Nodes environment variables

File-based configuration

You can add _FILE to individual variables to provide their configuration in a separate file. Refer to Keeping sensitive data in separate files for more details.

This page lists the environment variables configuration options for managing nodes in n8n, including specifying which nodes to load or exclude, importing built-in or external modules in the Code node, and enabling community nodes.

Variable	Type	Default	Description
NODES_INCLUDE	Array of strings	-	Specify which nodes to load.
NODES_EXCLUDE	Array of strings	-	Specify which nodes not to load. For example, to block nodes that can be a security risk if users aren't trustworthy: NODES_EXCLUDE: "[\"n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand\", \"n8n-nodes-base.filesreadwrite\"]"
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN	String	-	Permit users to import specific built-in modules in the Code node. Use * to allow all. n8n disables importing modules by default.
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL	String	-	Permit users to import specific external modules (from n8n/node_modules) in the Code node. n8n disables importing modules by default.
NODES_ERROR_TRIGGER_TYPE	String	n8n-nodes-base.errorTrigger	Specify which node type to use as Error Trigger.
N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS	String	-	Specify the path to directories containing your custom nodes.
N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED	Boolean	true	Enables (true) or disables (false) community nodes.