DEV Community: kittisuw

🚀 How to Self-Host n8n with Docker Compose

kittisuw — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 08:53:49 +0000

n8n is a powerful open-source workflow automation tool. If you're deploying it yourself using Docker Compose, it's important to pin the image version for reliability and control.

✅ Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure your system has:

Docker installed
Docker Compose installed
A working terminal (Linux, macOS, or WSL on Windows)
Basic knowledge of Docker CLI

Check versions:

docker -v
docker compose version

🧱 Step-by-Step Installation

1️⃣ Create a directory

mkdir -p ~/n8n-docker && cd ~/n8n-docker

2️⃣ Create `docker-compose.yml`

version: "3.7"

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:1.103.2  # ✅ Pin the version
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Bangkok
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your-password
    volumes:
      - ./n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    restart: unless-stopped

🧐 Explanation:

volumes: persists your workflows and credentials.
restart: unless-stopped: auto-restarts unless manually stopped.
image: n8nio/n8n:1.103.2: fixes version to avoid surprises on update.
restart: unless-stopped: self restart

3️⃣ Start the container

docker compose up -d

4️⃣ Access n8n

Visit: http://localhost:5678
Login: admin / your-password

🔒 Why You Should Pin the Docker Image Version

Avoid using latest — it could break your workflows after unexpected updates.

Behavior	Result
`latest`	May auto-update on pull, could introduce breaking changes
`:1.103.2`	Stable and predictable version

👉 Check Docker Hub tags and release notes.

🛠 Upgrade Procedure

Backup the ./n8n_data directory
Update the image tag in docker-compose.yml
Pull and restart and verify system health

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
docker ps

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE               COMMAND                  CREATED       STATUS       PORTS                    NAMES
923e00afb0bc   n8nio/n8n:1.103.3   "tini -- /docker-ent…"   2 hours ago   Up 2 hours   0.0.0.0:5678->5678/tcp   n8n-n8n-1

✅ Summary

Self-host n8n with Docker Compose
Pin the Docker image version
Secure access with basic auth
Persist data with volume mounts
Safe upgrade flow

#n8n #Automation #SelfHosted

Installing Kubernetes with Kubespray on CenOS 7 Guide

kittisuw — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 06:50:35 +0000

Installing Kubernetes with Kubespray on CenOS 7 Guide

Preparing ansible

1. Disable selinbux and firewalld

$ sudo -i
# setenforce 0
# sed -i "s/^SELINUX\=enforcing/SELINUX\=disabled/g" /etc/selinux/config
# systemctl disable firewalld; systemctl stop firewalld; systemctl mask firewalld

2. Installation require package for git,ansible

# yum update
# yum install git
# yum install epel-release
# yum install python-pip
# pip install — upgrade pip

3.Git clone the Kubespray repository and install requirement

# git clone https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubespray.git
# cd kubespray
###Install requirements
# pip install -r requirements.txt
###Copy ``inventory/sample`` as ``inventory/mycluster``
# cp -rfp inventory/sample inventory/mycluster

4. Genarate ssh key and copy to all vm that prepare to install K8s cluster

# ssh-keygen -t rsa
# ssh-copy-id -p 2324 admin@{ip of K8s node}
...

5. Prepare file config hosts

# cd $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster
# cp inventory.ini hosts.ini

hosts.ini

# cd $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster
# vi hosts.ini
---
# ## Configure 'ip' variable to bind kubernetes services on a
# ## different ip than the default iface
# ## We should set etcd_member_name for etcd cluster. The node that is not a etcd member do not need to set the value, or can set the empty string value.
[all]
k8sm901 ansible_host=10.233.247.64 ip=10.30.2.25
k8sm902 ansible_host=10.233.247.65 ip=10.30.2.26
k8sm903 ansible_host=10.233.247.66 ip=10.30.2.27
k8sw901 ansible_host=10.233.247.67 ip=10.30.2.28
k8sw902 ansible_host=10.233.247.68 ip=10.30.2.29
k8sw903 ansible_host=10.233.247.69 ip=10.30.2.30
k8sw904 ansible_host=10.233.247.61 ip=10.30.2.22
k8sw905 ansible_host=10.233.247.62 ip=10.30.2.23

# ## configure a bastion host if your nodes are not directly reachable
# bastion ansible_host=x.x.x.x ansible_user=some_user

[kube-master]
k8sm901
k8sm902
k8sm903

[etcd]
k8sm901
k8sm902
k8sm903

[kube-node]
k8sm901
k8sm902
k8sm903
k8sw901
k8sw902
k8sw903
k8sw904
k8sw905

[calico-rr]

[k8s-cluster:children]
kube-master
kube-node
calico-rr

[all:vars]
ansible_ssh_user=admin
ansible_ssh_port=2324
---

6. Test ansible ping

# cd $HOME/kubespray
# ansible -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini  -m ping all
k8sw901 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sm902 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sm903 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sm901 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sw903 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sw904 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sw905 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sw906 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}
k8sw902 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}

Preparing k8s nodes

7. Uninstall docker,k8s on K8s nodes and install jq

$ sudo -i
# docker rm `docker ps -a -q`
# docker rmi `docker images -q`
# kubeadm reset 
# yum remove kubeadm kubectl kubelet kubernetes-cni kube* -y
# yum autoremove 
# rm -rf ~/.kube
###Install jq
# (yum install epel-release -y; yum install jq -y)

Setup K8s cluster via kubespray

8. setup

$ sudo -i
# cd $HOME/kubespray
ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini cluster.yml --become

#Download kube config file from one of master node to bastion vm
# ssh -p 2324 admin@k8sm901 'sudo cat /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf' >~/.kube/config

#Check all node status is Ready
# kubectl get node
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE     VERSION
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0
k8sw906   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0
# kubectl get node -o wide
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE     VERSION   INTERNAL-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   OS-IMAGE                KERNEL-VERSION                CONTAINER-RUNTIME
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.25    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.26    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.27    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.28    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.29    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.30    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.22    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.23    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
k8sw906   Ready    <none>                 2d21h   v1.20.0   10.30.2.24    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14

FAQS

Remove node from cluster

# kubectl get node
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE     VERSION
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 2d22h   v1.20.0
k8sw906   Ready    <none>                 2d22h   v1.20.0
# cd $HOME/kubespray
# ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini remove-node.yml -e "node=k8sw906" --become
$ kubectl get node
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE     VERSION
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0

Add new node to cluster

sudo -i
# vi $HOME/inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini
---
# ## Configure 'ip' variable to bind kubernetes services on a
# ## different ip than the default iface
# ## We should set etcd_member_name for etcd cluster. The node that is not a etcd member do not need to set the value, or can set the empty string value.
[all]
k8sm901 ansible_host=10.233.247.64 ip=10.30.2.25
k8sm902 ansible_host=10.233.247.65 ip=10.30.2.26
k8sm903 ansible_host=10.233.247.66 ip=10.30.2.27
k8sw901 ansible_host=10.233.247.67 ip=10.30.2.28
k8sw902 ansible_host=10.233.247.68 ip=10.30.2.29
k8sw903 ansible_host=10.233.247.69 ip=10.30.2.30
k8sw904 ansible_host=10.233.247.61 ip=10.30.2.22
k8sw905 ansible_host=10.233.247.62 ip=10.30.2.23
*k8sw906 ansible_host=10.233.247.63 ip=10.30.2.24

# ## configure a bastion host if your nodes are not directly reachable
# bastion ansible_host=x.x.x.x ansible_user=some_user

[kube-master]
k8sm901
k8sm902
k8sm903

[etcd]
k8sm901
k8sm902
k8sm903

[kube-node]
k8sm901
k8sm902
k8sm903
k8sw901
k8sw902
k8sw903
k8sw904
k8sw905
*k8sw906 

[calico-rr]

[k8s-cluster:children]
kube-master
kube-node
calico-rr

[all:vars]
ansible_ssh_user=admin
ansible_ssh_port=2324
---
$ kubectl get node
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE     VERSION
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 2d23h   v1.20.0
$ cd $HOME/kubespray
$ ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini scale.yml --become
$ kubectl get node
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE   VERSION
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   47m   v1.20.0
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   46m   v1.20.0
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   46m   v1.20.0
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 45m   v1.20.0
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 45m   v1.20.0
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 45m   v1.20.0
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 45m   v1.20.0
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 45m   v1.20.0
k8sw906   Ready    <none>                 66s   v1.20.0

Reset Cluster

# cd $HOME/kubespray
# ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini reset.yml --become
# kubectl get node
The connection to the server 10.30.2.25:6443 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?
#

Upgrade Kubernetes version all node in Cluster

# kubectl get node
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE     VERSION
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   4m53s   v1.20.0
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   4m22s   v1.20.0
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   4m12s   v1.20.0
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 3m12s   v1.20.0
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 3m12s   v1.20.0
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 3m12s   v1.20.0
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 3m12s   v1.20.0
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 3m12s   v1.20.0
k8sw906   Ready    <none>                 3m4s    v1.20.0
#Edit kube_version
# vi $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster/group_vars/k8s-cluster/k8s-cluster.yml
...
kube_version: v1.20.0   #edit to v1.20.2
...
# cd $HOME/kubespray
# ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini upgrade-cluster.yml --become
# watch -x kubectl get node,pod -o wide
NAME           STATUS   ROLES                  AGE    VERSION   INTERNAL-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   OS-IMAGE                K
ERNEL-VERSION                CONTAINER-RUNTIME
node/k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   100m   v1.20.2   10.30.2.25    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3
.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
node/k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   100m   v1.20.2   10.30.2.26    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3
.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   docker://19.3.14
...

Renew certificate

Because Client certificates generated by kubeadm expire after 1 year.

By Upgrade Kubernetes
As kubespray background is kubeadm so when you Upgrade Kubernetes version certificates will Renew automaticaly. It is a best practice to upgrade your cluster frequently in order to stay secure.

https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/kubeadm/kubeadm-certs/
By set force_certificate_regeneration

# vi $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster/group_vars/k8s-cluster/k8s-cluster.yml
...
force_certificate_regeneration: true
---
# cd $HOME/kubespray
# ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini cluster.yml --become

Change container runtime

Because Kubernetes is only deprecating Docker as a container runtime after v1.20. They are currently only planning to remove Docker runtime support in the 1.22 release in late 2021(almost year!).

Example change from docker to containerd

##Edit 
# cd $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster/group_vars/k8s-cluster/
# cp k8s-cluster.yml k8s-cluster.yml.bk
# vi k8s-cluster.yml
...
container_manager: docker #Change from docker to containerd
...
# cd $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster/group_vars
# cp etcd.yml etcd.yaml.bk
# vi etcd.yml
...
etcd_deployment_type: docker #Change from docker to host
...
# cd $HOME/kubespray/inventory/k8scluster/group_vars/all
# cp containerd.yml containerd.yml.bk
## unbar config
# vi containerd.yml
...
---
# Please see roles/container-engine/containerd/defaults/main.yml for more configuration options

# Example: define registry mirror for docker hub

containerd_config:
  grpc:
    max_recv_message_size: 16777216
    max_send_message_size: 16777216
  debug:
    level: ""
  registries:
    "docker.io":
      - "https://mirror.gcr.io"
      - "https://registry-1.docker.io"
  max_container_log_line_size: -1
#   metrics:
#     address: ""
#     grpc_histogram: false
---
## Apply the new Container runtime
# cd $HOME/kubespray
# ansible-playbook -i inventory/k8scluster/hosts.ini cluster.yml --become
## Check container runtime
# kubectl get node -o wide
NAME      STATUS   ROLES                  AGE   VERSION   INTERNAL-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   OS-IMAGE                KERNEL-VERSION                CONTAINER-RUNTIME
k8sm901   Ready    control-plane,master   11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.25    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sm902   Ready    control-plane,master   11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.26    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sm903   Ready    control-plane,master   11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.27    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sw901   Ready    <none>                 11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.28    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sw902   Ready    <none>                 11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.29    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sw903   Ready    <none>                 11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.30    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sw904   Ready    <none>                 11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.22    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sw905   Ready    <none>                 11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.23    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3
k8sw906   Ready    <none>                 11h   v1.20.2   10.30.2.24    <none>        CentOS Linux 7 (Core)   3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7.x86_64   containerd://1.4.3

https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubespray/blob/master/docs/containerd.md

DEV Community: kittisuw

🚀 How to Self-Host n8n with Docker Compose

✅ Prerequisites

🧱 Step-by-Step Installation

1️⃣ Create a directory

2️⃣ Create docker-compose.yml

3️⃣ Start the container

4️⃣ Access n8n

🔒 Why You Should Pin the Docker Image Version

🛠 Upgrade Procedure

✅ Summary

Installing Kubernetes with Kubespray on CenOS 7 Guide

Installing Kubernetes with Kubespray on CenOS 7 Guide

Preparing ansible

1. Disable selinbux and firewalld

2. Installation require package for git,ansible

3.Git clone the Kubespray repository and install requirement

4. Genarate ssh key and copy to all vm that prepare to install K8s cluster

5. Prepare file config hosts

hosts.ini

6. Test ansible ping

Preparing k8s nodes

7. Uninstall docker,k8s on K8s nodes and install jq

Setup K8s cluster via kubespray

8. setup

FAQS

Remove node from cluster

Add new node to cluster

Reset Cluster

Upgrade Kubernetes version all node in Cluster

Renew certificate

Change container runtime

2️⃣ Create `docker-compose.yml`