Self-Host Your Own Automation Platform with n8n + Docker

n8n is a powerful self-hosted workflow automation tool. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to self-host n8n on Linux using Docker. You’ll learn how to set up the environment, configure it with a .env file, and build workflows that connect to services like Google Sheets and Discord.

We’ll start with a simple manual trigger, then create a scheduled workflow, and move on to a more advanced automation that pulls in data from external services and processes it through n8n’s visual workflow editor. Whether you’re just exploring n8n or ready to start building, this guide will help you get up and running with a flexible, powerful automation platform.

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Info

For this setup, I’ll be using Docker Compose on Ubuntu Linux—specifically the latest Ubuntu LTS and the latest version of Docker with Compose support. This makes the setup clean, consistent, and easy to repeat.

To to learn more about n8n, check out the GitHub repo

Install Docker

To install docker, see this post

Setting Up

Let’s walk through the initial setup.

Check Docker Installation

First, make sure Docker is installed and working by running:

docker -v

If that returns a version, you’re good to go.

Create the Project Folder

I like to keep things organized under /opt/stacks, but you can adjust this to fit your structure:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks/n8n
sudo chown serveradmin:serveradmin -R /opt/stacks
cd /opt/stacks/n8n

Create the Docker Compose File

Create the file:

nano compose.yaml

Paste in the following yaml:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    env_file:
      - .env
    volumes:
      - ./data:/home/node/.n8n
      - ./files:/files
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    # labels:
      # - "traefik.enable=true"
      # - "traefik.http.routers.${TRAEFIK_ROUTER_NAME}.rule=Host(`${TRAEFIK_DOMAIN}`)"
      # - "traefik.http.routers.${TRAEFIK_ROUTER_NAME}.entrypoints=websecure"
      # - "traefik.http.routers.${TRAEFIK_ROUTER_NAME}.tls.certresolver=${TRAEFIK_CERT_RESOLVER}"
      # - "traefik.http.services.${TRAEFIK_ROUTER_NAME}.loadbalancer.server.port=5678"

  # If you're running your own external PostgreSQL instance, you can comment out this service
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15
    restart: always
    env_file:
      - .env
    volumes:
      - ./postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

This gives us a working setup using Docker Compose, with support for environment variables, volumes for persistence, and optional Traefik labels if you want to enable TLS down the line.

Create the .env File

Create and edit the environment file:

nano .env

Paste in your values:

# n8n Settings
DOMAIN_NAME=example.com
SUBDOMAIN=n8n
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York
N8N_HOST=n8n.example.com
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.example.com/
N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false
NODE_ENV=production

# Traefik (optional)
TRAEFIK_ROUTER_NAME=n8n
TRAEFIK_DOMAIN=n8n.example.com
TRAEFIK_CERT_RESOLVER=mytlschallenge

# PostgreSQL
POSTGRES_DB=n8n
POSTGRES_USER=n8n
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=changeme123

This file lets us easily manage settings, especially if you’re running multiple stacks. If you’re using Traefik, the optional labels in compose.yaml will pull values from here automatically.

Starting the Stack

Navigate to your project directory:

cd /opt/stacks/n8n

Then bring everything up in the background:

docker compose up -d

Docker will pull the required images and spin up your containers. Once that’s done, n8n should be up and running—by default on port 5678, or at the domain you configured if you’re using a reverse proxy like Traefik.

Confirm It’s Running

To confirm everything started correctly, run:

docker ps

You should see both the n8n and postgres containers listed and running. If not, check the logs with:

docker compose logs

This can help troubleshoot any startup issues.

Exploring n8n

With everything up and running, open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:5678

or use your domain if you’ve set up a reverse proxy. You’ll be prompted to create an admin account the first time you log in.

From here, you’re ready to start building workflows.

More info

If you are looking to combine this stack with an AI/LLM stack, this post

Join the conversation

Just published a full tutorial on self-hosting n8n with Docker on Ubuntu.
From setup to building workflows with Google Sheets, Ollama, and Discord - this guide walks you through everything.https://t.co/cUK7wtNFe2 pic.twitter.com/4yKMd8mJvU

— Techno Tim (@TechnoTimLive) July 11, 2025

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