n8n Docker Compose Setup

日本語版 (Japanese Version)

This project provides configuration files to easily start and manage n8n using Docker Compose. It also includes a Makefile to simplify exporting and importing workflows and credentials.

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Docker Compose

Setup

1. Prepare Configuration File: Create a file named config in the root of the repository with the following content:

   {
       "encryptionKey": "YOUR_VERY_SECRET_ENCRYPTION_KEY"
   }

   Replace YOUR_VERY_SECRET_ENCRYPTION_KEY with your actual secret key for encrypting n8n credentials. This key will be set as the N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY environment variable in docker-compose.yaml.

2. Create Data Directories: Create directories to store exported workflows and credentials.

   mkdir -p workflows credentials

   These directories are mounted to /home/node/workflows and /home/node/credentials in the container via docker-compose.yaml.

How to Run

Use the commands defined in the Makefile to operate n8n.

• Start n8n:

  make up

  n8n will be accessible at http://localhost:5678.

• Stop n8n:

  make down

• View Logs:

  make logs

Exporting/Importing Workflows and Credentials

• Export Workflows: Exports all workflows to the ./workflows/ directory. (Individual files will be generated if multiple workflows exist).

  make export-workflows

• Import Workflows: Imports workflows from ./workflows/workflows.json. If you exported multiple workflow files, you may need to rename the desired file to workflows.json or merge them.

  make import-workflows

• Export Credentials: Exports all credentials to the ./credentials/ directory. (Individual files will be generated if multiple credentials exist).

  make export-credentials

• Import Credentials: Imports credentials from ./credentials/credentials.json. If you exported multiple credential files, you may need to rename the desired file to credentials.json or merge them.

  make import-credentials

Caution: Import commands may overwrite existing data. Use with care.

Configuration

N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY

The N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY environment variable is set in the docker-compose.yaml file. For security, it is recommended to use an .env file for this key and add .env to your .gitignore instead of writing the key directly into docker-compose.yaml.

Example .env file:

N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=YOUR_VERY_SECRET_ENCRYPTION_KEY

Changes in docker-compose.yaml:

services:
  n8n:
    # ...
    environment:
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY} # Modified to read from .env file
    # ...

Timezone

If necessary, enable the commented-out timezone settings in the docker-compose.yaml file.

    environment:
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=o9C/a9AQ8mZ/hoSTkjbSiW5Bx3B4Gm/1
      # Set GENERIC_TIMEZONE and TZ to specify the timezone
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Tokyo # Example: Japan Standard Time
      - TZ=Asia/Tokyo             # Example: Japan Standard Time

Directory Structure

.
├── Makefile              # Makefile for n8n operations
├── config                # n8n configuration file (e.g., encryption key)
├── credentials/          # Exported credentials (credentials.json)
├── docker-compose.yaml   # Docker Compose configuration file
├── workflows/            # Exported workflows (workflows.json)
├── README.md             # This file (English)
└── README_ja.md          # Japanese version of README