A basic record of local n8n deployment.

Steps

Docker

docker-compose.yml

version: "3.9"

volumes:
  n8n_storage:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678"
    volumes:
      - n8n_storage:/home/node/.n8n
    environment:
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://<your-ngrok-domain>.ngrok-free.app # External webhook URL

Usage

  1. Expose local port 5678 to the internet via ngrok:
ngrok http http://localhost:5678

  1. Copy the generated ngrok public URL (e.g., https://xxxx-xxx-xxx.ngrok-free.app).

  2. Edit the docker-compose.yml file and replace <your-ngrok-domain> in WEBHOOK_URL with your actual ngrok URL.

  3. Start the n8n service using Docker Compose:

docker compose up -d

Sign up / Sign in to n8n

n8n

User account data will be persisted in the Docker volume (n8n_storage), so your credentials and workflows will be retained across container restarts.

n8n

Then you can create your own workflow!