Tired of juggling apps and manual tasks? Tired of juggling apps and manual tasks? Self-hosting n8n could be your game-changer. It’s a powerful, open-source automation tool, and setting it up yourself using Docker Compose and Traefik makes it both flexible and super accessible. I'll walk you through the setup and show off the cool AI features that really make n8n shine. So, what exactly is n8n? So, what exactly is n8n? Think of n8n as your digital duct tape. It's a free, open-source tool that lets you visually connect different apps and services to automate just about any workflow you can imagine. Drag and drop nodes to build sequences that handle all those boring, repetitive tasks for you. It saves a ton of time and gives you way more control over your data. n8n's Secret Sauce: AI Power n8n's Secret Sauce: AI Power n8n isn't just about simple "if this, then that" rules anymore. It's evolved into a legit platform for building smart, AI-driven applications. How? By using something called "agentic AI." This means your workflows can actually make decisions, understand context, and interact with your data intelligently, not just follow a rigid script. smart Here’s what makes the AI side so powerful: The AI Agent Node: This is the brains of the operation. It processes info, makes choices, and uses built-in "tools" to talk to other apps or data sources. It connects to big AI models like OpenAI's GPT, Google's Gemini, or Anthropic's Claude to understand what you need and give smart replies.LangChain Built Right In: n8n plays nicely with LangChain, a popular framework for building complex AI logic. This means you can create chains of AI actions or even agents that decide which actions to take next, all within your workflow.Talk to Your Data (Vector DBs): Connect n8n to vector databases like Pinecone or Supabase, or use its simple built-in memory store. This is key for building RAG systems – where the AI can pull answers from your own private docs or data, making it super relevant and useful.Endless Possibilities: With these tools, you can build things like: smart chatbots for customers, AI assistants that summarize your emails and book meetings, or systems that dig insights out of messy, unstructured data. The AI Agent Node: This is the brains of the operation. It processes info, makes choices, and uses built-in "tools" to talk to other apps or data sources. It connects to big AI models like OpenAI's GPT, Google's Gemini, or Anthropic's Claude to understand what you need and give smart replies. The AI Agent Node: LangChain Built Right In: n8n plays nicely with LangChain, a popular framework for building complex AI logic. This means you can create chains of AI actions or even agents that decide which actions to take next, all within your workflow. LangChain Built Right In: which Talk to Your Data (Vector DBs): Connect n8n to vector databases like Pinecone or Supabase, or use its simple built-in memory store. This is key for building RAG systems – where the AI can pull answers from your own private docs or data, making it super relevant and useful. Talk to Your Data (Vector DBs): from your own private docs or data Endless Possibilities: With these tools, you can build things like: smart chatbots for customers, AI assistants that summarize your emails and book meetings, or systems that dig insights out of messy, unstructured data. Endless Possibilities: What You'll Need Before We Start What You'll Need Before We Start Don't sweat it, it's mostly standard gear for self-hosters: Docker & Docker Compose: Make sure they're installed and running. (Docker Compose usually comes bundled with Docker these days.)Traefik: You'll need this running for your reverse proxy. (If you're not set up yet, check out this guide on configuring Traefik.)A Domain Name: Grab a domain or subdomain to point to your n8n instance (places like Namecheap often have domains starting around $2). Docker & Docker Compose: Make sure they're installed and running. (Docker Compose usually comes bundled with Docker these days.) Docker & Docker Compose: Traefik: You'll need this running for your reverse proxy. (If you're not set up yet, check out this guide on configuring Traefik.) Traefik: (If you're not set up yet, check out this guide on configuring Traefik.) A Domain Name: Grab a domain or subdomain to point to your n8n instance (places like Namecheap often have domains starting around $2). A Domain Name: The Docker Compose Setup The Docker Compose Setup We'll use a compose.yaml file to spin up both n8n and its database (we're using PostgreSQL here). Traefik integration is handled smoothly with labels right in the file – it takes care of routing traffic and HTTPS automatically. compose.yaml Here's the compose.yaml file: Here's the compose.yaml file: compose.yaml version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    container_name: n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678" # Only exposed locally, Traefik handles external access
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=${POSTGRES_DB}  # Comes from .env file
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=${POSTGRES_USER}     # Comes from .env file
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} # Comes from .env file
      - NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL=langchain # Important for LangChain nodes!
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n # Persist your workflows and settings
    networks:
      - n8n
      - traefik
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    labels: # Traefik magic happens here
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.rule=Host(`n8n.yourdomain.com`)" # <<< REPLACE WITH YOUR DOMAIN!
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.entrypoints=websecure"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.tls.certresolver=myresolver" # <<< REPLACE 'myresolver' with your Traefik resolver name!
      - "traefik.http.services.n8n.loadbalancer.server.port=5678"

  postgres:
    image: postgres:14
    container_name: n8n_postgres
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB}      # From .env
      - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER}    # From .env
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} # From .env
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data # Persist your database
    networks:
      - n8n

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:

networks:
  n8n:
  traefik:
    external: true # Assumes your Traefik network already exists version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    container_name: n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678" # Only exposed locally, Traefik handles external access
    environment:
      - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=${POSTGRES_DB}  # Comes from .env file
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=${POSTGRES_USER}     # Comes from .env file
      - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} # Comes from .env file
      - NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL=langchain # Important for LangChain nodes!
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n # Persist your workflows and settings
    networks:
      - n8n
      - traefik
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    labels: # Traefik magic happens here
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.rule=Host(`n8n.yourdomain.com`)" # <<< REPLACE WITH YOUR DOMAIN!
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.entrypoints=websecure"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.tls.certresolver=myresolver" # <<< REPLACE 'myresolver' with your Traefik resolver name!
      - "traefik.http.services.n8n.loadbalancer.server.port=5678"

  postgres:
    image: postgres:14
    container_name: n8n_postgres
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB}      # From .env
      - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER}    # From .env
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} # From .env
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data # Persist your database
    networks:
      - n8n

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  postgres_data:

networks:
  n8n:
  traefik:
    external: true # Assumes your Traefik network already exists Don't forget the .env file! Don't forget the .env file! Create a .env file in the same folder as your compose.yaml to keep your database secrets safe: .env compose.yaml POSTGRES_DB=n8n
POSTGRES_USER=n8nuser
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=a_very_strong_and_secret_password  # Make it a good one! POSTGRES_DB=n8n
POSTGRES_USER=n8nuser
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=a_very_strong_and_secret_password  # Make it a good one! Let's Get n8n Running! Let's Get n8n Running! Make a Home: Create a directory for your n8n setup and save both the compose.yaml and .env files inside it.Traefik Takes Over: Traefik should automatically spot your new service, grab an SSL certificate, and start routing traffic to https://n8n.yourdomain.com.Almost There! Once the containers are running (give it a minute after the command finishes), open your domain in a web browser. The n8n web interface will greet you and guide you through the initial user setup.Breathe Easy: Notice the n8n port (5678) is only exposed locally on your server. Traefik is the secure gatekeeper handling all outside traffic. We can go even further. On my server, I don't even expose that port internally, as it's not needed and better not to expose things we don't need. Make a Home: Create a directory for your n8n setup and save both the compose.yaml and .env files inside it. Make a Home: compose.yaml .env Traefik Takes Over: Traefik should automatically spot your new service, grab an SSL certificate, and start routing traffic to https://n8n.yourdomain.com. Traefik Takes Over: https://n8n.yourdomain.com https://n8n.yourdomain.com Almost There! Once the containers are running (give it a minute after the command finishes), open your domain in a web browser. The n8n web interface will greet you and guide you through the initial user setup. Almost There! Breathe Easy: Notice the n8n port (5678) is only exposed locally on your server. Traefik is the secure gatekeeper handling all outside traffic. We can go even further. On my server, I don't even expose that port internally, as it's not needed and better not to expose things we don't need. Breathe Easy: 5678 locally Fire it Up: Open a terminal, navigate to that directory, and run: Fire it Up: docker compose up -d docker compose up -d That's it! Your self-hosted n8n automation playground is ready. Go build something awesome! Want to learn how to secure your database? I have an article about that: https://danielpetrica.com/easy-database-backups-with-docker-compose/ https://danielpetrica.com/easy-database-backups-with-docker-compose/ If N8N is not your sauce, active pieces is actually a great, compelling alternative tool https://danielpetrica.com/installing-activepieces-with-docker-compose-and-traefik/ https://danielpetrica.com/installing-activepieces-with-docker-compose-and-traefik/ Photo by Steve Johnson / Unsplash Photo by Steve Johnson Steve Johnson / Unsplash Unsplash

Laravel at 6ms: Production-Ready Stack with Traefik, Octane, and FrankenPHP

An AI-Powered Workflow Automation Guide: How You Can Self-Host n8n with Docker Compose and Traefik

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Dynamic Multi-Domain Management in Laravel with Traefik

3 Major Python Problems and How to Solve Them

37 Stories To Learn About Docker Compose

A Better Way to Develop Node.js with Docker

How to Create Multi-Container Applications With Docker Compose and C#

An Introduction to Docker for Web Development

Dynamic Multi-Domain Management in Laravel with Traefik

3 Major Python Problems and How to Solve Them

37 Stories To Learn About Docker Compose

A Better Way to Develop Node.js with Docker

How to Create Multi-Container Applications With Docker Compose and C#

An Introduction to Docker for Web Development

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Minty

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps