n8n Installation & Setup Guide

What is n8n?

n8n is a powerful, open-source workflow automation tool that allows you to connect different apps and services together. Think of it as a visual programming language for automation - you can create complex workflows without writing code.

Why use n8n?

Open Source: Free to use, self-hosted, and fully customizable
300+ Integrations: Connect to almost any app or service
Visual Workflow Builder: Drag-and-drop interface for creating automations
AI-Ready: Built-in support for AI models and agents
Self-Hosted: Your data stays on your servers

📂 Workflow Library Directory

Your download includes a structured library of automations. Here is the complete catalog of what you'll find inside the Google Drive folder:

📦 50+ Ready-to-Use n8n Workflows

Get instant access to our complete collection of pre-built workflows covering lead generation, CRM automation, social media, e-commerce, and more.

→ Download All Workflows from Google Drive

💡 Access Instructions: Click the main download link above to access the root folder. You will see sub-folders for each category below. Inside each folder are the .json workflow files ready to import.

📧 Gmail & Email Automation

Located in folder: /Gmail_and_Email_Automation

📄 Auto-label incoming Gmail messages with AI nodes.json
Automatically scans every new email, analyzes the content using AI, and applies the correct label (e.g., "Invoice", "Support", "Urgent") in Gmail.
📄 Analyze & Sort Suspicious Email Contents with ChatGPT.json
A security guard for your inbox. Sends suspicious emails to ChatGPT for analysis and flags them if they contain phishing attempts or scams.
📄 Compose reply draft in Gmail with OpenAI Assistant.json
Drafts intelligent responses to incoming emails automatically and saves them as drafts for your review.
📄 Receive Daily Market News from FT.com.json
Scrapes Financial Times for specific keywords and sends a curated digest to your Outlook/Gmail every morning.

📢 Marketing & Social Media

Located in folder: /Instagram_Twitter_Social_Media

📄 Content_Engine_Multi_Platform.json
Takes a single topic or blog post and generates optimized content for LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram, then schedules them.
📄 YouTube_Video_to_Blog_Post.json
Transcribes your YouTube videos and converts them into SEO-optimized blog posts and newsletter segments.
📄 Google_Reviews_Auto_Responder.json
Monitors your Google Business Profile for new reviews and drafts personalized, on-brand responses using AI.

💰 Sales & CRM

Located in folder: /Forms_and_Surveys and /Airtable

📄 Lead_Qualification_Bot.json
Processes new form submissions, enriches data using Clearbit/Apollo, and scores the lead before syncing to your CRM.
📄 Contract_Generator_From_CRM.json
Watches for "Deal Won" status in CRM, generates a PDF contract with client details, and sends it via DocuSign/SignRequest.

🧠 AI & Research

Located in folder: /AI_Research_RAG_and_Data_Analysis

📄 Competitor_Analysis_Agent.json
Scrapes competitor websites, summarizes their pricing and features, and saves the report to Notion/Airtable.
📄 RAG_Document_Chat.json
The blueprint for "Chat with your Data". Upload PDFs and query them using a vector database (Pinecone/Supabase) and OpenAI.

Installation Methods

There are several ways to install n8n. Choose the method that best fits your needs:

1 Quick Start with npx (Easiest)

Perfect for testing and local development. Requires Node.js 18+ installed.

npx n8n

This will start n8n on http://localhost:5678

💡 Pro Tip: This method is great for trying n8n, but your workflows won't persist after closing the terminal. For production use, choose one of the methods below.

2 Docker Installation (Recommended)

Best for production deployments. Requires Docker installed on your system.

Basic Docker Command:

                docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n
            

Docker Compose (Better for Production):

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

                version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
      - N8N_HOST=your-domain.com
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-domain.com/
    volumes:
      - ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n
            

Then run:

docker-compose up -d

3 VPS Installation (Full Control)

For complete control and customization. We'll use Ubuntu 22.04 as an example.

Step 1: Install Node.js

                curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
            

Step 2: Install n8n Globally

sudo npm install n8n -g

Step 3: Create a System Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/n8n.service:

                [Unit]
Description=n8n
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=n8n
ExecStart=/usr/bin/n8n start
Restart=on-failure
Environment="N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true"
Environment="N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin"
Environment="N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your_password"

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
            

Step 4: Start the Service

                sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable n8n
sudo systemctl start n8n
            

Essential Configuration

Environment Variables

Configure n8n using environment variables. Here are the most important ones:

                # Basic Authentication
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=your_username
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

# Domain Configuration
N8N_HOST=your-domain.com
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-domain.com/

# Database (PostgreSQL recommended for production)
DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=localhost
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=your_db_password

# Timezone
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York

# Execution Mode
EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=localhost
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
            

⚠️ Security Warning: Always use strong passwords and enable HTTPS in production. Never expose n8n without authentication!

Setting Up SSL with Nginx

For production deployments, you'll want to use Nginx as a reverse proxy with SSL.

Step 1: Install Nginx and Certbot

                sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
            

Step 2: Configure Nginx

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n:

                server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5678;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}
            

Step 3: Enable the Site

                sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
            

Step 4: Get SSL Certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

✅ Success! Your n8n instance is now accessible at https://your-domain.com with SSL encryption.

Creating Your First Workflow

Example: Automated Lead Capture

Let's create a simple workflow that captures leads from a webhook and saves them to Google Sheets.

Step 1: Add a Webhook Trigger

Click the + button in the n8n editor
Search for "Webhook" and select it
Set the HTTP Method to POST
Copy the webhook URL (you'll use this to send data)

Step 2: Add Google Sheets Node

Click the + button after the webhook
Search for "Google Sheets" and select it
Choose operation: Append
Connect your Google account
Select your spreadsheet and sheet
Map the webhook data to columns

Step 3: Test Your Workflow

Send a test POST request to your webhook:

                curl -X POST https://your-domain.com/webhook/your-webhook-id \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "phone": "555-0123"
  }'
            

Step 4: Activate the Workflow

Click the Active toggle in the top right to make your workflow live!

Integrating AI with n8n

Using the OpenAI Node

n8n has built-in support for OpenAI's GPT models. Here's how to use it:

Example: AI-Powered Email Responder

Email Trigger: Use IMAP Email node to monitor inbox
OpenAI Node: Send email content to GPT-4 for response generation
Email Send: Send the AI-generated response

💡 AI Use Cases:

Automated customer support responses
Content generation and summarization
Data extraction and classification
Sentiment analysis
Translation services

MCP Server Integration

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows AI agents to interact with your n8n workflows programmatically.

Setting Up the n8n MCP Server:

                git clone https://github.com/mikee-ai/n8n-mcp-server
cd n8n-mcp-server
npm install
npm start
            

This allows AI agents like Claude or ChatGPT to:

Trigger workflows via natural language
Query workflow execution status
Create and modify workflows
Access workflow data

Best Practices & Tips

1. Error Handling

Always add error handling to your workflows:

Use the Error Trigger node to catch failures
Add IF nodes to handle conditional logic
Set up notifications for workflow failures

2. Workflow Organization

Use descriptive names for workflows and nodes
Add Sticky Notes to document complex logic
Group related workflows in folders
Use tags to categorize workflows

3. Performance Optimization

Use Queue Mode for high-volume workflows
Implement batching for API calls
Use Code nodes for complex transformations
Enable caching where appropriate

4. Security

Store credentials securely in n8n's credential system
Use environment variables for sensitive data
Enable 2FA for your n8n account
Regularly update n8n to the latest version
Restrict webhook access with authentication

⚠️ Important: Never commit credentials or API keys to version control. Always use n8n's built-in credential management.

Common Use Cases

1. Lead Generation & CRM

Capture leads from forms and add to CRM
Enrich lead data with external APIs
Automated follow-up sequences
Lead scoring and qualification

2. Social Media Automation

Cross-post content to multiple platforms
Monitor mentions and respond automatically
Schedule posts in advance
Analytics and reporting

3. E-commerce

Order processing and fulfillment
Inventory management
Customer notifications
Abandoned cart recovery

4. Data Processing

ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipelines
Data synchronization between systems
Report generation
Data validation and cleaning

5. DevOps & Monitoring

Server monitoring and alerts
Automated deployments
Backup automation
Incident response workflows

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Workflow Not Triggering

Check if the workflow is Active
Verify webhook URL is correct
Check execution logs for errors
Ensure credentials are valid

Performance Issues

Enable queue mode for better performance
Check database size and optimize
Review workflow complexity
Monitor server resources (CPU, RAM)

Connection Errors

Verify API credentials are correct
Check firewall and network settings
Ensure SSL certificates are valid
Review API rate limits

Additional Resources

Official Documentation: docs.n8n.io
Community Forum: community.n8n.io
Workflow Templates: n8n.io/workflows
GitHub Repository: github.com/n8n-io/n8n

🚀 Complete n8n Installation & Setup Guide