n8n is an open source integration tool that allows you to automate repetitive tasks, optimize business processes and integrate applications. With over 300 supported services and tools, you can create complex no-code workflows, as well as increase productivity with n8n.
The graphical interface of this open source workflow automation allows you to define logical conditions, transform data, and monitor workflow execution in real time.
In addition, this efficient automation tool offers many useful features such as customizable triggers and actions, with version control system integrations, and data backup and workflow debugging capabilities. Thanks to these features, n8n is an ideal open-source workflow tool for developers, business analysts, and users who need to efficiently streamline business processes and integrate different applications.
Overall, n8n is a powerful automation platform that helps companies increase efficiency, streamline processes and improve productivity.
Beget VPS with a pre-installed n8n is a ready-to-use n8n automation platform with your or free domain and installed SSL certificate.
Installation package information
- Ubuntu 22.04
- Docker, latest
- n8n 1.120.3
- traefik
n8n installation
When installing a server, in addition to the standard parameters you will be asked to specify:
- The domain name by which the n8n workflow automation platform will be available. You can either choose your own domain or register a new one. Also, you can use a free
.beget.appdomain. A free SSL certificate will be installed on the specified domain. - Admin Email. This email will be used to access n8n automation tool.
- Admin Password. This password will be used to access n8n.
Once the virtual server is created, we will automatically deploy and configure n8n. It usually takes up to 5 minutes. You will be notified when the deployment is complete.
Getting Started
To get started with the n8n open-source integration tool, go to https://my-domain.beget.app, where my-domain.beget.app is the domain of your choice. You can also navigate to the application using the link in the installed application information window in the virtual server control panel.
To log in, use the login/email and password that you specified when creating the VPS (they were also sent to the account contact email and are available in the installed application information window in the virtual server control panel).
To create a workflow, click on the "Start from scratch" button, you will open a visual editor where you can add triggers, processes and other elements.
Also, on the "Templates" tab in the side menu, you can select pre-made workflows for different tasks and launch them in a couple of clicks.
We wish you good luck with automating tasks with n8n open-source software!
FAQ
All n8n configuration files are located in the /opt/beget/n8n directory:
- .env file contains the environment variables for all containers;
- the docker-compose.yml file contains the configuration of the containers.
Therefore, before upgrading, we recommend to check if you have an up-to-date backup in the "Backup" section or a VPS snapshot in the "Snapshots" section to be able to roll back the changes.
To upgrade n8n to the another version, follow the steps below:
- Connect to the server via SSH.
- Navigate to the n8n directory with the command
cd /opt/beget/n8n. - Open the file
docker-compose.ymlin any text editor. - Find the line image:
docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:1.7.1and change the n8n version to the one that you need, save the changes and close the file.
Example of changes:image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:1.8.2 - Download the new version image with the
docker compose pullcommand. - Stop the current version of n8n with the
docker compose downcommand. - Start the new version of n8n with the
docker compose up -dcommand. - Wait 2–5 minutes for n8n to migrate to the new version and start.
- Test n8n on the new version.
Similarly, you can specify data from a third-party mail server.
To configure sending emails via our mail servers, follow the steps below:
- In the control panel in the "Mail" section, create a mailbox from which n8n will send emails.
- Connect to the server via SSH.
- Navigate to the n8n directory with the command
cd /opt/beget/n8n. - Open the
.envfile in any text editor. - Add the following lines to the end of the file:
N8N_EMAIL_MODE=smtp
N8N_SMTP_HOST=<smtp_host>
N8N_SMTP_PORT=<smtp_ssl_port>
N8N_SMTP_SSL=true
N8N_SMTP_USER=<email>
N8N_SMTP_PASS=<password>
N8N_SMTP_SENDER=<email>- Replace the values in angle brackets with the data from your mail server, for our mail servers the data is as follows:
N8N_EMAIL_MODE=smtp
N8N_SMTP_HOST=smtp.beget.com
N8N_SMTP_PORT=465
N8N_SMTP_SSL=true
N8N_SMTP_USER=n8n@beget.ru
N8N_SMTP_PASS=example_password
N8N_SMTP_SENDER=n8n@beget.ruIn the N8N_SMTP_USER, N8N_SMTP_PASS, and N8N_SMTP_SENDER parameters, specify the data from the mailbox you created in step 1.
- Stop n8n with the
docker compose downcommand. - Start n8n with the
docker compose up -dcommand. - Wait 2–5 minutes for n8n to start up.
- Verify that n8n is sending emails.
Since n8n runs inside the docker container, it is not possible to simply run the CLI by connecting via SSH. Follow these steps to execute the commands:
- Connect to the server via SSH.
- Use the following template to run the command:
docker exec -u node -it n8n-n8n-1 <CLI command>, for example:docker exec -u node -it n8n-n8n-1 n8n --help.
If you need to save a file on the VPS, such as exporting a workflow, use /home/node/.n8n/ as the directory where the file will be saved.
For the example, let's export all workflow to the file /home/node/.n8n/export.json: docker exec -u node -it n8n-n8n-1 n8n export:workflow --all --output=/home/node/.n8n/export.json.
All files saved via the CLI to the /home/node/.n8n/ directory will be available on the VPS in the /opt/beget/n8n/n8n_storage/ directory.
The file from the workflow export example will be available at the path: /opt/beget/n8n/n8n_storage/export.json.
The n8n CLI documentation is available on the official website.
