This documentation explains how to set up n8n with PostgreSQL using Docker Compose, and expose it securely through NGINX with SSL termination.
- Ubuntu server with Docker & Docker Compose installed
- Domain name:
n8n.your-company.tdlpointing to your server - SSL certificates for HTTPS termination
Open /etc/nginx/sites-available/default:
server {
listen 443 ssl http2;
client_max_body_size 2G;
ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/ssl/ssl-bundle.crt;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/sandbox_private_key.pem;
server_name n8n.your-company.tdl;
proxy_read_timeout 300;
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload";
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin";
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5678/;
# Required for WebSockets support
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_read_timeout 600s;
proxy_send_timeout 600s;
}
}Then enable and reload:
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl restart nginxCreate a .env file:
# Database Configuration
DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=postgres
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=postgres
# N8N Configuration
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=secret
N8N_HOST=n8n.your-company.tdl
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
N8N_PORT=5678
VUE_APP_URL_BASE_API=https://n8n.your-company.tdl/Create docker-compose.yml:
version: '3.8'
services:
postgres:
image: postgres:15
restart: always
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_POSTGRESDB_USER}
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD}
POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE}
volumes:
- postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
ports:
- "5432:5432" # Optional: Expose if you need local access
n8n:
image: n8nio/n8n:1.111.0
restart: always
ports:
- "5678:5678"
env_file:
- .env
depends_on:
- postgres
volumes:
- ./n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
volumes:
postgres_data:
n8n_data:docker-compose up -dCheck logs:
docker-compose logs -f n8nOpen your browser and visit:
➡️ https://n8n.your-company.tdl
Login using credentials from .env:
- Username:
admin - Password:
secret
- Use a strong password in production for
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD - Ensure firewall allows ports 80 and 443
- WebSocket support is required for real-time updates in n8n, so keep
proxy_http_version,Upgrade, andConnectionheaders in your NGINX configuration.