n8n-docs/docs/hosting/configuration/environment-variables/nodes.md

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Nodes environment variables	Environment variable to configure nodes management in self-hosted n8n instance.	reference	environment variables	toc tags

Nodes environment variables

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This page lists the environment variables configuration options for managing nodes in n8n, including specifying which nodes to load or exclude, importing built-in or external modules in the Code node, and enabling community nodes.

Variable	Type	Default	Description
NODES_INCLUDE	Array of strings	-	Specify which nodes to load.
NODES_EXCLUDE	Array of strings	-	Specify which nodes not to load. For example, to block nodes that can be a security risk if users aren't trustworthy: NODES_EXCLUDE: "[\"n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand\", \"n8n-nodes-base.filesreadwrite\"]"
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN	String	-	Permit users to import specific built-in modules in the Code node. Use * to allow all. n8n disables importing modules by default.
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL	String	-	Permit users to import specific external modules (from n8n/node_modules) in the Code node. n8n disables importing modules by default.
NODES_ERROR_TRIGGER_TYPE	String	n8n-nodes-base.errorTrigger	Specify which node type to use as Error Trigger.
N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS	String	-	Specify the path to directories containing your custom nodes.
N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED	Boolean	true	Enables (true) or disables (false) community nodes.