claude-home/productivity/n8n/CONTEXT.md

n8n Workflow Automation Platform

Self-hosted workflow automation platform for building integrations and automating tasks across your homelab infrastructure.

Overview

n8n is a fair-code licensed workflow automation tool that allows you to connect various services and automate complex processes through a visual workflow editor.

Deployment Date: 2025-11-13 Version: Latest (auto-updating via Docker) License: Fair-code (free for self-hosted)

Architecture

Infrastructure

LXC Container:

• VMID: 210
• Hostname: docker-n8n-lxc
• IP Address: 10.10.0.210
• CPU: 4 cores
• RAM: 8GB
• Disk: 128GB
• OS: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Services:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  https://n8n.manticorum.com         │
│  (Nginx Proxy Manager)              │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────┘
               │ SSL Termination
               ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  LXC 210 (10.10.0.210)              │
│                                     │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐ │
│  │   n8n        │  │ PostgreSQL  │ │
│  │   :5678      │→ │   :5432     │ │
│  │              │  │             │ │
│  │ - Workflows  │  │ - Database  │ │
│  │ - Webhooks   │  │ - Creds     │ │
│  │ - Executions │  │ - History   │ │
│  └──────────────┘  └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Data Persistence

Docker Volumes:

• n8n_data - Workflow files, credentials, settings
• n8n_postgres_data - PostgreSQL database

Configuration:

• /opt/n8n/docker-compose.yml - Container orchestration
• /opt/n8n/.env - Environment variables and secrets

Access & Authentication

External Access (Production)

URL: https://n8n.manticorum.com/
Username: admin
Password: [stored in .env file]
Protocol: HTTPS (via NPM with Let's Encrypt)

Internal Access (Development/Testing)

URL: http://10.10.0.210:5678
Username: admin
Password: [same as above]
Protocol: HTTP (direct to container)

SSH Access

# Using homelab SSH key
ssh -i ~/.ssh/homelab_rsa root@10.10.0.210

# Or with SSH config alias
ssh n8n

Configuration

Environment Variables

Key configuration settings in /opt/n8n/.env:

Database:

DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=[secure-random-password]

n8n Settings:

N8N_HOST=n8n.manticorum.com
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.manticorum.com/
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/Los_Angeles

Security:

N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=[64-char-hex-key]  # NEVER CHANGE AFTER FIRST RUN
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=[secure-random-password]

Performance:

NODE_ENV=production
EXECUTIONS_PROCESS=main
EXECUTIONS_MODE=regular

Nginx Proxy Manager Configuration

Proxy Host Settings:

• Domain: n8n.manticorum.com
• Scheme: http
• Forward Host: 10.10.0.210
• Forward Port: 5678
• Websockets: ✅ Enabled (REQUIRED)
• Block Common Exploits: ✅ Enabled
• SSL: Let's Encrypt with HTTP/2 and HSTS

Custom Nginx Config:

# Increase timeout for long-running workflows
proxy_read_timeout 300;
proxy_connect_timeout 300;
proxy_send_timeout 300;

# WebSocket support for real-time workflow updates
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

# Headers for n8n
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;

Operations

Starting/Stopping Services

Start n8n:

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose up -d"

Stop n8n:

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose down"

Restart n8n (apply configuration changes):

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose restart n8n"

View logs:

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose logs -f"

# Just n8n logs
ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose logs -f n8n"

# Just PostgreSQL logs
ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose logs -f postgres"

Check status:

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose ps"

Updates

Update to latest n8n version:

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d"

Note: n8n handles database migrations automatically on startup.

Backups

Database Backup:

# Create timestamped backup
ssh root@10.10.0.210 "cd /opt/n8n && docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump -U n8n n8n > /root/n8n-backup-\$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).sql"

# Download backup locally
scp -i ~/.ssh/homelab_rsa root@10.10.0.210:/root/n8n-backup-*.sql ~/backups/n8n/

Full Backup (including volumes):

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "
cd /opt/n8n
docker compose down
tar -czf /root/n8n-full-backup-\$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tar.gz \
  /opt/n8n \
  /var/lib/docker/volumes/n8n_data \
  /var/lib/docker/volumes/n8n_postgres_data
docker compose up -d
"

Restore from Backup:

# Restore database only
cat n8n-backup-20251113.sql | ssh root@10.10.0.210 "docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U n8n n8n"

# Full restore (requires downtime)
ssh root@10.10.0.210 "
cd /opt/n8n
docker compose down
tar -xzf /root/n8n-full-backup-20251113.tar.gz -C /
docker compose up -d
"

Monitoring

Health Check:

# Check if n8n is responding
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://10.10.0.210:5678
# Expected: 200

# Check container health
ssh root@10.10.0.210 "docker ps --filter name=n8n --format '{{.Status}}'"

Resource Usage:

ssh root@10.10.0.210 "docker stats --no-stream n8n n8n-postgres"

Security Considerations

Encryption Key

• Critical: The N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY encrypts all stored credentials
• Never change this key after initial setup - it will make existing credentials unreadable
• Backup securely - store this key in a password manager or secrets vault

Credentials Storage

• All workflow credentials are encrypted in the PostgreSQL database
• Credentials are never exposed in workflow definitions
• Use environment variables for sensitive data when possible

Network Security

• Port 5678 exposed on container for internal access
• External access only via NPM (HTTPS with SSL)
• Consider using NPM's built-in access lists for IP whitelisting

Authentication

• Basic auth enabled by default
• Consider integrating with SSO for multi-user scenarios
• Regularly rotate admin password

Active Workflows

Ko-fi → Paper Dynasty Integration

Purpose: Automated pack distribution when users purchase on Ko-fi

Documentation: workflows/kofi-paper-dynasty.md

Workflow Features:

• Receives Ko-fi shop order webhooks
• Multi-method user identification (discord_userid or team abbrev)
• Product mapping via custom variables
• Paper Dynasty API integration for pack grants
• Discord notifications for success/errors/manual review
• Comprehensive error handling and retry logic

Webhook URLs:

• Test: https://n8n.manticorum.com/webhook-test/kofi-paperdy
• Production: https://n8n.manticorum.com/webhook/kofi-paperdy

Related Files:

• workflows/kofi-paper-dynasty.md - Complete setup guide
• workflows/kofi-product-mapping-template.json - Product configuration template
• workflows/kofi-testing-guide.md - Testing procedures and sample payloads

Credentials Required:

• Ko-fi Verification Token
• Paper Dynasty API Key
• Discord Webhook URL

Custom Variables:

• KOFI_PRODUCT_MAP - JSON mapping of Ko-fi products to PD packs

---

Integration Patterns

Common Use Cases

Homelab Automation:

• Monitor system health and send alerts
• Backup automation workflows
• Service restart orchestration
• Log aggregation and analysis

Infrastructure Integration:

• Proxmox API automation
• Docker container management
• Network device configuration
• DNS record management

Notification Workflows:

• Discord/Slack alerts
• Email notifications
• SMS via Twilio
• Push notifications

Data Processing:

• API data collection and transformation
• Scheduled report generation
• Database sync operations
• File processing and organization

E-commerce Integration:

• Ko-fi payment processing (Paper Dynasty packs)
• Automated product fulfillment
• Customer notification workflows
• Transaction logging and analytics

Webhook Configuration

Webhook URLs follow this pattern:

https://n8n.manticorum.com/webhook/{webhook-path}
https://n8n.manticorum.com/webhook-test/{webhook-path}

Test webhooks before production:

• Use /webhook-test/ for development
• Switch to /webhook/ for production
• Configure URL in n8n workflow webhook node

Performance Tuning

Resource Allocation

Current allocation is suitable for:

• Up to 50 concurrent workflow executions
• 100+ saved workflows
• Moderate webhook traffic (<100 req/min)

If experiencing performance issues:

• Increase LXC RAM allocation
• Add more CPU cores
• Monitor PostgreSQL query performance
• Consider workflow optimization

Execution Modes

Current: EXECUTIONS_MODE=regular (main process)

Alternative: EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue (separate worker)

• Better for high-volume workflows
• Requires Redis
• More complex setup

Troubleshooting

See troubleshooting.md for common issues and solutions.

Related Documentation

• Troubleshooting Guide - Common issues and fixes
• Examples - Configuration examples and templates
• Docker Context - Container infrastructure patterns
• Networking Context - NPM and reverse proxy setup

References

• Official Documentation: https://docs.n8n.io/
• Community Forum: https://community.n8n.io/
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n
• Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/n8nio/n8n

Change Log

2025-11-13 - Initial Deployment

• Created LXC 210 (docker-n8n-lxc) with 4 cores, 8GB RAM, 128GB disk
• Deployed n8n with PostgreSQL 15 backend
• Configured domain: n8n.manticorum.com
• Integrated with Nginx Proxy Manager for HTTPS access
• Enabled basic authentication
• Set timezone to America/Los_Angeles