N8N Running on Main Server

Here's a comprehensive README for setting up n8n on Ubuntu with Nginx:

n8n Server Setup Guide

Prerequisites

Ubuntu Server
Node.js >= 18.17
Nginx
Domain name pointed to your server

Step 1: Install Node.js using NVM

# Install NVM
curl -o- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.2/install.sh> | bash

# Load NVM
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \\. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

# Install Node.js
nvm install 23.11.0
nvm use 23.11.0

Step 2: Install n8n

npm install n8n -g
mkdir ~/.n8n

Step 3: Create Systemd Service

Create file at /etc/systemd/system/n8n.service:

[Unit]
Description=n8n
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ubuntu
Environment="PATH=/home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v23.11.0/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"
Environment="NODE_VERSION=23.11.0"
Environment="N8N_PORT=5678"
Environment="N8N_HOST=your-domain.com"
Environment="N8N_PROTOCOL=https"
Environment="N8N_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-domain.com"
Environment="WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-domain.com"
Environment="N8N_PATH=/"
Environment="N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL=https://your-domain.com"
Environment="NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL=pdf-lib"
Environment="N8N_WEBHOOK_TEST_URL=https://your-domain.com"
Environment="N8N_WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL=https://your-domain.com"
Environment="NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096"
Environment="NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN=uuid,fs,path,child_process"
Environment="N8N_CORS_ENABLE=true"
Environment="N8N_CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://*.your-domain.com,<http://localhost:3000>,<http://localhost:5174>,<http://localhost:5173>"
Environment="N8N_CORS_METHODS=GET,POST,OPTIONS,HEAD,PATCH"
Environment="N8N_CORS_ALLOW_CREDENTIALS=true"
Environment="N8N_CORS_ALLOW_HEADERS=content-type,authorization,referrer-policy,sec-ch-ua,sec-ch-ua-mobile,sec-ch-ua-platform"
Environment="N8N_CORS_EXPOSE_HEADERS=content-type,authorization"
Environment="NODE_ENV=production"
Environment="N8N_WEBHOOK_TIMEOUT=600000"
Environment="N8N_EXECUTIONS_TIMEOUT=600"
Environment="N8N_PROCESS_TIMEOUT=600"
Environment="N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true"
Environment="N8N_PROXY_HOPS=1"
Environment="N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true"
ExecStart=/home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v23.11.0/bin/n8n start
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 4: Setup Nginx Configuration

Create file at /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-domain.com:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass <http://localhost:5678>;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_buffering off;
        proxy_cache off;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

        # WebSocket support
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade";

        # Extended timeouts
        proxy_connect_timeout 300;
        proxy_send_timeout 300;
        proxy_read_timeout 300;
        send_timeout 300;
        keepalive_timeout 300;
    }
}

Step 5: Enable Site and Setup SSL

# Create symlink
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-domain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Test nginx config
sudo nginx -t

# Install Certbot
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Get SSL certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

Step 6: Start Services

# Enable and start n8n
sudo systemctl enable n8n
sudo systemctl start n8n

# Reload nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Useful Commands

# Check n8n status
sudo systemctl status n8n

# View n8n logs
sudo journalctl -u n8n.service -f

# Restart n8n
sudo systemctl restart n8n

# Test nginx config
sudo nginx -t

# Reload nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Important Notes

Replace your-domain.com with your actual domain
Adjust the Node.js path if using a different version
Modify CORS settings according to your needs
The NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN and NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL settings allow specific Node.js modules to be used in n8n functions
The memory limit is set to 4GB (-max-old-space-size=4096); adjust according to your server's capacity
N8N_PROXY_HOPS=1 if you use reverse proxy such as NGINX

Security Considerations

Always use HTTPS in production
Review and adjust CORS settings based on your requirements
Keep Node.js and n8n updated to the latest stable versions
Regularly backup your n8n data
Monitor server resources and logs

Would you like me to explain or expand on any part of this documentation?

PseudoPort/n8n_ubuntu_nginx.md