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Overview

This template provides a production‑ready n8n instance as a Monk runnable. You can:
  • Run it directly to get a managed workflow automation platform
  • Inherit it in your own infrastructure to add powerful integration and automation capabilities
n8n is a free and open-source workflow automation tool. It’s a self-hostable alternative to Zapier/IFTTT with 200+ integrations, allowing you to connect anything to everything via a visual workflow editor.

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What this template manages

  • n8n server with web UI
  • PostgreSQL or SQLite for workflow storage
  • Webhook server
  • Execution engine
  • Web UI on port 5678

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Quick start (run directly)

  1. Load templates
monk load MANIFEST
  1. Run n8n with defaults
monk run n8n/n8n
  1. Customize credentials (recommended via inheritance)
Running directly uses the defaults defined in this template’s variables. Secrets added with monk secrets add will not affect this runnable unless you inherit it and reference those secrets.
  • Preferred: inherit and replace variables with secret("...") as shown below.
  • Alternative: fork/clone and edit the variables in n8n/n8n.yml, then monk load MANIFEST and run.
Once started, access n8n UI at http://localhost:5678 and create your first workflow by clicking ”+ New workflow”.

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Configuration

Key variables you can customize in this template: 
variables:
  n8n-image-tag: "latest"                      # container image tag
  n8n-port: "5678"                             # web UI and webhook port
  n8n-basic-auth-user: "admin"                 # basic auth username (env: N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER)
  n8n-basic-auth-password: "..."               # basic auth password (env: N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD)
  n8n-encryption-key: "..."                    # encryption key for credentials (env: N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY)
  webhook-url: "http://localhost:5678"         # webhook base URL (env: WEBHOOK_URL)
  
  # Database (optional, defaults to SQLite)
  db-type: "postgresdb"                        # sqlite or postgresdb (env: DB_TYPE)
  postgres-host: "postgres"                    # PostgreSQL hostname
  postgres-database: "n8n"                     # PostgreSQL database name
  postgres-user: "n8n"                         # PostgreSQL username
  postgres-password: "..."                     # PostgreSQL password
Data is persisted under ${monk-volume-path}/n8n on the host. When using PostgreSQL, database data is stored under ${monk-volume-path}/postgres. Inherit the n8n runnable in your application to add workflow automation capabilities. Example: 
namespace: myapp
automation:
  defines: runnable
  inherits: n8n/stack
  variables:
    n8n-basic-auth-user:
      value: <- secret("n8n-user")
    n8n-basic-auth-password:
      value: <- secret("n8n-password")
    n8n-encryption-key:
      value: <- secret("n8n-encryption")
    webhook-url:
      value: "https://automation.myapp.com"
    postgres-password:
      value: <- secret("postgres-password")
Then set the secrets once and run your app: 
monk secrets add -g n8n-user="admin"
monk secrets add -g n8n-password="STRONG_PASSWORD"
monk secrets add -g n8n-encryption="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
monk secrets add -g postgres-password="STRONG_DB_PASSWORD"
monk run myapp/automation

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Ports and connectivity

  • Service: n8n on TCP port 5678
  • Web UI accessible at: http://\<host>:5678
  • Webhooks received at: http://\<host>:5678/webhook/\<path>
  • From other runnables in the same process group, use connection-hostname("\<connection-name>") to resolve the n8n host.

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Persistence and configuration

  • Data path: ${monk-volume-path}/n8n:/home/node/.n8n
  • PostgreSQL data path: ${monk-volume-path}/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data (when using PostgreSQL)
  • All workflows, credentials, and execution history are persisted in these volumes.

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Features

  • Visual Workflow Editor: Drag-and-drop interface
  • 200+ Integrations: Apps, databases, APIs, and services
  • Custom Nodes: Create your own integrations with JavaScript
  • Webhooks: Trigger workflows via HTTP
  • Scheduling: Run workflows on a schedule
  • Error Workflows: Handle errors with separate workflows
  • Credentials Management: Secure storage for API keys and passwords
  • Execution History: View and retry past executions
  • Self-Hosted: Full control over your data

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Available Integrations

Popular nodes include:
  • Communication: Slack, Discord, Telegram, Email, SMS
  • Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
  • Cloud: AWS, GCP, Azure
  • Storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, S3
  • APIs: HTTP Request, Webhook, GraphQL
  • Productivity: Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable
  • E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe
  • Marketing: Mailchimp, HubSpot, SendGrid

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Example Workflow

  1. Trigger: Webhook receives customer form submission
  2. Action: Save to Google Sheets
  3. Action: Send welcome email via SendGrid
  4. Action: Create Slack notification for team
  5. Action: Add to CRM (HubSpot/Salesforce)

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Use cases

n8n excels at:
  • Business process automation
  • Data synchronization between apps
  • Webhook processing
  • Scheduled data tasks
  • Customer onboarding workflows
  • Notification systems
  • API integration and orchestration

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Security

For production:
  • Enable basic authentication or OAuth
  • Use HTTPS with reverse proxy
  • Set strong encryption key
  • Use PostgreSQL instead of SQLite
  • Regularly backup workflows and credentials
  • See other templates in this repository for complementary services
  • Combine with monitoring tools (prometheus-grafana/) for observability
  • Integrate with your application stack as needed

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Troubleshooting

  • Access n8n UI at http://localhost:5678
  • If you changed n8n-encryption-key but the container has existing data, credentials may fail to decrypt. Either reset the data volume or keep the same encryption key.
  • Ensure the host volumes are writable by the container user.
  • Generate encryption key:
openssl rand -hex 32
  • Check workflow execution logs in the n8n UI under “Executions”
  • Check container logs:
monk logs -l 500 -f n8n/n8n
  • For webhook issues, verify webhook-url is correctly set and accessible from external services
  • For credential errors, ensure the encryption key hasn’t changed
  • For database issues, verify PostgreSQL connection settings (host, user, password, database)
  • Test node connections in workflow editor before saving workflows
  • If using PostgreSQL, ensure the database is running and accessible before starting n8n