If you've spent any time exploring workflow automation recently, you've probably come across n8n.
And for good reason.
n8n has become one of the most popular automation platforms for developers, agencies, and businesses looking to connect apps, automate repetitive tasks, and build powerful workflows without writing hundreds of lines of code.
Naturally, one of the first questions people ask is:
Should I self-host n8n with Docker?
The answer is yes... but with a small caveat.
Docker makes deploying n8n incredibly simple. Within minutes, you can have your own automation platform running on a local machine, VPS, or cloud server. You get full control over your data, custom integrations, and infrastructure while avoiding the limitations of hosted platforms.
For developers who enjoy managing servers, Docker is often the perfect starting point.
But here's what many tutorials don't tell you.
Running n8n is the easy part.
Maintaining it is where things get interesting.
You'll eventually need to think about server updates, security patches, SSL certificates, backups, monitoring, database maintenance, and scaling your workflows as usage grows. What starts as a simple Docker container can quickly turn into another piece of infrastructure that requires ongoing attention.
That's why many teams start by self-hosting and later move to managed n8n hosting solutions. They still get the flexibility and control of self-hosting, but without spending time managing servers.
The good news is that understanding how n8n works under the hood is valuable regardless of which route you choose.
In this guide, we'll start by deploying n8n with Docker on a local environment. Then we'll move towards a production-ready setup using AWS EC2 and Terraform, covering the building blocks required to run n8n reliably in the cloud.
And if you decide you'd rather focus on building workflows instead of maintaining infrastructure, managed hosting might be the next logical step.
Let's get started.
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