n8n-docs/docs/reference/environment-variables.md

Environment Variables

Credentials

Enabling overwrites for credentials allows you to set default values for credentials which get automatically prefilled. The user cannot see or change these credentials. The format is { CREDENTIAL_NAME: { PARAMTER: VALUE }}.

Variable	Type	Description
CREDENTIALS_OVERWRITE_DATA	*	Overwrites for credentials.
CREDENTIALS_OVERWRITE_ENDPOINT	string	The API endpoint to fetch credentials.

Database

Variable	Type	Description
DB_TYPE	enum string: sqlite, mariadb, mysqldb, postgresdb	The type of database to use.
DB_TABLE_PREFIX	*	Prefix to be used for table names.

MySQL

Variable	Type	Description
DB_MYSQLDB_DATABASE	string	The name of the MySQL database.
DB_MYSQLDB_HOST	string	The MySQL host (e.g. localhost).
DB_MYSQLDB_PORT	number	The MySQL port (e.g. 3306).
DB_MYSQLDB_USER	string	The MySQL user (e.g. root).
DB_MYSQLDB_PASSWORD	string	The MySQL password.

Postgres

Variable	Type	Description
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE	string	The name of the PostgresDB database.
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST	string	The PostgresDB host (e.g. localhost).
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT	number	The PostgresDB port (e.g. 5432).
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER	string	The PostgresDB user (e.g. root).
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD	string	The PostgresDB password.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA	string	The PostgresDB schema (e.g. public).
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CA	string	The PostgresDB SSL certificate authority.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CERT	string	The PostgresDB SSL certificate.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_KEY	string	The PostgresDB SSL key.
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED	boolean	If unauthorized SSL connections should be rejected.

SQLite

Variable	Type	Description
DB_SQLITE_VACUUM_ON_STARTUP	boolean	Runs VACUUM operation on startup to rebuild the database. Reduces file size and optimizes indexes. This is a long running blocking operation and will increase start-up time.

Deployment

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_PATH	string	The path n8n is deployed to.
N8N_HOST	string	Host name (e.g. localhost) where n8n can be reached.
N8N_PORT	number	The HTTP port (e.g. 5678) where n8n can be reached.
N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS	string	The IP address n8n should listen on.
N8N_PROTOCOL	enum string: http, https	The protocol used to reach n8n.
N8N_SSL_KEY	string	The SSL Key for HTTPS protocol.
N8N_SSL_CERT	string	The SSL certificate for HTTPS protocol.
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED	boolean	When enables, notifications of new versions and security updates are provided.
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENDPOINT	string	The endpoint where version information is retreived. By default https://api.n8n.io/versions/ is used.
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_INFO_URL	string	The URL displayed in the New Versions panel for additional information. By default https://docs.n8n.io/getting-started/installation/updating.html is used.

Endpoints

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_PAYLOAD_SIZE_MAX	number	The maximum payload size in MB.
N8N_METRICS	boolean	Whether to enable the metrics endpoint.
N8N_METRICS_PREFIX	string	Optional prefix to be used for metrics names.
N8N_ENDPOINT_REST	string	The path used for REST endpoint.
N8N_ENDPOINT_WEBHOOK	string	The path used for webhook endpoint.
N8N_ENDPOINT_WEBHOOK_TEST	string	The path used for test-webhook endpoint.
N8N_DISABLE_PRODUCTION_MAIN_PROCESS	boolean	Disable production webhooks from main process. This helps ensures no HTTP traffic load to main process when using webhook-specific processes.
N8N_SKIP_WEBHOOK_DEREGISTRATION_SHUTDOWN	boolean	Deregister webhooks on external services only when workflows are deactivated.

External Hooks

Variable	Type	Description
EXTERNAL_HOOK_FILES	string	Files containing external hooks. Multiple files can be provided separated by colon (":").

Executions

Variable	Type	Description
EXECUTIONS_PROCESS	enum string: main, own	Whether processes are executed in their own process (default) or the main process.
EXECUTIONS_MODE	enum string: regular, queue	Whether processes should run directly (default) or via queue.
EXECUTIONS_TIMEOUT	number	The max run time (in seconds) before stopping a workflow execution. Set to -1 to disable.
EXECUTIONS_TIMEOUT_MAX	number	The max execution time (in seconds) that can be set for a workflow individually.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_ERROR	enum string: all, none	Whether execution data is saved on error.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_SUCCESS	enum string: all, none	Whether execution data is saved on success.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_PROGRESS	boolean	Whether to save progress for each node executed.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_MANUAL_EXECUTIONS	boolean	Whether to save data of executions when started manually.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE	boolean	Whether to delete data of past executions on a rolling basis.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE	number	The execution age (in hours) before it is deleted.
EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE_TIMEOUT	number	The timeout (in seconds) after execution data has been pruned.

Logs

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_LOG_LEVEL	enum string: info, warn, error, verbose, debug	Log output level.
N8N_LOG_OUTPUT	enum string: console, file	Where to output logs. Multiple values can be provided separated by a comma.
N8N_LOG_FILE_COUNT_MAX	number	Max number of log files to keep.
N8N_LOG_FILE_SIZE_MAX	number	Max size of each log file in MB.
N8N_LOG_FILE_LOCATION	string	Log file location. Only used if log output is set to file.

Nodes

Variable	Type	Description
NODES_INCLUDE	string	Specify which nodes to load.
NODES_EXCLUDE	string	Specify which nodes not to load.
NODES_ERROR_TRIGGER_TYPE	string	Specify which node Node Type to use as Error Trigger.

Queues

Variable	Type	Description
QUEUE_BULL_PREFIX	string	Prefix to be used for all queue keys.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_DB	number	The Redis database used.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST	string	The Redis host (e.g. localhost).
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT	number	The Redis port used (e.g. 6379).
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD	string	The Redis password.
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_TIMEOUT_THRESHOLD	number	The Redis timeout threshold (in seconds).
QUEUE_RECOVERY_INTERVAL	number	Internal (in seconds) for active polling to the queue to recover from Redis crashes. 0 is disabled. May increase Redis traffic significantly.

Security

Variable	Type	Description
N8N_AUTH_EXCLUDE_ENDPOINTS	string	Additional endpoints to exclude auth checks. Multiple endpoints can be provided separated by a colon (":").
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE	boolean	Whether basic auth should be activated for editor and REST-API access.
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER	string	The name of the n8n user for basic authentication.
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD	string	The password of the n8n user for basic authentication.
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_HASH	boolean	Whether the basic authentication password is hashed.
N8N_JWT_AUTH_ACTIVE	boolean	Whether JWT authentication should be activated for editor and REST-API access.
N8N_JWT_AUTH_HEADER	string	The request header containing a signed JWT.
N8N_JWT_AUTH_HEADER_VALUE_PREFIX	string	Optional. The request header value prefix to strip.
N8N_JWKS_URI	string	The URI to fetch JWK Set for JWT authentication.
N8N_JWT_ISSUER	string	Optional. The expected JWT issuer.
N8N_JWT_NAMESPACE	string	Optional. The expected JWT namespace.
N8N_JWT_ALLOWED_TENANT	string	Optional. The allowed JWT tenant.
N8N_JWT_ALLOWED_TENANT_KEY	string	Optional. The JWT tenant key name to inspect within the JWT namespace.

Timezone

Variable	Type	Description
GENERIC_TIMEZONE	*	The timezone to use (e.g. `America/New York). Important for schedule nodes (i.e. Cron).

Workflows

Variable	Type	Description
WORKFLOWS_DEFAULT_NAME	string	The default name used for new workflows (e.g. My workflow).