How to install n8n on an OVHcloud VPS

Objective

This guide explains how to install and run n8n, an open-source platform for workflow automation, on an OVHcloud VPS. Manual installation relies on Docker, with the server Traefik to automatically manage SSL certificates. For a turn-key setup, opt for an OVHcloud preinstalled n8n VPS.

Requirements

• A VPS solution
• A domain name
• Administrative (sudo) access to your server via SSH

Instructions

Contents

• Log in to your VPS
• You are using a pre-installed OVHcloud image
• You do not use a pre-installed OVHcloud image
• DNS configuration
• Access the n8n interface
• Conclusion

Log in to your VPS

Open a terminal and connect to your VPS with the following command (replacing IP_VPS with the real IP):

ssh <user>@IP_VPS

You are using a pre-installed OVHcloud image

If you have chosen an OVHcloud VPS with the n8n image pre-installed, you do not need to install Docker or Docker Compose : these tools are already present and configured.

Find all the necessary files (including docker-compose.yml and .env) in the /home/debian/n8n/ folder on your VPS.

Navigate to the /home/debian/n8n/ folder and edit the .env file:

cd /home/debian/n8n/
nano .env

Enter the following information:

• DOMAIN_NAME: your domain name (e.g. vps.ovh.net).
• SUBDOMAIN: the subdomain used to access n8n (e.g. vps-xxxxxxx).
• SSL_EMAIL: the email address used to generate SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt.

Once you have updated the file .env, run the following command from the directory /home/debian/n8n/:

docker compose up -d

You are not using an OVHcloud pre-installed image

Install Docker and Docker Compose

To deploy n8n via Docker on an OVHcloud VPS, Docker and Docker Compose must be installed. This method is compatible with the majority of distributions offered by OVHcloud (Debian 11, Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04...).

Step 1 - Update the system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 - Add the official Docker GPG key

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Step 3 - Add the Docker repository

For Debian (versions 11 and 12):

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

For Ubuntu (version equal to or higher than 22.04):

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Step 4 - Install Docker Engine and Docker Compose Plugin

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Step 5 - Verify that Docker and Docker Compose are working

docker --version
docker compose version

Prepare the Traefik + n8n configuration

Create a project folder where the Docker stack will reside:

mkdir n8n-traefik && cd n8n-traefik

Create the configuration files

.env file

This file allows you to define the variables that are reused in the docker-compose.yml file.

Create the file:

nano .env

Paste the following content into it:

DOMAIN_NAME=example.com
SUBDOMAIN=n8n
SSL_EMAIL=admin@example.com

Replace example.com with your real domain name and admin@example.com with the email of your choice.

docker-compose.yml file

This file contains the definition of the n8n and Traefik services. In particular, it configures:

• Reverse proxy and SSL management with Traefik.
• Basic authentication to access n8n.

Create the file:

nano docker-compose.yml

Paste the following content:

services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:v2.11
    container_name: traefik
    restart: always
    command:
      - "--api.insecure=true"
      - "--providers.docker=true"
      - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
      - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.httpchallenge=true"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.email=${SSL_EMAIL}"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro"
      - "./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt"
    labels:
      - "traefik.http.routers.http-catch.rule=Host(`${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.http-catch.entrypoints=web"
      - "traefik.http.routers.http-catch.middlewares=redirect-to-https"
      - "traefik.http.middlewares.redirect-to-https.redirectscheme.scheme=https"

  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    container_name: n8n
    restart: always
    environment:
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=admin123
      - N8N_HOST=${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}/
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.rule=Host(`${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.entrypoints=websecure"
      - "traefik.http.routers.n8n.tls.certresolver=myresolver"
      - "traefik.http.services.n8n.loadbalancer.server.port=5678"
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n

volumes:
  n8n_data:

Prepare the SSL certificate folder

Traefik stores the certificates generated by Let's Encrypt in a file named acme.json. This file must exist before launch and have strict permissions.

Create the folder:

mkdir letsencrypt

Create the empty file:

touch letsencrypt/acme.json
chmod 600 letsencrypt/acme.json

Start services

Launch the stack with Docker Compose:

docker compose up -d

DNS configuration

Ensure that your subdomain (e.g. n8n.example.com) points to your VPS’s IP address in the DNS zone. For more details, please read our guide on Editing an OVHcloud DNS zone .

Access the n8n interface

Access n8n in a browser via the URL https://n8n.example.com/. Replace n8n.example.com with the actual domain you have defined.

Conclusion

You now have a secure, operational n8n instance on your OVHcloud VPS, with automatic SSL certificate management using Traefik. To go further, please refer to the official n8n documentation to create your first workflows.

Go further

Edit an OVHcloud DNS zone

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