Environment Variables

Keep in mind

You can provide a configuration file for n8n, and also append _FILE to certain variables to provide their configuration separately, indicated by "/_FILE" below.

Credentials

Enabling overwrites for credentials allows you to set default values for credentials which get automatically prefilled. The user cannot see or change these credentials. The format is { CREDENTIAL_NAME: { PARAMTER: VALUE }}.

Variable	Type	Description
CREDENTIALS_OVERWRITE_DATA/_FILE	*	Overwrites for credentials.
CREDENTIALS_OVERWRITE_ENDPOINT	string	The API endpoint to fetch credentials.
CREDENTIALS_DEFAULT_NAME	string	The default name for credentials. Default value is My credentials.

Database

Variable	Type	Description
DB_TYPE/_FILE	enum string: sqlite, mariadb, mysqldb, postgresdb	The type of database to use. Default value is sqlite.
DB_TABLE_PREFIX	*	Prefix to be used for table names.

MySQL

Variable	Type	Description
DB_MYSQLDB_DATABASE/_FILE	string	The name of the MySQL database. Default value is n8n.
DB_MYSQLDB_HOST/_FILE	string	The MySQL host. Default value is localhost.
DB_MYSQLDB_PORT/_FILE	number	The MySQL port. Default value is 3306.
DB_MYSQLDB_USER/_FILE	string	The MySQL user. Default value is root.
DB_MYSQLDB_PASSWORD/_FILE	string	The MySQL password.

Postgres

Variable	Type	Description
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE/_FILE	string	The name of the PostgresDB database. Default value is n8n.
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB host. Default value is localhost.
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT/_FILE	number	The PostgresDB port. Default value is 5432.
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB user. Default value is root.
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB password.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB schema. Default value is public.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CA/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB SSL certificate authority.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CERT/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB SSL certificate.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_KEY/_FILE	string	The PostgresDB SSL key.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED/_FILE	boolean	If unauthorized SSL connections should be rejected. Default value is true.

SQLite

Variable	Type	Description
DB_SQLITE_VACUUM_ON_STARTUP	boolean	Runs VACUUM operation on startup to rebuild the database. Reduces file size and optimizes indexes. This is a long running blocking operation and will increase start-up time. Default value is false.

Deployment

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL	string	Public URL where users can access the editor. Also used for emails sent from N8N.
N8N_CONFIG_FILES	string	Use to provide the path to any JSON [configuration file(/hosting/configuration/#configuration-via-file).
N8N_DISABLE_UI	boolean	Whether the UI should be disabled.
N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED	boolean	Whether workflow templates are enabled (true) or disabled (false)
N8N_TEMPLATES_HOST	string	Defaults to https://api.n8n.io. Change this if creating your own workflow template library.
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY	string	Provide a custom key used to encrypt credentials in the n8n database. By default a random key is generated on first launch.
N8N_USER_FOLDER	string	Provide the path where n8n will store user-specific data, such as database file and encryption key. By default, .n8n is used.
N8N_PATH	string	The path n8n is deployed to. Default is /.
N8N_HOST	string	Host name where n8n can be reached. Default is localhost.
N8N_PORT	number	The HTTP port where n8n can be reached. Default is 5678.
N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS	string	The IP address n8n should listen on. Default is 0.0.0.0.
N8N_PROTOCOL	enum string: http, https	The protocol used to reach n8n. Default is http.
N8N_SSL_KEY	string	The SSL Key for HTTPS protocol.
N8N_SSL_CERT	string	The SSL certificate for HTTPS protocol.
N8N_PERSONALIZATION_ENABLED	boolean	Whether to ask users personalisation questions and then customise n8n accordingly. Default is true.
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED	boolean	When enabled, notifications of new versions and security updates are provided. Default value is true.
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENDPOINT	string	The endpoint where version information is retrieved. By default https://api.n8n.io/versions/ is used.
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_INFO_URL	string	The URL displayed in the New Versions panel for additional information. By default https://docs.n8n.io/getting-started/installation/updating.html is used.
N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED	boolean	Whether to share selected, anonymous telemetry with n8n
N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_CONFIG_FRONTEND	string	Telemetry config for the frontend. Default is 1zPn9bgWPzlQc0p8Gj1uiK6DOTn;https://telemetry.n8n.io.
N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_CONFIG_BACKEND	string	Telemetry config for the frontend. Default is 1zPn7YoGC3ZXE9zLeTKLuQCB4F6;https://telemetry.n8n.io/v1/batch.
N8N_AVAILABLE_BINARY_DATA_MODES	string	A comma separated list of available binary data modes. Default is filesystem.
N8N_BINARY_DATA_STORAGE_PATH	string	The path where binary data is stored. Defaults to binaryData under the N8N_USER_FOLDER.
N8N_BINARY_DATA_TTL	number	Time to live (in minutes) for binary data of unsaved executions. Default is 60.
N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE	string	The default binary data mode. Default value is default and keeps binary data in memory. Set to filesystem in order to use the filesystem.
N8N_PERSISTED_BINARY_DATA_TTL	number	Time to live (in minutes) for persisted data. Default is 1440.
VUE_APP_URL_BASE_API	string	Used when building the n8n-editor-ui package manually to indicate how the frontend can reach the backend API.

User management and SMTP

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_USER_MANAGEMENT_DISABLED	Boolean	Defaults to user management enabled (false). Set to true to disable the user management feature. Note that n8n ignores this environment variable if you have already set up an owner account.
N8N_EMAIL_MODE	string	smtp
N8N_SMTP_HOST	string	your_SMTP_server_name
N8N_SMTP_PORT	number	your_SMTP_server_port Default is 465.
N8N_SMTP_USER	string	your_SMTP_username
N8N_SMTP_PASS	string	your_SMTP_password
N8N_SMTP_SENDER	string	You can select the sender name from the sender addresses. Example: `N8N [email protected]'
N8N_SMTP_SSL	boolean	Whether to use SSL for SMTP (true) or not (false). Defaults to true.
N8N_UM_EMAIL_TEMPLATES_INVITE	string	Full path to your HTML email template. This overrides the default template for invite emails.
N8N_UM_EMAIL_TEMPLATES_PWRESET	string	Full path to your HTML email template. This overrides the default template for password reset emails.

Endpoints

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_PAYLOAD_SIZE_MAX	number	The maximum payload size in MB. Default value is 16.
N8N_METRICS	boolean	Whether to enable the metrics endpoint. Default value is false.
N8N_METRICS_PREFIX	string	Optional prefix to be used for metrics names. Default value is n8n_.
N8N_ENDPOINT_REST	string	The path used for REST endpoint. Default value is rest.
N8N_ENDPOINT_WEBHOOK	string	The path used for webhook endpoint. Default value is webhook.
N8N_ENDPOINT_WEBHOOK_TEST	string	The path used for test-webhook endpoint. Default value is webhook-test.
N8N_ENDPOINT_WEBHOOK_WAIT	string	The path used for waiting-webhook endpoint. Default value is webhook-waiting.
WEBHOOK_URL	string	Used to manually provide the Webhook URL when running n8n behind a reverse proxy. See here for more details.
N8N_DISABLE_PRODUCTION_MAIN_PROCESS	boolean	Disable production webhooks from main process. This helps ensures no HTTP traffic load to main process when using webhook-specific processes. Default value is false.
N8N_SKIP_WEBHOOK_DEREGISTRATION_SHUTDOWN	boolean	Deregister webhooks on external services only when workflows are deactivated. Default value is false.

External hooks

Variable	Type	Description
EXTERNAL_HOOK_FILES	string	Files containing external hooks. Multiple files can be provided separated by colon (":").

Executions

Variable	Type	Description
EXECUTIONS_PROCESS	enum string: main, own	Whether processes are executed in their own process or the main process. By default it is set to own. See here for more details.
EXECUTIONS_MODE	enum string: regular, queue	Whether processes should run directly or via queue. By default it is set to regular. See here for more details.
EXECUTIONS_TIMEOUT	number	The max run time (in seconds) before stopping a workflow execution. Set to -1 to disable. Default value is -1.
EXECUTIONS_TIMEOUT_MAX	number	The max execution time (in seconds) that can be set for a workflow individually. Default value is 3600.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_ERROR	enum string: all, none	Whether execution data is saved on error. Default value is all.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_SUCCESS	enum string: all, none	Whether execution data is saved on success. Default value is all.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_PROGRESS	boolean	Whether to save progress for each node executed. Default value is false.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_MANUAL_EXECUTIONS	boolean	Whether to save data of executions when started manually. Default value is false.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE	boolean	Whether to delete data of past executions on a rolling basis. Default value is false.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE	number	The execution age (in hours) before it is deleted. Default value is 336.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE_TIMEOUT	number	The timeout (in seconds) after execution data has been pruned. Default value is 3600.

Logs

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_LOG_LEVEL	enum string: info, warn, error, verbose, debug	Log output level. Default is info.
N8N_LOG_OUTPUT	enum string: console, file	Where to output logs. Multiple values can be provided separated by a comma. Default is console.
N8N_LOG_FILE_COUNT_MAX	number	Max number of log files to keep. Default is 100.
N8N_LOG_FILE_SIZE_MAX	number	Max size of each log file in MB. Default is 16.
N8N_LOG_FILE_LOCATION	string	Log file location. Only used if log output is set to file.
DB_LOGGING_ENABLED	boolean	Whether to enable database-specific logging. Default is false.
DB_LOGGING_OPTIONS	string	Database log output level. Possible values: query, error, schema, warn, info, log. To enable all logging, specify all.
DB_LOGGING_MAX_EXECUTION_TIME	number	Max execution time (in milliseconds) before a warning is logged. Default is 1000. Set to 0 to disable long running query warning.

Nodes

Variable	Type	Description
NODES_INCLUDE	string	Specify which nodes to load.
NODES_EXCLUDE	string	Specify which nodes not to load.
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN	string	Specify which built-in modules may be imported in Function nodes. Use * to allow all. By default importing modules is disabled.
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL	string	Specify which external modules (from n8n/node_modules) may be imported in Function nodes. By default importing modules is disabled.
NODES_ERROR_TRIGGER_TYPE	string	Specify which Node Type to use as Error Trigger. Default value is n8n-nodes-base.errorTrigger.
N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS	string	Specify the path to additional directories containing your custom nodes.

Queues

Variable	Type	Description
QUEUE_BULL_PREFIX	string	Prefix to be used for all queue keys.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_DB	number	The Redis database used. Default value is 0.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST	string	The Redis host. Default value is localhost.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT	number	The Redis port used. Default value is 6379.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD	string	The Redis password.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_TIMEOUT_THRESHOLD	number	The Redis timeout threshold (in seconds). Default value is 10000.
QUEUE_RECOVERY_INTERVAL	number	Internal (in seconds) for active polling to the queue to recover from Redis crashes. 0 is disabled. May increase Redis traffic significantly. Default value is 60.

Security

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_AUTH_EXCLUDE_ENDPOINTS	string	Additional endpoints to exclude auth checks. Multiple endpoints can be provided separated by a colon (":"). The endpoints should not start with a forward slash ("/").
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE	boolean	Whether basic auth should be activated for editor and REST-API access. Default value is false.
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER/_FILE	string	The name of the n8n user for basic authentication.
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD/_FILE	string	The password of the n8n user for basic authentication.
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_HASH/_FILE	boolean	Whether the basic authentication password is hashed. Default value is false.
N8N_JWT_AUTH_ACTIVE	boolean	Whether JWT authentication should be activated for editor and REST-API access. Default value is false.
N8N_JWT_AUTH_HEADER/_FILE	string	The request header containing a signed JWT.
N8N_JWT_AUTH_HEADER_VALUE_PREFIX/_FILE	string	Optional. The request header value prefix to strip.
N8N_JWKS_URI/_FILE	string	The URI to fetch JWK Set for JWT authentication.
N8N_JWT_ISSUER/_FILE	string	Optional. The expected JWT issuer.
N8N_JWT_NAMESPACE/_FILE	string	Optional. The expected JWT namespace.
N8N_JWT_ALLOWED_TENANT/_FILE	string	Optional. The allowed JWT tenant.
N8N_JWT_ALLOWED_TENANT_KEY/_FILE	string	Optional. The JWT tenant key name to inspect within the JWT namespace.

Timezone

Variable	Type	Description
GENERIC_TIMEZONE	*	The timezone to use. Important for schedule nodes (i.e. Cron). Default value is America/New_York.

Workflows

Variable	Type	Description
WORKFLOWS_DEFAULT_NAME	string	The default name used for new workflows. Default value is My workflow.