External data storage

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.

Refer to External storage for more information on using external storage for binary data and execution data.

Variable	Type	Default	Description
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_S3_HOST	String	-	Host of the n8n bucket in S3-compatible external storage. For example, s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_S3_BUCKET_NAME	String	-	Name of the n8n bucket in S3-compatible external storage.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_S3_BUCKET_REGION	String	-	Region of the n8n bucket in S3-compatible external storage. For example, us-east-1
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY	String	-	Access key in S3-compatible external storage
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_SECRET	String	-	Access secret in S3-compatible external storage.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_S3_AUTH_AUTO_DETECT	Boolean	-	Use automatic credential detection to authenticate S3 calls for external storage. This will ignore the access key and access secret and use the default credential provider chain.

Azure Blob Storage

Enterprise-tier feature

You need an Enterprise license key to store execution data or binary data in Azure Blob Storage.

To store execution data in Azure Blob Storage, set N8N_EXECUTION_DATA_STORAGE_MODE to azure. To store binary data in Azure Blob Storage, set N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE to azure (refer to External storage). A single container can hold both. Configure the variables below; N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_CONTAINER_NAME is always required.

For authentication, choose one of these three options. n8n checks them in this order:

1. Connection string: set N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_CONNECTION_STRING. This takes precedence over the other options, so n8n ignores the account name, key, and auto-detect when you set it. It's the simplest option and works well for local testing with Azurite.

2. Auto-detect: set N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_NAME and set N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_AUTH_AUTO_DETECT to true. n8n authenticates through Azure's DefaultAzureCredential chain (managed identity, environment, or Azure CLI), so no key lives in your n8n configuration. Best for production on Azure.

3. Account name and key: set N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_NAME and N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_KEY.

Set N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ENDPOINT only if you use a custom endpoint, such as Azurite or a sovereign cloud.

Variable	Type	Default	Description
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_CONNECTION_STRING	String	-	Connection string for Azure Blob Storage. Takes precedence over the account name and key when set.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_NAME	String	-	Storage account name. Use with an account key or managed identity.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_KEY	String	-	Storage account key. Use with the account name.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_CONTAINER_NAME	String	-	Name of the blob container to store execution data and/or binary data in. Required for Azure Blob Storage.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_ENDPOINT	String	-	Custom blob endpoint, for example for Azurite or sovereign clouds.
N8N_EXTERNAL_STORAGE_AZURE_AUTH_AUTO_DETECT	Boolean	false	Authenticate via DefaultAzureCredential (managed identity, environment, or Azure CLI) instead of an account key. Ignores the account key when enabled.