N8N workflow automation server deployed on Fedora.

April 4, 2022

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n8n Setup

Created: 2026-06-02 | Status: Running (systemd managed)

Overview

n8n workflow automation server deployed on Fedora workstation via Podman, managed by systemd for auto-start on boot.

Access

Item	Value
URL	`http://192.168.75.16:8081`
Version	2.22.6
Image	`docker.io/n8nio/n8n:latest`

Container Details

Item	Value
Container name	`n8n`
Port mapping	`192.168.75.16:8081` -> `5678` (LAN-only)
Data directory	`/home/itadmin/projects/n8n/data`
Running as	Root (`sudo podman`)
Timezone	Australia/Sydney

Systemd Service

Auto-start managed by systemd service file.

Item	Value
Unit file	`/etc/systemd/system/n8n.service`
Local copy	`/home/itadmin/projects/n8n/n8n.service`
State	`enabled` (starts on boot)
Restart policy	`on-failure`

Management Commands

sudo systemctl status n8n.service
sudo systemctl restart n8n.service
sudo systemctl stop n8n.service
journalctl -u n8n.service -f   # live logs

Environment Variables

Variable	Value
`N8N_HOST`	`192.168.75.16`
`N8N_PROTOCOL`	`http`
`N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS`	`0.0.0.0`
`N8N_SECURE_COOKIE`	`false` (LAN-only, no TLS)
`TZ`	`Australia/Sydney`
`GENERIC_TIMEZONE`	`Australia/Sydney`

Authentication

n8n v2.x uses built-in user management (no Basic Auth middleware). Create an owner account through the web UI on first login. API access requires an API key generated in Settings.

Data Persistence

Data directory /home/itadmin/projects/n8n/data maps to /home/node/.n8n inside the container. Contains SQLite database and config files.

Notes & Issues

Rootless Podman failed – SELinux + user namespace remapping caused EACCES on the bind mount. Running with sudo podman instead.
Basic Auth env vars ignored – n8n v2.x removed the Basic Auth middleware. Authentication is via n8n’s built-in user system.
N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false required since we’re on HTTP LAN-only (no TLS).
Quadlet approach rejected – Podman 5.8.2 Quadlet generator didn’t produce a stable unit (EnvFile unsupported, generated units can’t be enabled). Used a traditional systemd service file instead.

TODO

Wire through SafeLine WAF for external access
Configure n8n owner account credentials (record here after setup)