This guide will assist you in installing n8n on Infomaniak, a powerful and extensible workflow automation solution.

Preamble

• Unlike tools such as Zapier or Make, n8n, a “fair-code” workflow automation tool, can be self-hosted, allowing you to maintain full control over your data while connecting hundreds of services via an intuitive visual interface.

Installing n8n

Prerequisites

• Have installed a blank Node.js site on Infomaniak Web Hosting or Cloud Server.
• Stop your Node.js application before proceeding with the installation!

To configure your hosting (via the Infomaniak Manager):

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the product in question.
3. Stop the application if necessary, then click on Manage under Advanced Settings:
   
4. Click on the Node.js tab to access the settings.
5. Select a recent version (e.g., 24 or higher).

6. Enter the following command, replacing https://domaine.xyz with the actual address of your site:

   N8N_RELEASE_TYPE="stable" NODE_ENV="production" N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL="https://domaine.xyz" WEBHOOK_URL="https://domaine.xyz" GENERIC_TIMEZONE="Europe/Zurich" /srv/customer/node_modules/.bin/n8n start

7. Specify 5678 for the listening port.
8. Check the box "Set the build command".

9. Enter the following command:

   cd && npm install n8n@latest sqlite3

10. Click on Save:
    
11. Start the Build step by clicking the Start button under Application Build:
    
12. On the main page, click the Start (or Restart) button:
    
13. Wait a few minutes, then go to your site's URL (e.g., https://domain.xyz).
14. On your first connection, n8n will ask you to create an owner account to secure your instance.

Your n8n instance is now operational! You can start creating your automations.

If you encounter an error indicating that the port is already in use when starting:

1. Temporarily change the Node.js Version in the settings (e.g., switch from v24 to v23) and save. This forces a complete stop of the processes.
2. Set the desired version (v24) and save again.
3. Restart the application.

Update n8n

It is recommended to regularly update your n8n instance to benefit from the latest features and security fixes. Two methods are available to you:

Method 1: via the Infomaniak Manager (Recommended)

To update n8n, simply restart the application build process:

• First, check in the Advanced Settings that your build command uses the @latest tag:

  cd && npm install n8n@latest sqlite3

• Click the Launch button under the Application Build section.
• Important: do not delete the node_modules folder; the system will handle updating the existing packages to their latest version:
  

Method 2: via an SSH connection

If you prefer to use the command line, you can update n8n directly from the Node.js environment:

1. Connect to your server via SSH.

2. Navigate to the application directory and start the update:

   cd /srv/customer
   npm update n8n

3. Once the operation is complete, restart the application from the Infomaniak Manager to apply the changes.