How To Install N8n Workflow Automation Platform On Ubuntu 24 04

How to Install n8n Workflow Automation Platform on Ubuntu 24.04

n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that lets you connect apps and services using a visual interface. It’s ideal for automating repetitive tasks without complex code.

Prerequisites

Before starting:

Fresh Ubuntu 24.04 VPS/server
Registered domain: n8n2.domainhere.info
Root or sudo access
Ports 80 and 443 open
Docker and Nginx will be used

Install Docker

Docker will run n8n inside a container. Update system,

apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Install required packages,

apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg nano

Add Docker’s GPG key,

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | \
sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Add Docker repo,

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) \
  signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install Docker,

apt update
apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Start and enable Docker,

systemctl enable --now docker

Verify Docker,

docker version

Output:

root@vps:~# docker version
Client: Docker Engine - Community
 Version:           28.3.3
 API version:       1.51
 Go version:        go1.24.5
 Git commit:        980b856
 Built:             Fri Jul 25 11:34:09 2025
 OS/Arch:           linux/amd64
 Context:           default

Server: Docker Engine - Community
 Engine:
  Version:          28.3.3
  API version:      1.51 (minimum version 1.24)
  Go version:       go1.24.5
  Git commit:       bea959c
  Built:            Fri Jul 25 11:34:09 2025
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.7.27
  GitCommit:        05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc:
  Version:          1.2.5
  GitCommit:        v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

Install Nginx

Nginx will act as a reverse proxy for n8n. Install Nginx using below command,

apt install -y nginx

Start and enable,

systemctl enable --now nginx

Check status,

systemctl status nginx

Output:

root@vps:~# systemctl status nginx
● nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2025-07-31 16:16:17 UTC; 1h 4min ago
       Docs: man:nginx(8)
   Main PID: 8414 (nginx)
      Tasks: 5 (limit: 4604)
     Memory: 6.6M (peak: 20.3M)
        CPU: 768ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/nginx.service
             ├─8414 "nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on;"
             ├─9094 "nginx: worker process"
             ├─9095 "nginx: worker process"
             ├─9096 "nginx: worker process"
             └─9097 "nginx: worker process"

Configure Nginx for n8n

Create config,

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n2.domainhere.info

Note: Replace n8n2.domainhere.info with actual domain name

Add:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name n8n2.domainhere.info;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5678/;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        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;
    }
}

Enable config,

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n2.domainhere.info /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test and reload,

nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

Configure Firewall

Allow necessary ports,

ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
ufw allow 5678/tcp
ufw reload

Output:

root@vps:~# ufw reload
Firewall reloaded
root@vps:~#

Install Certbot for SSL

Install Certbot and Nginx plugin,

apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Run Certbot,

certbot --nginx -d n8n2.domainhere.info

Note: Replace n8n2.domainhere.info with actual domain name

It will:

Ask for an email
Register with Let’s Encrypt
Set up HTTPS

Create Persistent Docker Volume

Create Docker Volume using below command,

docker volume create n8n_data

Run n8n Container using below command,

docker run -it --rm --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

Output:

root@vps:~# docker run -it --rm --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
Unable to find image 'docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:latest' locally
latest: Pulling from n8nio/n8n
fe07684b16b8: Pull complete 
49b72e7e39fe: Pull complete 
c1ab3b052759: Pull complete 
845179b1d451: Pull complete 
ad03744990d9: Pull complete 
4f4fb700ef54: Pull complete 
dfa6d2aca810: Pull complete 
27699bb6f957: Pull complete 
83e016eda368: Pull complete 
e74e7229ed04: Pull complete 
2e30d6f5b43e: Pull complete 
7ab76b2acd73: Pull complete 
There is a deprecation related to your environment variables. Please take the recommended actions to update your configuration:
 - N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED -> Running n8n without task runners is deprecated. Task runners will be turned on by default in a future version. Please set `N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true` to enable task runners now and avoid potential issues in the future. Learn more: https://docs.n8n.io/hosting/configuration/task-runners/

[license SDK] Skipping renewal on init because renewal is not due yet or cert is not initialized
Version: 1.104.2

Editor is now accessible via:
http://localhost:5678

Press "o" to open in Browser.