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Quickest Way to Deploy

The fastest way to get n8n running in production is through Railway. It handles all the infrastructure complexity and gets you running in just 2 minutes.

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Why Railway?

Railway is the recommended deployment method because it provides:
  • One-click deployment - No configuration needed
  • Automatic SSL - HTTPS out of the box
  • Managed databases - PostgreSQL and Redis included
  • Auto-scaling - Handles traffic spikes
  • Built-in monitoring - See logs and metrics
  • Easy updates - Redeploy with one click

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Railway Setup Steps

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Prerequisites

  • Sign up for Railway at railway.com
  • GitHub account for authentication

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Step-by-Step Deployment

  1. Click Deploy Button
  2. Authorize Railway
    • Sign in with GitHub
    • Authorize Railway to create repositories
  3. Deploy Template
    • Click “Deploy” on the n8n template
    • Railway automatically provisions:
      • Redis for queues
      • PostgreSQL for data
      • n8n primary instance
      • n8n worker instances
  4. Access Your Instance
    • Go to Railway dashboard
    • Click on “Primary” service
    • Navigate to Settings → Network
    • Click “Generate Domain”
    • Access your n8n at the provided URL
  5. Set Admin Credentials
    • In Railway dashboard, go to Variables
    • Set these environment variables:
    N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=your_username
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
    • Redeploy for changes to take effect

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Alternative: Docker Compose

If you prefer more control over your deployment, use Docker Compose: 
version: '3.8'

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: n8n
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: n8n
      POSTGRES_DB: n8n
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data

  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=n8n
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=changeme
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:
  redis_data:
Run with: 
docker-compose up -d

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Post-Deployment Setup

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Configure Webhook URL

After deployment, configure your webhook URL:
  1. In Railway or your deployment environment
  2. Set the WEBHOOK_URL environment variable
  3. Use your public domain: https://your-domain.railway.app/

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Enable Execution Pruning

Keep your database clean: 
N8N_EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE=true
N8N_EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE=168

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Set Timezone

Configure your timezone: 
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York

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Monitoring Your Instance

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Railway Monitoring

Railway provides built-in monitoring:
  • Logs - Real-time application logs
  • Metrics - CPU, memory, and network usage
  • Deployments - Track deployment history
  • Alerts - Set up notifications

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Health Checks

Check if your instance is running: 
curl https://your-n8n-url.railway.app/healthz

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Scaling Your Deployment

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Adding More Workers

In Railway, scale workers by:
  1. Go to your project settings
  2. Find the n8n-worker service
  3. Increase replica count
  4. Railway handles load balancing

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Database Optimization

For better performance: 
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_ENABLED=true
DATABASE_CONNECTION_POOL_MIN=2
DATABASE_CONNECTION_POOL_MAX=10

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

IssueSolution
Can’t access n8nCheck if domain is generated in Railway
Webhooks not workingEnsure WEBHOOK_URL is set correctly
High memory usageEnable execution pruning
Authentication not workingCheck N8N_BASIC_AUTH variables

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Getting Help

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Next Steps