How to install n8n on a Cloud VPS

n8n is a fair-code workflow automation tool that connects 400+ services with visual flows, a self-hosted Zapier alternative without task limits.

The self-hosted version removes per-user subscriptions: you pay only for the server, no matter how many teammates use the app.

One-click install on cloudlinux.ro

The fastest way: n8n installs automatically at the first boot of a new server.

1. Create a Cloud VPS from the control panel.
2. In the configuration step, pick n8n from the app catalog.
3. Start the server. The install runs in the background for a few minutes and its status shows on the server page.
4. Access details and generated passwords are saved on the server in /root/app-credentials.txt. The app will be available on port 5678.

Manual install on any Ubuntu server

If you prefer doing it yourself, below is the exact script our automatic install runs. Execute it as root on a fresh Ubuntu server (24.04 recommended). It stops at the first error, and when it finishes you will find the access details in /root/app-credentials.txt.

export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
IP=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')
docker volume create n8n_data
docker run -d --name n8n --restart=always -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  -e N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false -e N8N_HOST="$IP" \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
printf 'n8n: http://%s:5678\nCreeaza contul de administrator la prima accesare.\n' "$IP" > /root/app-credentials.txt

You can also save this script as a recipe in your account and reuse it on any new server.