Task runner 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.

Task runners execute code defined by the Code node.

n8n instance environment variables

Variable	Type	Default	Description
N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED	Boolean	false	Are task runners enabled.
N8N_RUNNERS_MODE	Enum string: internal, external	internal	How to launch and run the task runner. internal means n8n will launch a task runner as child process. external means an external orchestrator will launch the task runner.
N8N_RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN	String	Random string	Shared secret used by a task runner to authenticate to n8n. Required when using external mode.
N8N_RUNNERS_BROKER_PORT	Number	5679	Port the task broker listens on for task runner connections.
N8N_RUNNERS_BROKER_LISTEN_ADDRESS	String	127.0.0.1	Address the task broker listens on.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_PAYLOAD	Number	1 073 741 824	Maximum payload size in bytes for communication between a task broker and a task runner.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_OLD_SPACE_SIZE	String		The --max-old-space-size option to use for a task runner (in MB). By default, Node.js will set this based on available memory.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_CONCURRENCY	Number	5	The number of concurrent tasks a task runner can execute at a time.
N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT	Number	60	How long (in seconds) a task can take to complete before the task aborts and the runner restarts. Must be greater than 0.
N8N_RUNNERS_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL	Number	30	How often (in seconds) the runner must send a heartbeat to the broker, else the task aborts and the runner restarts. Must be greater than 0.

Task runner launcher environment variables

Variable	Type	Default	Description
N8N_RUNNERS_LAUNCHER_LOG_LEVEL	Enum string: debug, info, warn, error	info	Which log messages to show.
N8N_RUNNERS_AUTH_TOKEN	String	-	Shared secret used to authenticate to n8n.
N8N_RUNNERS_AUTO_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT	Number	15	The number of seconds to wait before shutting down an idle runner.
N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_BROKER_URI	String	http://127.0.0.1:5679	The URI of the task broker server (n8n instance).
N8N_RUNNERS_LAUNCHER_HEALTH_CHECK_PORT	Number	5680	Port for the launcher's health check server.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_PAYLOAD	Number	1 073 741 824	Maximum payload size in bytes for communication between a task broker and a task runner.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_CONCURRENCY	Number	5	The number of concurrent tasks a task runner can execute at a time.
NODE_OPTIONS	String	-	Options for Node.js.

Task runner environment variables

Variable	Type	Default	Description
N8N_RUNNERS_GRANT_TOKEN	String	Random string	Token the runner uses to authenticate with the task broker. This is automatically provided by the launcher.
N8N_RUNNERS_AUTO_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT	Number	15	The number of seconds to wait before shutting down an idle runner.
N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_BROKER_URI	String	http://127.0.0.1:5679	The URI of the task broker server (n8n instance).
N8N_RUNNERS_LAUNCHER_HEALTH_CHECK_PORT	Number	5680	Port for the launcher's health check server.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_PAYLOAD	Number	1 073 741 824	Maximum payload size in bytes for communication between a task broker and a task runner.
N8N_RUNNERS_MAX_CONCURRENCY	Number	5	The number of concurrent tasks a task runner can execute at a time.
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.
GENERIC_TIMEZONE	*	America/New_York	The same default timezone as configured for the n8n instance.