🚀 One-command installation script for n8n with Docker, Nginx, and SSL certificates.

• Overview
• Supported Operating Systems
• Prerequisites
• Installation Steps
• Usage
• What This Script Does
• Firewall Configuration
• DNS Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• Management Commands
• Security Notes

This script provides a complete automated installation of n8n (workflow automation tool) with:

• ✅ Docker containerization
• ✅ Nginx reverse proxy
• ✅ SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt)
• ✅ Automatic HTTPS redirect
• ✅ Production-ready configuration

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Recommended)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Note: This script is specifically designed for Ubuntu and has been tested on fresh Ubuntu instances.

• Use a new, clean Ubuntu server for best results
• Minimum 1GB RAM, 1 CPU core
• At least 10GB storage space

• You must own a domain name (e.g., yourdomain.com)
• Can be a root domain (joey.com) or subdomain (hello.joey.com)
• Domain must be pointed to your server's IP address

• Root access or user with sudo privileges
• Internet connection for downloading packages
• Ports 80 and 443 must be accessible from the internet

• Valid email address for SSL certificate registration

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Switch to root user before proceeding:

sudo su

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always update your system before running the script:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Before running the script, ensure your domain points to your server:

For Root Domain (e.g., joey.com):

1. Go to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, etc.)
2. Create an A record: @ → your-server-ip
3. Wait for DNS propagation (5-60 minutes)
4. Test DNS: nslookup joey.com

For Subdomain (e.g., hello.joey.com):

1. Go to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, etc.)
2. Create an A record: hello → your-server-ip
3. Wait for DNS propagation (5-60 minutes)
4. Test DNS: nslookup hello.joey.com

Ensure ports 80 and 443 are open:

# Enable firewall
ufw enable

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw allow 22/tcp

# Check status
ufw status

# Download the script
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iam-joey/n8n-script/main/script.sh

# Make it executable
chmod +x script.sh

# Run the installation
./script.sh --domain="yourdomain.com" --email="your-email@gmail.com"

./script.sh --domain="yourdomain.com" --email="your-email@gmail.com"

./script.sh --help

Root Domain:

./script.sh --domain="joey.com" --email="admin@joey.com"

Subdomain:

./script.sh --domain="n8n.joey.com" --email="admin@joey.com"
./script.sh --domain="hello.joey.com" --email="admin@joey.com"
./script.sh --domain="automation.joey.com" --email="admin@joey.com"

• ✅ Checks root/sudo privileges
• ✅ Installs Docker and Docker Compose
• ✅ Installs Nginx web server
• ✅ Installs Certbot for SSL certificates
• ✅ Configures all services

• ✅ Validates domain and email format
• ✅ Checks for existing n8n containers
• ✅ Verifies DNS configuration
• ✅ Pulls and deploys n8n container
• ✅ Configures n8n with your domain
• ✅ Tests local accessibility

• ✅ Configures Nginx reverse proxy
• ✅ Generates SSL certificate
• ✅ Enables HTTPS with auto-redirect
• ✅ Tests public accessibility
• ✅ Sets up automatic SSL renewal

ufw enable
ufw allow 22/tcp    # SSH
ufw allow 80/tcp    # HTTP
ufw allow 443/tcp   # HTTPS

If using AWS EC2, configure Security Groups:

• HTTP (80): Source 0.0.0.0/0
• HTTPS (443): Source 0.0.0.0/0
• SSH (22): Source your-ip/32

# Allow HTTP traffic
gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-http --allow tcp:80 --source-ranges 0.0.0.0/0

# Allow HTTPS traffic
gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-https --allow tcp:443 --source-ranges 0.0.0.0/0

Create an A record in your domain's DNS settings:

Create an A record for the subdomain:

Alternative: CNAME Record for Subdomain

• n8n.yourdomain.com - Clear purpose identification
• automation.yourdomain.com - Descriptive naming
• workflows.yourdomain.com - Business-focused naming
• app.yourdomain.com - Generic application naming

For Root Domain:

# Check if domain resolves to your server
nslookup joey.com
dig joey.com

# Should return your server's IP address

For Subdomain:

# Check if subdomain resolves to your server
nslookup hello.joey.com
dig hello.joey.com

# Should return your server's IP address (A record) or main domain (CNAME)

Error: Timeout during connect (likely firewall problem)

Solution:

• Ensure ports 80/443 are open in firewall
• Check cloud provider security groups
• Verify DNS is properly configured

Error: permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon

Solution:

# Add user to docker group
usermod -aG docker $USER

# Logout and login again, or run:
newgrp docker

Error: Failed to resolve domain

Solution:

• Wait for DNS propagation (up to 60 minutes)
• Check DNS configuration at your registrar
• Use nslookup to verify DNS resolution

Error: An n8n container already exists

Solution:

# Stop and remove existing container
docker stop n8n
docker rm n8n

# Run script again
./script.sh --domain="yourdomain.com" --email="your-email@gmail.com"

# Check n8n status
docker ps --filter name=n8n

# View n8n logs
docker logs n8n

# Restart n8n
docker restart n8n

# Stop n8n
docker stop n8n

# Start n8n
docker start n8n

# Check SSL certificate status
certbot certificates

# Renew SSL certificate manually
certbot renew

# Test SSL renewal
certbot renew --dry-run

# Check nginx status
systemctl status nginx

# Restart nginx
systemctl restart nginx

# Test nginx configuration
nginx -t

# View nginx error logs
tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

• ✅ SSL certificates auto-renew every 90 days
• ✅ HTTP traffic automatically redirects to HTTPS
• ✅ Strong SSL configuration with modern ciphers

• ✅ N8N data stored in ~/.n8n directory
• ✅ Automatic backups recommended
• ✅ Regular security updates advised

• ✅ Only essential ports (22, 80, 443) should be open
• ✅ SSH access should be restricted to your IP
• ✅ Regular security audits recommended

• N8N Documentation
• Docker Documentation
• Nginx Documentation
• Let's Encrypt Documentation

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the Troubleshooting section
2. Review the script logs carefully
3. Ensure all prerequisites are met
4. Verify firewall and DNS configuration

This script is provided as-is for educational and production use. Please review and test in a development environment before production deployment.

🎉 Happy Automating with N8N!