Скачать или смотреть Self-Host Your Own Automation Platform with n8n in Ubuntu

Learn how to install N8N locally on your linux machine. I will be using Ubuntu to demonstrate in this video.

Self-Host Your Own Automation Platform with n8n in Ubuntu

Here are the commands featured in my video


🦹🏻LOGGING IN AS A SUPER USER:
sudo su

Linux version:
lsb_release -a

Update and upgrade packages:
apt update & upgrade -y


🌟INSTALL DEPENDENCIES FOR n8n:
Install npm (Node Package Manager) and Node.js (open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that allows developers to execute JavaScript code):
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Verify installation:
npm -v # Should show 9.x or later
node -v # Should show v20.x or later


⛑️INSTALL n8n:
npm install -g n8n

Start n8n:
n8n
(Press Ctrl+C to stop it)


🐕‍🦺RUN N8N AS A SYSTEM SERVICE(For Production):
Create a system user:
adduser --system --group --no-create-home n8n

Create a dedicated directory for n8n (for permission management, data persistence and security isolation)
mkdir -p /var/lib/n8n
chown -R n8n:n8n /var/lib/n8n

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

Paste this content:
[Unit]
Description=n8n workflow automation
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=n8n
Group=n8n
Environment="N8N_USER_FOLDER=/var/lib/n8n"
Environment="N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true"
Environment="N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false" # Only if accessing via IP
ExecStart=/usr/bin/n8n
Restart=on-failure
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/n8n

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target


Enable and start the service:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable n8n
systemctl start n8n

Check status:
systemctl status n8n

Get IP address of your linux machine:
ip addr



🧪TESTING
Accessing n8n using web browser
http://192.168.44.217:5678

Testng n8n using cURL command
curl http://localhost:5678




🚼CHANGE PORT NUMBER:
Edit the service file:
nano /etc/systemd/system/n8n.service

Modify the ExecStart line to include --port 8080:
[Unit]
Description=n8n workflow automation
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=n8n
Group=n8n
Environment="N8N_USER_FOLDER=/var/lib/n8n"
Environment="N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true"
Environment="N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false"
Environment="N8N_PORT=8080" # PORT NUMBER
ExecStart=/usr/bin/n8n
Restart=on-failure
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/n8n

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target


Reload and restart:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart n8n
systemctl status n8n




🪰🐞DEBUGGING
Check if n8n is listening on the new port:
ss -tulnp | grep 8080
ps -aux | grep PID_NUMBER

apt install net-tools
netstat -tulnp | grep 8080
ps -aux | grep PID_NUMBER


Or check service logs:
journalctl -u n8n -f

Check firewall
ufw status
ufw allow 8080



⛪TEMPORARY TESTING (Without Systemd)
Stop the service
systemctl stop n8n
systemctl status n8n

Run manually
n8n --port 8080

(Ctrl+C to stop it, then restart the service with sudo systemctl start n8n)




❓❓❓QUESTIONS❓❓❓

❓Why do we have to create a dedicated directory for n8n?
Creating a dedicated directory for n8n (like /var/lib/n8n) is necessary for several important reasons.
1. Permission Management
The n8n service runs as a system user (n8n) with restricted privileges for security
By default, system users created with --no-create-home have no home directory (/nonexistent)
A dedicated directory ensures the n8n user has write permissions where needed

2. Data Persistence
n8n needs to store:
Configuration files
Encryption keys
Workflow data
Database files (if using SQLite)
/var/lib/ is the standard Linux location for persistent application data

3. Security Isolation
Keeping n8n's data separate from other services minimizes security risks
Prevents accidental interference with other applications' files
Allows for specific backup strategies for n8n data

4. System Stability
Prevents n8n from trying to write to invalid locations (/nonexistent)
Ensures clean log rotation and proper file organization
Makes future upgrades and migrations easier

5. Best Practice Compliance
Follows Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS)
Matches how most Linux services store their data
Makes system administration more predictable


❓What Happens Without a Dedicated Directory?
The service fails (as you saw) because:
n8n tries to create .n8n/config in /nonexistent/
The n8n user has no permissions there
Even if it did, /nonexistent isn't a real storage location

#n8n #ai #workflow