Deploy n8n in 5 Minutes

1. Create a Droplet

# DigitalOcean Dashboard → Create Droplet
# Region: closest to your users
# Image: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
# Plan: Basic → $6/mo (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM)
# Authentication: SSH key (recommended)

2. SSH into your Droplet

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

3. Install Docker

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
usermod -aG docker $USER

4. Create docker-compose.yml for n8n

mkdir -p ~/n8n && cd ~/n8n
cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
version: "3.8"
services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_HOST=${DOMAIN}
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://${DOMAIN}/
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=n8n
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
      - POSTGRES_DB=n8n
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U n8n"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:
EOF

5. Create .env file

cat > .env << 'EOF'
DOMAIN=n8n.yourdomain.com
ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 16)
DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 16)
EOF

6. Install Caddy for automatic SSL

# Install Caddy
apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
apt update && apt install -y caddy

# Create Caddyfile
cat > /etc/caddy/Caddyfile << 'EOF'
n8n.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:5678
}
EOF

systemctl reload caddy

7. Start n8n

docker compose up -d

8. Access n8n at https://n8n.yourdomain.com

Create your admin account on first visit. SSL is automatic via Caddy.

1. Create a Hetzner Cloud account (no credit check)

Go to hetzner.com/cloud → Sign up → Verify email. No credit check for Cloud — you can start immediately with pre-paid credits.

2. Create your server

# Hetzner Cloud Console → "Create Server"
# Location: Ashburn, VA (best for US) or Nuremberg (best for EU)
# Image: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
# Type: CX22 — 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe — €3.99/mo
# Add your SSH public key
# Name: n8n-server
# Click "Create & Buy Now"

3. Wait 30 seconds, then SSH in

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
# Server is ready in ~30 seconds

4. Run the one-command n8n installer

# Install Docker and start n8n + PostgreSQL in one go:
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh && \
mkdir -p ~/n8n && cd ~/n8n && \
cat > docker-compose.yml << 'DOCKEREOF'
version: "3.8"
services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_HOST=${DOMAIN}
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://${DOMAIN}/
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=n8n
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
      - POSTGRES_DB=n8n
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U n8n"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:
DOCKEREOF
echo "DOMAIN=$(curl -s ifconfig.me).sslip.io" > .env
echo "ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 16)" >> .env
echo "DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 16)" >> .env
docker compose up -d

5. Access n8n at http://YOUR_IP:5678

Create your admin account on first visit. For production, set up a real domain and Caddy for SSL (see DigitalOcean guide Step 6).

6. (Optional) Lock down with UFW firewall

ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 5678/tcp
ufw enable