" mode
Previously, you could use the EXECUTIONS_PROCESS environment variable to specify whether executions should run in the main process or in their own processes. This option and own mode are now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of n8n. This is because it led to increased code complexity while offering marginal benefits. Starting from n8n 1.0, main will be the new default.
Note that executions start much faster in main mode than in own mode. However, if a workflow consumes more memory than is available, it might crash the entire n8n application instead of just the worker thread. To mitigate this, make sure to allocate enough system resources or configure queue mode to distribute executions among multiple workers.
Breaking changes
Docker
Permissions change
When using Docker-based deployments, the n8n process is now run by the user node instead of root. This change increases security.
If permission errors appear in your n8n container logs when starting n8n, you may need to update the permissions by executing the following command on the Docker host:
docker run --rm -it --user root -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n --entrypoint chown n8nio/base:16 -R node:node /home/node/.n8n
Image removal
We've removed the Debian and RHEL images. If you were using these you need to change the image you use. This shouldn't result in any errors unless you were making a custom image based on one of those images.
Entrypoint change
The entrypoint for the container has changed and you no longer need to specify the n8n command. If you were previously running n8n worker --concurrency=5 it's now worker --concurrency=5
Workflow failures due to expression errors
Workflow executions may fail due to syntax or runtime errors in expressions, such as those that reference non-existent nodes. While expressions already throw errors on the frontend, this change ensures that n8n also throws errors on the backend, where they were previously silently ignored. To receive notifications of failing workflows, n8n recommends setting up an "error workflow" under workflow settings.
Mandatory owner account
This change makes User Management mandatory and removes support for other authentication methods, such as BasicAuth and External JWT. Note that the number of permitted users on n8n.cloud or custom plans still varies depending on your subscription.
Directory for installing custom nodes
n8n will no longer load custom nodes from its global node_modules directory. Instead, you must install (or link) them to ~/.n8n/custom (or a directory defined by N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS). Custom nodes that are npm packages will be located in ~/.n8n/nodes. If you have custom nodes that were linked using npm link into the global node_modules directory, you need to link them again, into ~/.n8n/nodes instead.
WebSockets
The N8N_PUSH_BACKEND environment variable can be used to configure one of two available methods for pushing updates to the user interface: sse and websocket. Starting with n8n 1.0, websocket is the default method.
Date transformation functions
n8n provides various transformation functions that operate on dates. These functions may return either a JavaScript Date or a Luxon DateTime object. With the new behavior, the return type always matches the input. If you call a date transformation function on a Date, it returns a Date. Similarly, if you call it on a DateTime object, it returns a DateTime object.
To identify any workflows and nodes that might be impacted by this change, you can use this utility workflow.
For more information about date transformation functions, please refer to the official documentation.
Execution data retention
Starting from n8n 1.0, all successful, failed, and manual workflow executions will be saved by default. These settings can be modified for each workflow under "Workflow Settings," or globally using the respective environment variables. Additionally, the EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE setting will be enabled by default, with EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE_MAX_COUNT set to 10,000. These default settings are designed to prevent performance degradation when using SQLite. Make sure to configure them according to your individual requirements and system capacity.
Removed N8N_USE_DEPRECATED_REQUEST_LIB
The legacy request library has been deprecated for some time now. As of n8n 1.0, the ability to fall back to it in the HTTP Request node by setting the N8N_USE_DEPRECATED_REQUEST_LIB environment variable has been fully removed. The HTTP Request node will now always use the new HttpRequest interface.
If you build custom nodes, refer to HTTP request helpers for more information on migrating to the new interface.
Removed WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL
As of version 0.227.0, n8n has renamed the WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL configuration option to WEBHOOK_URL. In n8n 1.0, WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL has been removed. Update your setup to reflect the new name. For more information about this configuration option, refer to the docs.
Remove Node 16 support
n8n now requires Node 18.17.0 or above.
Updating to n8n 1.0
- Create a full backup of n8n.
- n8n recommends updating to the latest n8n 0.x release before updating to n8n 1.x. This will allow you to pinpoint any potential issues to the correct release. Once you have verified that n8n 0.x starts up without any issues, proceed to the next step.
- Carefully read the Deprecations and Breaking Changes sections above to assess how they may affect your setup.
- Update to n8n 1.0:
- During beta (before July 24th 2023): If using Docker, pull the
nextDocker image. - After July 24th 2023: If using Docker, pull the
latestDocker image.
- During beta (before July 24th 2023): If using Docker, pull the
- If you encounter any issues, redeploy the previous n8n version and restore the backup.
Reporting issues
If you encounter any issues during the process of updating to n8n 1.0, please seek help in the community forum.
Thank you
We would like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of our users for their continued support and feedback. Your contributions are invaluable in helping us make n8n the best possible automation tool. We're excited to continue working with you as we move forward with the release of version 1.0 and beyond. Thank you for being a part of our journey!
Choose your n8n
This section contains information on n8n's range of platforms, pricing plans, and licenses.
Platforms
There are different ways to set up n8n depending on how you intend to use it:
- n8n Cloud: hosted solution, no need to install anything.
- Self-host: recommended method for production or customized use cases.
- npm
- Docker
- Server setup guides for popular platforms
- Embed: n8n Embed allows you to white label n8n and build it into your own product. Contact n8n on the Embed website for pricing and support.
Self-hosting knowledge prerequisites
Self-hosting n8n requires technical knowledge, including:
- Setting up and configuring servers and containers
- Managing application resources and scaling
- Securing servers and applications
- Configuring n8n
n8n recommends self-hosting for expert users. Mistakes can lead to data loss, security issues, and downtime. If you aren't experienced at managing servers, n8n recommends n8n Cloud.
Licenses
n8n's Sustainable Use License and n8n Enterprise License are based on the fair-code model.
For a detailed explanation of the license, refer to Sustainable Use License.
Free versions
n8n offers the following free options:
- A free trial of Cloud
- A free self-hosted community edition for self-hosted users
Paid versions
n8n has two paid versions:
- n8n Cloud: choose from a range of paid plans to suit your usage and feature needs.
- Self-hosted: there are both free and paid versions of self-hosted.
For details of the Cloud plans and contact details for Enterprise Self-hosted, refer to Pricing on the n8n website.
External secrets
Feature availability
- External secrets are available on Enterprise Self-hosted and Enterprise Cloud plans.
- n8n supports AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, GCP Secrets Manager, Infisical and HashiCorp Vault.
- n8n doesn't support HashiCorp Vault Secrets.
You can use an external secrets store to manage credentials for n8n.
n8n stores all credentials encrypted in its database, and restricts access to them by default. With the external secrets feature, you can store sensitive credential information in an external vault, and have n8n load it in when required. This provides an extra layer of security and allows you to manage credentials used across multiple n8n environments in one central place.
Connect n8n to your secrets store
Secret names
Your secret names can't contain spaces, hyphens, or other special characters. n8n supports secret names containing alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, and 0-9), and underscores. n8n currently only supports plaintext values for secrets, not JSON objects or key-value pairs.
In n8n, go to Settings > External Secrets.
Select Set Up for your store provider.
Enter the credentials for your provider:
Azure Key Vault: Provide your vault name, tenant ID, client ID, and client secret. Refer to the Azure documentation to register a Microsoft Entra ID app and create a service principal. n8n supports only single-line values for secrets.
AWS Secrets Manager: provide your access key ID, secret access key, and region. The IAM user must have the
secretsmanager:ListSecrets,secretsmanager:BatchGetSecretValue, andsecretsmanager:GetSecretValuepermissions.To give n8n access to all secrets in your AWS Secrets Manager, you can attach the following policy to the IAM user:
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Sid": "AccessAllSecrets", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "secretsmanager:ListSecrets", "secretsmanager:BatchGetSecretValue", "secretsmanager:GetResourcePolicy", "secretsmanager:GetSecretValue", "secretsmanager:DescribeSecret", "secretsmanager:ListSecretVersionIds", ], "Resource": "*" } ] }You can also be more restrictive and give n8n access to select specific AWS Secret Manager secrets. You still need to allow the
secretsmanager:ListSecretsandsecretsmanager:BatchGetSecretValuepermissions to access all resources. These permissions allow n8n to retrieve ARN-scoped secrets, but don't provide access to the secret values.Next, you need set the scope for the
secretsmanager:GetSecretValuepermission to the specific Amazon Resource Names (ARNs) for the secrets you wish to share with n8n. Ensure you use the correct region and account ID in each resource ARNs. You can find the ARN details in the AWS dashboard for your secrets.For example, the following IAM policy only allows access to secrets with a name starting with
n8nin your specified AWS account and region:{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Sid": "ListingSecrets", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "secretsmanager:ListSecrets", "secretsmanager:BatchGetSecretValue" ], "Resource": "*" }, { "Sid": "RetrievingSecrets", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "secretsmanager:GetSecretValue", "secretsmanager:DescribeSecret" ], "Resource": [ "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-west-2:123456789000:secret:n8n*" ] } ] }For more IAM permission policy examples, consult the AWS documentation.
HashiCorp Vault: provide the Vault URL for your vault instance, and select your Authentication Method. Enter your authentication details. Optionally provide a namespace.
- Refer to the HashiCorp documentation for your authentication method: Token auth method
AppRole auth method
Userpass auth method - If you use vault namespaces, you can enter the namespace n8n should connect to. Refer to Vault Enterprise namespaces for more information on HashiCorp Vault namespaces.
- Refer to the HashiCorp documentation for your authentication method: Token auth method
Infisical: provide a Service Token. Refer to Infisical's Service token documentation for information on getting your token. If you self-host Infisical, enter the Site URL.
Infisical environment
Make sure you select the correct Infisical environment when creating your token. n8n will load secrets from this environment, and won't have access to secrets in other Infisical environments. n8n only support service tokens that have access to a single environment.
Infisical folders
n8n doesn't support Infisical folders.
Google Cloud Platform: provide a Service Account Key (JSON) for a service account that has at least these roles:
Secret Manager Secret AccessorandSecret Manager Secret Viewer. Refer to Google's service account documentation for more information.
Save your configuration.
Enable the provider using the Disabled / Enabled toggle.
Use secrets in n8n credentials
To use a secret from your store in an n8n credential:
Create a new credential, or open an existing one.
On the field where you want to use a secret:
- Hover over the field.
- Select Expression.
In the field where you want to use a secret, enter an expression referencing the secret name:
{{ $secrets.<vault-name>.<secret-name> }}<vault-name>is eithervault(for HashiCorp) orinfisicalorawsSecretsManager. Replace<secret-name>with the name as it appears in your vault.
Using external secrets with n8n environments
n8n's Source control and environments feature allows you to create different n8n environments, backed by Git. The feature doesn't support using different credentials in different instances. You can use an external secrets vault to provide different credentials for different environments by connecting each n8n instance to a different vault or project environment.
For example, you have two n8n instances, one for development and one for production. You use Infisical for your vault. In Infisical, create a project with two environments, development and production. Generate a token for each Infisical environment. Use the token for the development environment to connect your development n8n instance, and the token for your production environment to connect your production n8n instance.
Using external secrets in projects
To use external secrets in an RBAC project, you must have an instance owner or instance admin as a member of the project.
Troubleshooting
Infisical version changes
Infisical version upgrades can introduce problems connecting to n8n. If your Infisical connection stops working, check if there was a recent version change. If so, report the issue to help@n8n.io.
Only set external secrets on credentials owned by an instance owner or admin
Due to the permissions that instance owners and admins have, it's possible for owners and admins to update credentials owned by another user with a secrets expression. This will appear to work in preview for an instance owner or admin, but the secret won't resolve when the workflow runs in production.
Only use external secrets for credentials that are owned by an instance admin or owner. This ensures they resolve correctly in production.
AI agent
AI agents are artificial intelligence systems capable of responding to requests, making decisions, and performing real-world tasks for users. They use large language models (LLMs) to interpret user input and make decisions about how to best process requests using the information and resources they have available.
AI chain
AI chains allow you to interact with large language models (LLMs) and other resources in sequences of calls to components. AI chains in n8n don't use persistent memory, so you can't use them to reference previous context (use AI agents for this).
AI completion
Completions are the responses generated by a model like GPT.
AI embedding
Embeddings are numerical representations of data using vectors. They're used by AI to interpret complex data and relationships by mapping values across many dimensions. Vector databases, or vector stores, are databases designed to store and access embeddings.
AI groundedness
In AI, and specifically in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) contexts, groundedness and ungroundedness are measures of how much a model's responses accurately reflect source information. The model uses its source documents to generate grounded responses, while ungrounded responses involve speculation or hallucination unsupported by those same sources.
AI hallucination
Hallucination in AI is when an LLM (large language model) mistakenly perceives patterns or objects that don't exist.
AI reranking
Reranking is a technique that refines the order of a list of candidate documents to improve the relevance of search results. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and other applications use reranking to prioritize the most relevant information for generation or downstream tasks.
AI memory
In an AI context, memory allows AI tools to persist message context across interactions. This allows you to have a continuing conversations with AI agents, for example, without submitting ongoing context with each message. In n8n, AI agent nodes can use memory, but AI chains can't.
AI retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
Retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, is a technique for providing LLMs access to new information from external sources to improve AI responses. RAG systems retrieve relevant documents to ground responses in up-to-date, domain-specific, or proprietary knowledge to supplement their original training data. RAG systems often rely on vector stores to manage and search this external data efficiently.
AI tool
In an AI context, a tool is an add-on resource that the AI can refer to for specific information or functionality when responding to a request. The AI model can use a tool to interact with external systems or complete specific, focused tasks.
AI vector store
A vector store, or vector database, stores mathematical representations of information. Use with embeddings and retrievers to create a database that your AI can access when answering questions.
API
APIs, or application programming interfaces, offer programmatic access to a service's data and functionality. APIs make it easier for software to interact with external systems. They're often offered as an alternative to traditional user-focused interfaces accessed through web browsers or UI.
canvas (n8n)
The canvas is the main interface for building workflows in n8n's editor UI. You use the canvas to add and connect nodes to compose workflows.
cluster node (n8n)
In n8n, cluster nodes are groups of nodes that work together to provide functionality in a workflow. They consist of a root node and one or more sub nodes that extend the node's functionality.
credential (n8n)
In n8n, credentials store authentication information to connect with specific apps and services. After creating credentials with your authentication information (username and password, API key, OAuth secrets, etc.), you can use the associated app node to interact with the service.
data pinning (n8n)
Data pinning allows you to temporarily freeze the output data of a node during workflow development. This allows you to develop workflows with predictable data without making repeated requests to external services. Production workflows ignore pinned data and request new data on each execution.
editor (n8n)
The n8n editor UI allows you to create and manage workflows. The main area is the canvas, where you can compose workflows by adding, configuring, and connecting nodes. The side and top panels allow you to access other areas of the UI like credentials, templates, variables, executions, and more.
entitlement (n8n)
In n8n, entitlements grant n8n instances access to plan-restricted features for a specific period of time.
Floating entitlements are a pool of entitlements that you can distribute among various n8n instances. You can re-assign a floating entitlement to transfer its access to a different n8n instance.
evaluation (n8n)
In n8n, evaluation allows you to tag and organize execution history and compare it against new executions. You can use this to understand how your workflow performs over time as you make changes. In particular, this is useful while developing AI-centered workflows.
expression (n8n)
In n8n, expressions allow you to populate node parameters dynamically by executing JavaScript code. Instead of providing a static value, you can use the n8n expression syntax to define the value using data from previous nodes, other workflows, or your n8n environment.
LangChain
LangChain is an AI-development framework used to work with large language models (LLMs). LangChain provides a standardized system for working with a wide variety of models and other resources and linking different components together to build complex applications.
Large language model (LLM)
Large language models, or LLMs, are AI machine learning models designed to excel in natural language processing (NLP) tasks. They're built by training on large amounts of data to develop probabilistic models of language and other data.
node (n8n)
In n8n, nodes are individual components that you compose to create workflows. Nodes define when the workflow should run, allow you to fetch, send, and process data, can define flow control logic, and connect with external services.
project (n8n)
n8n projects allow you to separate workflows, variables, and credentials into separate groups for easier management. Projects make it easier for teams to collaborate by sharing and compartmentalizing related resources.
root node (n8n)
Each n8n cluster node contains a single root nodes that defines the main functionality of the cluster. One or more sub nodes attach to the root node to extend its functionality.
sub node (n8n)
n8n cluster nodes consist of one or more sub nodes connected to a root node. Sub nodes extend the functionality of the root node, providing access to specific services or resources or offering specific types of dedicated processing, like calculator functionality, for example.
template (n8n)
n8n templates are pre-built workflows designed by n8n and community members that you can import into your n8n instance. When using templates, you may need to fill in credentials and adjust the configuration to suit your needs.
trigger node (n8n)
A trigger node is a special node responsible for executing the workflow in response to certain conditions. All production workflows need at least one trigger to determine when the workflow should run.
workflow (n8n)
An n8n workflow is a collection of nodes that automate a process. Workflows begin execution when a trigger condition occurs and execute sequentially to achieve complex tasks.
Insights
Insights gives instance owners and admins visibility into how workflows perform over time. This feature consists of three parts:
- Insights summary banner: Shows key metrics about your instance from the last 7 days at the top of the overview space.
- Insights dashboard: A more detailed visual breakdown with per-workflow metrics and historical comparisons.
- Time saved (Workflow ROI): For each workflow, you can set the number of minutes of work that each production execution saves you.
Feature availability
The insights summary banner displays activity from the last 7 days for all plans. The insights dashboard is only available on Pro (with limited date ranges) and Enterprise plans.
Insights summary banner
n8n collects several metrics for both the insights summary banner and dashboard. They include:
- Total production executions (not including sub-workflow executions or manual executions)
- Total failed production executions
- Production execution failure rate
- Time saved (when set on at least one or more active workflows)
- Run time average (including wait time from any wait nodes)
Insights dashboard
Those on the Pro and Enterprise plans can access the Insights section from the side navigation. Each metric from the summary banner is also clickable, taking you to the corresponding chart.
The insights dashboard also has a table showing individual insights from each workflow including total production executions, failed production executions, failure rate, time saved, and run time average.
Insights time periods
By default, the insights summary banner and dashboard show a rolling 7 day window with a comparison to the previous period to identify increases or decreases for each metric. On the dashboard, paid plans also display data for other date ranges:
- Pro: 7 and 14 days
- Enterprise: 24 hours, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, 1 year
Setting the time saved by a workflow
For each workflow, you can set the number of minutes of work a workflow saves you each time it runs. You can configure this by navigating to the workflow, selecting the three dots menu in the top right and selecting settings. There you can update the Estimated time saved value and save.
This setting helps you calculate how much time automating a process saves over time vs the manual effort to complete the same task or process. Once set, n8n calculates the amount of time the workflow saves you based on the number of production executions and displays it on the summary banner and dashboard.
Disable or configure insights metrics collection
If you self-host n8n, you can disable or configure insights and metrics collection using environment variables.
Insights FAQs
Which executions do n8n use to calculate the values in the insights banner and dashboard?
n8n insights only collects data from production executions (for example, those from active workflows triggered on a schedule or a webhook) from the main (parent) workflow. This means that it doesn't count manual (test) executions or executions from sub-workflows or error workflows.
Does n8n use historic execution data when upgrading to a version with insights?
n8n only starts collecting data for insights once you update to the first supported version (1.89.0). This means it only reports on executions from that point forward and you won't see execution data in insights from prior periods.
Keyboard shortcuts and controls
n8n provides keyboard shortcuts for some actions.
Workflow controls
- Ctrl + Alt + n: create new workflow
- Ctrl + o: open workflow
- Ctrl + s: save the current workflow
- Ctrl + z: undo
- Ctrl + shift + z: redo
- Ctrl + Enter: execute workflow
Canvas
Move the canvas
- Ctrl + Left Mouse Button + drag: move node view
- Ctrl + Middle mouse button + drag: move node view
- Space + drag: move node view
- Middle mouse button + drag: move node view
- Two fingers on a touch screen: move node view
Canvas zoom
- + or =: zoom in
- - or _: zoom out
- 0: reset zoom level
- 1: zoom to fit workflow
- Ctrl + Mouse wheel: zoom in/out
Nodes on the canvas
- Double click on a node: open the node details
- Ctrl/Cmd + Double click on a sub-workflow node: open the sub-workflow in a new tab
- Ctrl + a: select all nodes
- Ctrl + v: paste nodes
- Shift + s: add sticky note
With one or more nodes selected in canvas
- ArrowDown: select sibling node below the current one
- ArrowLeft: select node left of the current one
- ArrowRight: select node right of the current one
- ArrowUp: select sibling node above the current one
- Ctrl + c: copy
- Ctrl + x: cut
- D: deactivate
- Delete: delete
- Enter: open
- F2: rename
- P: pin data in node. Refer to Data pinning for more information.
- Shift + ArrowLeft: select all nodes left of the current one
- Shift + ArrowRight: select all nodes right of the current one
- Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + o on a sub-workflow node: open the sub-workflow in a new tab
Node panel
- Tab: open the Node Panel
- Enter: insert selected node into workflow
- Escape: close Node panel
Node panel categories
- Enter: insert node into workflow, collapse/expand category, open subcategory
- ArrowRight: expand category, open subcategory
- ArrowLeft: collapse category, close subcategory view
Within nodes
- =: in an empty parameter input, this switches to expressions mode.
This guide outlines a series of tutorials and resources designed to get you started with n8n.
It's not necessary to complete all items listed to start using n8n. Use this as a reference to navigate to the most relevant parts of the documentation and other resources according to your needs.
Join the community
n8n has an active community where you can get and offer help. Connect, share, and learn with other n8n users:
- Ask questions and make feature requests in the Community Forum.
- Report bugs and contribute on GitHub.
Set up your n8n
If you don't have an account yet, sign up to a free trial on n8n Cloud or install n8n's community edition with Docker (recommended) or npm. See Choose your n8n for more details.
Try it out
Start with the quickstart guides to help you get up and running with building basic workflows.
Structured Courses
n8n offers two sets of courses.
Video courses
Learn key concepts and n8n features, while building examples as you go.
- The Beginner course covers the basics of n8n.
- The Advanced course covers more complex workflows, more technical nodes, and enterprise features
Text courses
Build more complex workflows while learning key concepts along the way. Earn a badge and an avatar in your community profile.
Self-hosting n8n
Explore various self-hosting options in n8n. If you’re not sure where to start, these are two popular options:
Build a node
If you can't find a node for a specific app or a service, you can build a node yourself and share with the community. See what others have built on npm website.
Stay updated
- Follow new features and bug fixes in the Release Notes
- Follow n8n on socials: Twitter/X, Discord, LinkedIn, YouTube
License Key
To enable certain licensed features, you must first activate your license. You can do this either through the UI or by setting environment variables.
Add a license key using the UI
In your n8n instance:
- Log in as Admin or Owner.
- Select Settings > Usage and plan.
- Select Enter activation key.
- Paste in your license key.
- Select Activate.
Add a license key using an environment variables
In your n8n configuration, set N8N_LICENSE_ACTIVATION_KEY to your license key. If the instance already has an activated license, this variable will have no effect.
Refer to Environment variables to learn more about configuring n8n.
Allowlist the license server IP addresses
n8n uses Cloudflare to host the license server. As the specific IP addresses can change, you need to allowlist the full range of Cloudflare IP addresses to ensure n8n can always reach the license server.
Log streaming
Feature availability
Log Streaming is available on all Enterprise plans.
Log streaming allows you to send
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