How to install n8n on your Ubuntu VPS

n8n is the board where you wire one service to another: sheet, WhatsApp, email, webhook. It runs on your VPS. It is not preinstalled.

What you need

• An Ubuntu VPS and the root password.
• The machine IP.
• 2 GB to test. 4 GB if you will use it every day.

1. Update and install Docker

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-v2
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

2. Create the folder and the file

mkdir -p ~/n8n
cd ~/n8n
nano docker-compose.yml

Paste this. In nano save with Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X.

services:
  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/Sao_Paulo
      - TZ=America/Sao_Paulo
      - N8N_HOST=0.0.0.0
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=http
      - N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false
    volumes:
      - ./n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n

3. Start it and open the browser

docker compose up -d
sudo ufw allow 5678/tcp

In the browser:

http://YOUR_IP:5678

Create the owner account on the first screen. If the page does not open, port 5678 is still closed in the firewall.

Domain and HTTPS come later. When it is time, the DNS guide helps you point the name.