# Deploy n8n on Render — Automate a variety of AI-powered workflows. This guide walks through deploying [n8n](https://n8n.io/) on Render using the official [n8n Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/n8nio/n8n). Use n8n to intelligently automate sequences of tasks across a wide variety of applications: post Slack messages, trigger CI/CD pipelines, create support tickets, and much more. ## First, choose a storage method Your n8n instance can use one of two methods to store workflow data on Render. The method you choose determines how you configure your deployment: ------ ###### Storage Method [*Render Postgres*](#setup-render-postgres) (recommended) ###### Description Store workflow data in a PostgreSQL database separate from your n8n instance. *We recommend this strategy for the following reasons:* - You can get started for free (persistent disks require a paid service instance). - You can redeploy your n8n instance with [zero downtime](/deploys#zero-downtime-deploys) (a persistent disk prevents zero-downtime deploys). - You can run multiple n8n instances that share workflow data, such as in [queue mode](https://docs.n8n.io/hosting/scaling/queue-mode/) (a persistent disk is accessible by only a single instance). --- ###### Storage Method [*Persistent disk*](#setup-persistent-disk) ###### Description Store workflow data in SQLite on a disk attached to your n8n instance. This setup is more straightforward, because you don't need to connect your n8n instance to an external database. _However_, persistent disks require a paid service instance and prevent horizontal scaling. See above for more details on why we recommend using Render Postgres instead. ------ After you choose a storage method, follow the corresponding setup instructions below. ## Setup: Render Postgres If you'll store workflow data in a Render Postgres database, your n8n deployment will consist of two Render resources: - A [web service](web-services) that pulls and runs the n8n Docker image - A [Render Postgres database](postgresql) that stores your n8n workflow data > *This setup uses [*free Render instance types*](free).* > > Free web services spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity, and free Render Postgres databases expire after 30 days. > > After you get up and running with n8n, you can [upgrade your instances](#4-upgrade-your-instances) to remove these limitations and improve performance. ### 1. Sign up for Render Signing up is fast and free: ### 2. Copy the example template To simplify connecting your n8n instance to its database, we've created a template repo that enables you to deploy both resources together using a [Render Blueprint](infrastructure-as-code). 1. Open the [render-examples/n8n template](https://github.com/render-examples/n8n) on GitHub. 2. Click *Use this template > Create a new repository* in the top right. 3. In the form that appears, set configuration options for your new repo, then click *Create repository*. ### 3. Create a Render Blueprint Your newly created repo contains a `render.yaml` file that defines both your n8n web service and its database: ```yaml # An excerpt from render.yaml services: - type: web plan: free runtime: image name: n8n-service image: url: docker.io/n8nio/n8n:latest # … ``` > The full file in your repo includes helpful comments describing the purpose of included fields. By defining our two resources this way, we can configure and deploy them together using [Blueprints](infrastructure-as-code), Render's infrastructure-as-code model: 1. In the [Render Dashboard](https://dashboard.render.com), click *New > Blueprint*: [image: Selecting Blueprint from the New menu in the Render Dashboard] 2. If you haven't yet, connect your GitHub account to Render. This enables Render to fetch the `render.yaml` file from your new repo. 3. Under *Connect a repository*, click the *Connect* button for the repo you created earlier. This opens a Blueprint creation form that lists the resources Render will create from your `render.yaml` file: [image: The Blueprint creation form in the Render Dashboard] 4. Provide a *Blueprint Name* and confirm that you're pulling the *Branch* you expect from your repo. 5. Click *Deploy Blueprint*. Your Blueprint kicks off its first *sync*, which you can follow along with: [image: Proceeding through a Blueprint sync in the Render Dashboard] As each resource is created, a green checkmark appears next to it. ***+ Database creation failed?** Your workspace might already have a free Render Postgres database (each workspace is limited to one). If so, do one of the following: - Delete your existing free database in the Render Dashboard, then retry syncing the Blueprint. - Update your `render.yaml` file to [use a paid instance type](#4-upgrade-your-instances) for the database, then push the update to your repo to trigger a new sync. 6. After both resources become available, navigate to your new web service's page in the Render Dashboard. Its `onrender.com` URL appears at the top: [image: The web service URL in the Render Dashboard] Visit this URL to access your n8n instance: [image: The empty-state n8n homepage] You're up and running with n8n on Render! Before you get started creating workflows, we recommend the following: - [Upgrade to paid instances](#4-upgrade-your-instances) before your free Render Postgres database expires. - Review the [additional configuration](#additional-configuration) below. ### 4. Upgrade your instances As specified by default in `render.yaml`, both your n8n web service and Render Postgres database use [free instance types](free), which have important limitations. *Most critically, your free database will expire after 30 days.* After you're up and running with n8n, you can upgrade these services to use paid instance types. Change the `plan` field for each service to the desired instance type, then push your changes: ```yaml # An excerpt from render.yaml services: - type: web plan: standard # highlight-line # … databases: - name: n8n-db plan: basic-256mb # highlight-line # Optionally increase database storage to any # multiple of 5 GB by setting diskSizeGB: # diskSizeGB: 5 ``` - For n8n, we recommend running your web service on the `standard` instance type or larger. - Otherwise, n8n might encounter performance issues. - The `basic-256mb` is the smallest paid Render Postgres instance type and is usually sufficient for your n8n database. See all supported `plan` values for [web services](blueprint-spec#plan) and [databases](blueprint-spec#plan-1). ## Setup: Persistent disk If you'll store workflow data directly with your n8n instance, you create a Render [web service](web-services) and attach a [persistent disk](disks) to it. Note that persistent disks require a paid service instance. To get started for free, you can use [Render Postgres](#setup-render-postgres) instead. > *Why attach a persistent disk?* > > By default, Render services have an [ephemeral filesystem](/deploys#ephemeral-filesystem), which means that all changes to local files are lost whenever the instance is redeployed. A persistent disk enables you to retain filesystem changes across deploys. ### 1. Sign up for Render Signing up is fast and free: ### 2. Create your n8n web service 1. In the [Render Dashboard](https://dashboard.render.com), click *New > Web Service*: [image: Creating a new web service in the Render Dashboard] 2. Under *Source Code*, click *Existing Image*: [image: Deploying a Docker image in the Render Dashboard] 3. Provide the following *Image URL* and click *Connect*: ``` docker.io/n8nio/n8n:latest ``` - You can specify a tag or digest besides `latest` if you prefer. For details, see [Pin to a specific n8n version](#pin-to-a-specific-n8n-version). 4. Provide a *Name* for your web service and specify which *Region* you'll deploy it to. 5. Select an *Instance Type* for your web service. You can select any instance type besides *Free* (which doesn't support persistent disks). 6. Under *Environment Variables*, add a `PORT` variable with a value of `5678`. This is the default port that n8n listens on. - This step isn't strictly necessary (Render can detect your service's HTTP port automatically), but it speeds up your first deploy. 7. Expand the *Advanced* dropdown at the bottom of the form and find the *Disk* section. 8. Click *Add disk*. The following fields appear: [image: Adding a persistent disk to an n8n web service] 9. Set your disk's *Mount path* to `/home/node`. By default, n8n will store its data in a `.n8n` directory under this path. - *Only data under the mount path is persisted across deploys!* Changes to other parts of the filesystem are lost when the service is redeployed. - You can store n8n data in a different directory by setting the [`N8N_USER_FOLDER` environment variable](https://docs.n8n.io/hosting/configuration/configuration-examples/user-folder/). If you do, modify your disk's mount path to match. 10. Set the disk's *Size* to 1 GB for now. You can increase this size later as needed. 11. Click *Deploy Web Service*. 12. After the deploy completes, navigate to your new web service's page in the Render Dashboard. Its `onrender.com` URL appears at the top: [image: The web service URL in the Render Dashboard] Visit this URL to access your n8n instance: [image: The empty-state n8n homepage] You're up and running with n8n on Render! Before you get started creating workflows, we recommend reviewing the [additional configuration](#additional-configuration) below. ## Additional configuration Complete the following steps as needed after you complete the initial setup of your n8n instance. ### Set your webhook URL If any of your n8n workflows will listen for incoming webhook notifications, you need to set the root URL for all webhook endpoints by adding an [environment variable](configure-environment-variables) to your web service: 1. From your n8n web service's page in the [Render Dashboard](https://dashboard.render.com), click *Environment* in the left pane. - If you're using Render Postgres, here you'll see all of the existing environment variables that were added as part of the Blueprint deployment (`DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE`, `DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD`, and so on). 2. Under *Environment Variables*, click *Edit*, then *Add > New variable*. 3. Set the new variable's *Key* to `WEBHOOK_URL`. 4. Set the variable's *Value* to the service's `onrender.com` URL (e.g., `https://n8n-service-q975.onrender.com/`). 5. Click *Save and deploy*. After the deploy completes, your `onrender.com` URL will be reflected in any webhook nodes you add to your workflows: [image: Viewing n8n webhook URLs] ### Pin to a specific n8n version In both setup methods above, you deploy the version of n8n associated with the `latest` tag. This version changes over time, which might introduce breaking changes to your workflows. You can instead pin your n8n version to a specific version. Select your setup method to view instructions for pinning your n8n version: **Blueprint (Render Postgres)** In your repo's `render.yaml` file, specify an n8n version by providing its tag in the `image.url` field, like so: ```yaml # An excerpt from render.yaml services: - type: web image: # highlight-line url: docker.io/n8nio/n8n:1.83.2 #highlight-line # … ``` You can also pin to a specific _digest_, which ensures that your service always uses the _exact same_ image: ```yaml # An excerpt from render.yaml services: - type: web image: # highlight-line url: docker.io/n8nio/n8n@sha256:5288543ac4dc1ea7149a93e38a24989c913c9007dd2459f6c730ac247c4d958f #highlight-line # … ``` After you make this change, push it to your repo. Your Blueprint will automatically sync and deploy the newly specified n8n version. **Dashboard (persistent disk)** 1. In the [Render Dashboard](https://dashboard.render.com), open your n8n web service's *Settings* page. 2. Scroll down to the *Image* section and click *Edit*. The following dialog appears: [image: Updating the n8n image tag in the Render Dashboard] 3. In the *Image URL* field, specify the n8n tag or digest you want to use, like so: ``` docker.io/n8nio/n8n:1.83.2 ``` - You can also pin to a specific _digest_, which ensures that your service always uses the _exact same_ image: ``` docker.io/n8nio/n8n@sha256:5288543ac4dc1ea7149a93e38a24989c913c9007dd2459f6c730ac247c4d958f ``` 4. Click *Save Changes**. Your service will redeploy with the newly specified n8n version.