cli

n8n - Workflow Automation Tool

n8n is a free and open fair-code distributed node-based Workflow Automation Tool. You can self-host n8n, easily extend it, and even use it with internal tools.

Contents

• Demo
• Getting Started
  • Use npx
  • Run with Docker
  • Install with npm
  • Sign-up on n8n.cloud
• Available integrations
• Documentation
• Create Custom Nodes
• Contributing
• What does n8n mean and how do you pronounce it
• Support
• Jobs
• Upgrading
• License

Demo

📺 Here's a 📺 short video (< 4 min) that goes over key concepts of creating workflows in n8n.

Getting Started

There are a couple of ways to get started with n8n.

Use npx

To spin up n8n using npx, you can run:

npx n8n

It will download everything that is needed to start n8n.

You can then access n8n by opening: http://localhost:5678

Note: The minimum required version for Node.js is v14.15. Make sure to update Node.js to v14.15 or above.

Run with Docker

To play around with n8n, you can also start it using Docker:

docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

Be aware that all the data will be lost once the Docker container gets removed. To persist the data mount the ~/.n8n folder:

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

Refer to the documentation for more information on the Docker setup.

Install with npm

To install n8n globally using npm:

npm install n8n -g

After the installation, start n8n running the following command:

n8n
# or
n8n start

Sign-up on n8n.cloud

Sign-up for an n8n.cloud account.

While n8n.cloud and n8n are the same in terms of features, n8n.cloud provides certain conveniences such as:

• Not having to set up and maintain your n8n instance
• Managed OAuth for authentication
• Easily upgrading to the newer n8n versions

Available integrations

n8n has 280+ different nodes that allow you to connect various services and build your automation workflows. You can find the list of all the integrations at https://n8n.io/integrations

Documentation

To learn more about n8n, refer to the official documentation here: https://docs.n8n.io

You can find additional information and example workflows on the n8n.io website.

Create Custom Nodes

You can create custom nodes for n8n. Follow the instructions mentioned in the documentation to create your node: Creating nodes

Contributing

🐛 Did you find a bug?

✨ Do you want to contribute a feature?

The CONTRIBUTING guide will help you set up your development environment.

You can find more information on how you can contribute to the project on our documentation: How can I contribute?

What does n8n mean, and how do you pronounce it?

Short answer: n8n is an abbreviation for "nodemation", and it is pronounced as n-eight-n.

Long answer: In n8n, you build your automation ("-mation") workflows by connecting different nodes in the Editor UI. The project is also built using Node.js. As a consequence, the project was named nodemation.

However, the name was long, and it wouldn't be a good idea to use such a long name in the CLI. Hence, nodemation got abbreviated as "n8n" (there are eight characters between the first and the last n!).

Support

If you run into issues or have any questions reach out to us via our community forum: https://community.n8n.io.

Jobs

If you are interested in working at n8n and building the project, check out the job openings.

Upgrading

Before you upgrade to the latest version, make sure to check the changelogs: Changelog

You can also find breaking changes here: Breaking Changes

License

n8n is fair-code distributed under the Sustainable Use License.

Proprietary licenses are available for enterprise customers. Get in touch

Additional information about the license can be found in the docs.