Self-hosted n8n on a client’s own server

n8n set up from a bare cloud server to a running stack, with Postgres, Redis and nginx, and restart tested through a reboot.

Industry: Automation infrastructure

< 1 minto recover after a full reboot, tested

The situation

A client needed their own n8n instance rather than a hosted plan, with control over the infrastructure it runs on.

What I built

  • A Google Cloud server with a static IP, provisioned end to end: disk sizing, swap, Docker, Node, nginx and firewall rules.
  • A Docker stack running n8n with Postgres and Redis.
  • Automatic start through a systemd unit, with the reboot recovery path tested and confirmed healthy in under a minute.
  • An nginx site on a dedicated subdomain.

Why self-host

Self-hosting keeps workflow data on infrastructure you control, and the cost doesn’t depend on how many times a flow runs. The trade-off is that someone has to look after the server, which is worth deciding before you choose.

Stack

GCP Compute EngineDocker Composen8nPostgresRedisnginxsystemdufw

Related service: n8n Automation.

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