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n8n Installation & Hello World

n8n is a workflow automation tool. It lets you connect apps, APIs, and services together using a visual interface — without writing code. In this project, n8n runs as a Docker container behind Nginx.

1. Make sure the nginx-network exists​

docker network create nginx-network

If it already exists, Docker will show an error message — that's fine, just continue.

2. Run the n8n container​

docker run -d \
  --name n8n \
  --network nginx-network \
  -e N8N_HOST=YOUR_SERVER_IP \
  -e WEBHOOK_URL=http://YOUR_SERVER_IP/ \
  n8nio/n8n
note

Do not add -p 5678:5678. Nginx handles all traffic — n8n should never be exposed directly to the internet.

3. Verify n8n is running​

docker ps | grep n8n

You should see the container with status Up.

4. Access n8n​

Open your browser and go to:

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP

You will be prompted to create an admin account on first access.

5. Hello World — Webhook Workflow​

This is a simple workflow to verify n8n is working correctly. It creates an endpoint that responds with a JSON message when visited.

  1. Click "Add first workflow" on the n8n dashboard
  2. Click the "+" button to add a node and search for Webhook
  3. Configure the Webhook node:
    • HTTP Method: GET
    • Path: hello
  4. Click "+" again and search for Respond to Webhook
  5. Configure the Respond to Webhook node:
    • Respond With: JSON
    • Response Body: 
      { "message": "Hello from n8n!" }
  6. Connect the two nodes by dragging from the Webhook output to the Respond to Webhook input
  7. Click "Save" and then toggle the workflow to Active

6. Test the workflow​

Run this command from the server terminal:

curl http://YOUR_SERVER_IP/webhook/hello

Expected response:

{ "message": "Hello from n8n!" }

If you see this response, n8n is fully installed, running behind Nginx, and processing workflows correctly.