n8n on your VPS, production-ready in one click

Install n8n the way n8n itself recommends for production — queue-mode workers, PostgreSQL and Redis — without writing a docker-compose file. Point your domain at it with HTTPS, scale workers live, and update with a pre-update backup and rollback if something won't start.

  • Queue-mode workers
  • Postgres 18 + Redis 7 included
  • Domain with HTTPS

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Here's what it looks like in the panel

Real screenshots of the ArduMaker panel, not mockups.

n8n: n8n in queue mode
n8n in queue mode. Status, version, port and each worker with its own log.
n8n: Checks before installing
Checks before installing. The panel checks Docker and free RAM before installing.
n8n: Installation with progress
Installation with progress. Every installation step, live and with its log.

n8n installed with no extra questions

From Apps the n8n install asks for one thing: how many workers. The platform handles the rest.

  • You choose the workers seeing the maximum the server's free memory allows and which one is recommended.
  • The latest version is installed, with its database and queue included and isolated.
  • It's published with an https address; assign your own domain later.
  • Restart, update and uninstall are done from the same card.
  • If the server has no Docker, it's set up automatically during the install.

Before you install it

Use it when

  • You want to automate tasks between services (email, spreadsheets, CRM, WhatsApp, APIs) without coding everything from scratch.
  • You need to receive webhooks and react to them.
  • You want your automations and their credentials on your own server and not on a third-party service.

It's not the right fit if

  • The server has little free memory: n8n with its database and queue needs several GB. The installer tells you how many workers fit.
  • It's a single script that runs once a day: a scheduled task in the VPS is enough.

How to check it's working

  1. Open the address and create the owner user: When the install finishes, open the app's https address. The first time it asks you to create the admin account.
  2. Try a webhook: Create a workflow with a Webhook node, activate it and call it: curl -X POST https://your-n8n.arducloud.com/webhook/test -d '{"hello":1}'. The run shows up in Executions.
  3. Check the workers are processing: Run an active workflow several times: in Executions they should finish successfully, not stay waiting.

Tips

  • When installing you only choose the number of workers; you see the maximum the free memory allows and the recommended one. More workers means more runs at once, not faster workflows.
  • The latest version is installed and the platform sets concurrency to fit the server.
  • Credentials stored in n8n are encrypted with a key unique to the install: back up the VPS so you don't lose it.
  • To use your own domain, assign it from the n8n panel in the VPS: webhooks start using that address.
  • There is one n8n per server.

Everything a serious n8n setup needs, already built

The panel installs and maintains the full stack. You focus on the workflows.

  • Full stack in one click: Main process for the editor and the webhooks, N queue-mode workers, PostgreSQL 18 and Redis 7 inside the same Docker Compose stack. No separate database or Redis to install.
  • A check before you install: The panel shows you whether Docker is ready, how much RAM is actually free, how many workers fit and how much memory each option asks for, with one recommended.
  • Workers your way: From 1 to 8 workers (4 by default) and the concurrency per worker (5 by default). Ask for more than fit in RAM and they get trimmed, with a notice.
  • Scale without downtime: Adding workers interrupts nothing. When you remove them, there's a grace period so running executions can finish.
  • Your domain with HTTPS: nginx is set up as a reverse proxy, and the editor and webhook URLs update themselves. You can change the domain as many times as you want.
  • Safe updates: Pick the version and it updates in the background. The database is backed up first, and if the new version won't start, it rolls back on its own.
  • Environment variables without fear: Edit several at once and they apply in a single restart. Secrets are shown masked, and the critical variables (encryption key, database credentials) are protected.
  • Backups and maintenance: Daily database dump with 7-day retention, log rotation for every container, and execution history pruned after 14 days so the disk doesn't fill up.
  • Isolated Code node: Each n8n process has its own task runner (the external mode n8n recommends for production): code that escapes the sandbox can't see the encryption key or the credentials.
  • No execution limit: No quota per plan or per workflow: the ceiling is the VPS's RAM and CPU, and you see it before installing.
  • Your data stays on your VPS: The n8n database, the credentials and the execution history live on your server, with your root access and your backups.

From zero to n8n on your own domain

  1. Pick a VPS with enough RAM: n8n needs at least 4 GB of RAM actually free. The plan table tells you which ones run it comfortably.
  2. Review and pick workers: The panel works out how many workers fit and recommends a configuration.
  3. Install in one click: The full stack comes up with Postgres and Redis. You follow the progress from the panel.
  4. Add your domain: You assign a domain with HTTPS and the webhooks point to it automatically.
  5. Scale when you need to: Adding workers doesn't interrupt the service. When you remove them there's a grace period so running executions can finish.

How it works underneath, and what to keep in mind

What you should know before you start, no fine print.

  • It's the deployment n8n itself recommends for production: queue mode with Redis in between, the main process separate from the workers and PostgreSQL as the database, all inside the same Docker Compose stack.
  • The main process serves the editor and the webhooks; the workers execute. That's why a heavy execution doesn't leave the interface hanging, which is the typical problem with n8n installed on SQLite as a single process.
  • You need at least 4 GB of RAM actually free, and it's the available memory that gets measured, not the plan's. Roughly: 4 to 5.9 GB fits 2 workers, 6 to 7.9 GB fits 3, and from 8 GB up it's 4 or more, capped at 8.
  • Each process has its own task runner in external mode, which is what n8n recommends for production: Code node code runs isolated and, if it escapes the sandbox, it can't see the encryption key or the credentials.
  • Docker has to be enabled. If it isn't yet, enabling it reboots the VPS, and the panel asks you to confirm first.
  • It needs Node 20 or later, which in turn requires glibc 2.28. That's why it doesn't run on Ubuntu 16.04 (glibc 2.23) or 18.04 (glibc 2.27). It's verified in production on 22.04 and compatible with 20.04, 24.04 and 26.04.
  • To assign a domain, that domain has to have HTTPS set up first. After that the editor and webhook URLs update themselves every time you change it.
  • n8n's schema migrations can't be undone. The automatic rollback covers the new version failing to start; to go back a version you restore the pre-update backup, which is always taken before updating.
  • Maintenance runs on its own: daily database dump with 7-day retention, log rotation for every container, and execution history pruned after 14 days so it doesn't fill your disk.
  • Installing, updating, scaling workers and editing environment variables are for Company administrators. Members can see the status and the logs.
  • Real root over SSH: the panel is a shortcut, not a cage. Anything it does with a button, you can also do by hand.

Or just ask Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

Everything you see in the panel, your AI agent can do through the ArduMaker MCP server: with your authorization, within the scope you grant, and with every action audited. See what the MCP does

n8n: frequently asked questions

Do I have to install PostgreSQL and Redis first?

No. On new installs they come as containers inside the n8n stack itself, already configured and wired together. There's no docker-compose to write and no variables to connect by hand.

What is n8n queue mode with workers for?

It separates what serves the editor and the webhooks from what runs the workflows. Without it, one heavy execution hangs the interface and the webhooks start timing out. It's the difference between a test n8n and one that holds up in production.

How much RAM do I need to run n8n?

At least 4 GB actually free, and the panel measures available memory, not the plan's. 4 to 5.9 GB fits 2 workers, 6 to 7.9 GB fits 3, and from 8 GB up it's 4 or more. Ask for more than fit and they get trimmed, with a notice.

Can I use my own domain with HTTPS?

Yes. nginx is set up as a reverse proxy and the editor and webhook URLs update themselves. You can change the domain as often as you like; the one requirement is that it already has HTTPS set up.

What happens if an update goes wrong?

The database is backed up before updating. If the new version won't start, it rolls back on its own. One thing to watch: n8n's schema migrations can't be undone, so going back a version means restoring that backup.

n8n self-hosted vs n8n Cloud: what's the difference?

This is your own instance: no execution limit per plan, root on the server, and your data and credentials on your machine. In exchange, the size of the VPS decides how much it handles and system maintenance is yours, though the panel takes care of backups, logs and history pruning.

Is this the same as installing n8n with a docker-compose from a tutorial?

The stack is the same one you'd build correctly by hand: main process, workers, Postgres and Redis. What changes is what the tutorial leaves out: working out how many workers fit, the isolated task runner, the HTTPS proxy, the backup before every update, log rotation and execution pruning.

Can I scale workers without downtime?

Yes. Adding them interrupts nothing. When you remove them there's a grace period so running executions finish before they shut down.

Are there backups?

A daily dump of the n8n database with 7-day retention, on top of the full VPS backup. Plus an extra automatic one before every update.

Does it work on any Ubuntu version?

From 20.04 onward, and it's verified in production on 22.04. Not on 16.04 or 18.04: n8n needs Node 20, which requires glibc 2.28, and those ship 2.23 and 2.27.

Do Code nodes run isolated?

Yes, each process has its own task runner in external mode, which is the one n8n recommends for production. If some code escapes the sandbox, it doesn't reach the encryption key or the credentials.

Services that go well together

Everything runs on the same VPS and is managed from the same panel.

  • Docker: Enable Docker in one click and manage images, containers, logs, volumes and networks from the panel.
  • PostgreSQL: Install PostgreSQL and manage databases, users and permissions without the command line.
  • Domains and SSL: A free subdomain or your own domain with Let's Encrypt, an nginx proxy with rollback, and port forwarding.

Your n8n, on your server, this afternoon Pick a plan with 4 GB free or more and install it from the panel. Not a separate product: it's in the panel of every ArduMaker VPS, right next to real root over SSH. See plans

How it works under the hood

The technical documentation for what this page covers: what each tool does, what changes, how to verify it and which MCP tools operate it.

  • n8n: n8n in queue mode on Docker, with workers, task runners, its own PostgreSQL and Redis, HTTPS and updates with backup.

All the documentation

Compare it with other platforms

Comparisons built on public data and sources, which also say when the other option is the better fit.

See all comparisons