n8n — Workflow Automation Platform

Deploy n8n — the fair-code workflow automation platform — on Railway with automatic volume persistence.

n8n is a powerful automation tool with 400+ native integrations and a visual editor for building workflows. Self-host it to keep full control over your data.

Features

400+ integrations — Slack, Gmail, GitHub, PostgreSQL, OpenAI, Shopify, and more
Visual workflow builder — drag-and-drop node-based editor with 200+ components
Self-hosted — source-available license, deploy on your own infrastructure
Webhooks & REST API — trigger and control workflows programmatically

Quick Start

Click the Deploy button above
Set N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY (or use auto-generated one — but set it explicitly to avoid losing credentials on redeploy)
n8n starts at http://your-project.railway.app
Create your first admin account through the setup wizard

Environment Variables

Required

Variable	Default	Description
`N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	(auto-generated)	Encrypts credentials. Set once and never change.

Optional

Variable	Default	Description
`N8N_PORT`	`5678`	Port n8n listens on
`GENERIC_TIMEZONE`	`UTC`	Timezone for schedule-triggered nodes
`N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE`	`false`	Enable HTTP basic auth on the UI

PostgreSQL (optional)

By default n8n uses SQLite on a persistent volume. For production workloads, add a PostgreSQL service binding:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Railway Edge               │
│     (TLS termination, routing)      │
└────────────┬────────────────────────┘
             │                         
┌────────────▼────────────────────────┐
│     n8n Container (port 5678)       │
│  Workflow engine, webhooks, REST    │
│  400+ integrations, visual editor   │
└────────────┬────────────────────────┘
             │                         
┌────────────▼────────────────────────┐
│  Data Layer                         │
│                                     │
│  SQLite (default on volume):        │
│  └─ /home/node/.n8n/                │
│     ├─ workflows & credentials      │
│     └─ config & cache               │
│                                     │
│  PostgreSQL (optional):             │
│  └─ Add Railway service binding     │
│     └─ Production workloads         │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

To connect n8n to PostgreSQL, set these environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
`DB_TYPE`	`sqlite`	Set to `postgresdb`
`DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST`	—	Postgres hostname
`DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT`	`5432`	Postgres port
`DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE`	—	Database name
`DB_POSTGRESDB_USER`	—	Postgres user
`DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD`	—	Postgres password

Deployment Details

Setting	Value
Base Image	`n8nio/n8n:2.28.7`
Port	`5678` (HTTP)
Health Check Path	`/`
Restart Policy	On Failure (max 5 retries)
Startup Timeout	300 seconds
Volume Mount	`/home/node/.n8n`
Required Env Var	`N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY`

Volumes

This template provisions a persistent volume at /home/node/.n8n to store workflows, credentials, and the SQLite database. Data persists across redeployments.

Local Development

git clone git@github.com:INAPP-Mobile/railway-n8n.git
cd railway-n8n
cp .env.example .env
docker build -t railway-n8n .
docker run -d --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/n8n-data:/home/node/.n8n --env-file .env railway-n8n

Open http://localhost:5678.

Deploy and Host

Click the Deploy button above to deploy on Railway with automatic HTTPS, scaling, and a persistent volume. No configuration required — n8n starts with a managed SQLite database and auto-generated encryption key.

Hosting Options

Railway (recommended): One-click deploy, automatic HTTPS, persistent volume, and scaling
Docker/Podman: Self-host on your own server with Docker Compose
Kubernetes: Deploy using the official Docker image (n8nio/n8n:2.28.7)

About Hosting

The n8n Docker image runs on port 5678. The volume at /home/node/.n8n persists workflows, credentials, and the SQLite database across deployments.

Key considerations:

Encryption key: N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY encrypts stored credentials. Set once and never change it.
Port: Use N8N_PORT to configure the listen port.
Scaling: For production workloads, add a PostgreSQL database via service bindings.

Why Deploy

n8n is the most popular self-hosted workflow automation platform with 61K+ GitHub stars. Self-hosting gives you full privacy, unlimited integrations, no per-workflow fees, and compliance control.

Common Use Cases

Communication — Slack notifications, email digests, Teams alerts
CRM & Sales — Lead capture, Salesforce sync, customer segmentation
Data Pipeline — CSV/JSON transforms, API aggregation, ETL jobs
AI & LLMs — OpenAI chat completions, document processing, AI agents
DevOps — CI/CD notifications, log monitoring, infrastructure alerts
Marketing — Email campaigns, social media posting, lead scoring

Dependencies for Running This Template

Dependency	Type	Required	Notes
Storage volume	Auto-provisioned	Yes	Persists SQLite data, workflows, and credentials across deployments
`N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	Env var	Recommended	Set once and never change — lost on redeploy if auto-generated
PostgreSQL (optional)	Service binding	No	Add via Railway for production workloads instead of SQLite

Deployment Dependencies

No additional infrastructure needed — the volume auto-provisions on first deploy. For production, add a PostgreSQL service binding.