n8n Docker: Complete Installation and Configuration Guide (2026)

n8n Docker is the deployment method preferred by teams who want total control over their data. In 15 minutes, you can have your own n8n instance ready to automate your business processes — without paying the cloud subscription.

Why Install n8n with Docker?

• Complete isolation: n8n runs in its own container with no system conflicts
• One-command updates: docker pull n8nio/n8n:latest
• Persistent data: Docker volumes preserve your workflows across restarts
• Reproducible: The same docker-compose.yml works on any server
• Free: n8n Community Edition is open source with no workflow limits

Prerequisites

• A Linux VPS (Ubuntu 22.04 recommended) with at least 1 GB RAM
• Docker Engine 24.x or higher
• Docker Compose V2
• A domain name pointed to your server (for HTTPS)

Installing n8n with Docker Compose

Step 1: Create the directory structure

mkdir -p ~/n8n/data
cd ~/n8n

Step 2: Create docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_HOST=n8n.your-domain.com
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.your-domain.com/
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Europe/London
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your-strong-password
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n_user
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=your-db-password
    volumes:
      - ./data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      - postgres

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    container_name: n8n_postgres
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=n8n
      - POSTGRES_USER=n8n_user
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-db-password
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  postgres_data:

Step 3: Start n8n

docker compose up -d
docker compose ps
docker compose logs n8n

HTTPS Configuration with Nginx

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name n8n.your-domain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/n8n.your-domain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/n8n.your-domain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5678;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_buffering off;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

Get your SSL certificate: certbot --nginx -d n8n.your-domain.com

Essential Environment Variables

Updating n8n

cd ~/n8n
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Automated Backups

#!/bin/bash
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
docker exec n8n_postgres pg_dump -U n8n_user n8n > ~/backups/n8n_backup_$DATE.sql
find ~/backups -name "n8n_backup_*.sql" -mtime +30 -delete

Add to cron: 0 3 * * * /bin/bash ~/backup-n8n.sh

Conclusion

You now have an n8n Docker instance running with HTTPS and automated backups. To build autonomous AI agents on your n8n instance, check out our n8n & Make automation service.