4. Environment Variables & Configuration

Master n8n configuration through environment variables.

10m Lesson 4 of 5

n8n is configured primarily through environment variables. Understanding the key variables lets you fine-tune your instance for your specific needs.

Essential Variables

- N8N_HOST: Your n8n domain (e.g., n8n.example.com)
- N8N_PROTOCOL: http or https
- N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: Key for encrypting stored credentials
- EXECUTIONS_MODE: "regular" (default) or "queue" (for scaling)
- GENERIC_TIMEZONE: Default timezone (e.g., "America/New_York")

Code Examples

Common Environment Variables

bash

# Core settings
N8N_HOST=n8n.example.com
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=random-32-char-string
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York

# Execution settings
EXECUTIONS_MODE=regular
EXECUTIONS_TIMEOUT=300
EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE=true
EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE=168

# Database
DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=localhost
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n

# Security
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=secure_password

Pro Tips

💡Set EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE=true to automatically clean up old execution data
💡Use GENERIC_TIMEZONE to ensure date/time functions work correctly for your location

Comprehension Quiz

Answer 2 of 2 correctly to unlock lesson completion.

1. What does N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY do?

2. Which execution mode is used for horizontal scaling?

Pass the quiz above to unlock lesson completion

Previous Next Lesson

All lessons in this chapter

1. n8n Cloud Overview8m 2. Local Installation (npm & Docker)12m 3. Production Deployment with Docker Compose15m 4. Environment Variables & Configuration10m 5. Backups, Updates & Maintenance10m