> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.n8n.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/basic-configuration.md).

# Basic configuration

You can change n8n's settings using environment variables. For a full list of available configurations see [Environment Variables](/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/basic-configuration/use-environment-variables.md).

## Set environment variables by command line <a href="#set-environment-variables-by-command-line" id="set-environment-variables-by-command-line"></a>

### npm <a href="#npm" id="npm"></a>

For npm, set your desired environment variables in terminal. The command depends on your command line.

Bash CLIs:

```bash
export <variable>=<value>
```

In cmd.exe:

```bash
set <variable>=<value>
```

In PowerShell:

```powershell
$env:<variable>=<value>
```

### Docker <a href="#docker" id="docker"></a>

In Docker you can use the `-e` flag from the command line:

```bash
docker run -it --rm \
 --name n8n \
 -p 5678:5678 \
 -e N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED="false" \
 docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
```

## Docker Compose file <a href="#docker-compose-file" id="docker-compose-file"></a>

In Docker, you can set your environment variables in the `n8n: environment:` element of your `docker-compose.yaml` file.

For example:

```yaml
n8n:
    environment:
      - N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED=false
```

## Keeping sensitive data in separate files <a href="#keeping-sensitive-data-in-separate-files" id="keeping-sensitive-data-in-separate-files"></a>

You can append `_FILE` to individual environment variables to provide their configuration in a separate file, enabling you to avoid passing sensitive details using environment variables. n8n loads the data from the file with the given name, making it possible to load data from [Docker-Secrets](https://docs.docker.com/engine/swarm/secrets/) and [Kubernetes-Secrets](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/).

Refer to [Environment variables](/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/basic-configuration/use-environment-variables.md) for details on each variable.

While most environment variables can use the `_FILE` suffix, it's more beneficial for sensitive data such as credentials[^1] and database configuration. Here are some examples:

```yaml
CREDENTIALS_OVERWRITE_DATA_FILE=/path/to/credentials_data
DB_TYPE_FILE=/path/to/db_type
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE_FILE=/path/to/database_name
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST_FILE=/path/to/database_host
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT_FILE=/path/to/database_port
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER_FILE=/path/to/database_user
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD_FILE=/path/to/database_password
DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA_FILE=/path/to/database_schema
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CA_FILE=/path/to/ssl_ca
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CERT_FILE=/path/to/ssl_cert
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_KEY_FILE=/path/to/ssl_key
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED_FILE=/path/to/ssl_reject_unauth
```

[^1]: In n8n, credentials store authentication information to connect with specific apps and services. After creating credentials with your authentication information (username and password, API key, OAuth secrets, etc.), you can use the associated app node to interact with the service.


---

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