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n8n

What is n8n?​

n8n is a workflow-automation platform with first-class AI/agent nodes. Build agentic flows visually in its editor and call your app's webhooks from them, or trigger n8n workflows from your app.

Start n8n​

docker compose up -d n8n

Stop n8n​

docker compose stop n8n

This stops the container without deleting your workflows (kept in the n8n Docker volume). To remove the container: docker compose rm -f n8n.

Configuration​

All settings live in n8n/defaults.env and can be overridden by adding the same line to your own .env:

VariableDefaultWhat it does
N8N_VERSIONlatestImage tag from the n8nio/n8n Docker Hub image.
N8N_HOST_PORT5678Host-side port the n8n editor/API is published on (container port 5678).

n8n/compose.yml also sets N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false directly in the container environment, so the editor works over plain http://localhost without HTTPS, fine for local dev, not for a public deployment.

Connect​

Open the editor at http://localhost:5678. Health check: /healthz. Workflows, credentials, and execution history persist in the n8n volume across restarts.

Common issues​

  • Editor won't load or shows a cookie/session error. Confirm you're accessing it over plain HTTP on localhost; N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false is set for that case. Accessing it over HTTPS or a different host may need adjusting that setting.
  • Webhook from n8n to your Laravel app fails. From inside the n8n container, reach your app by its Laradock container name (e.g. http://nginx or http://php-fpm), not localhost.
  • Webhook from your app to n8n fails. From inside another container, reach n8n at http://n8n:5678, not localhost:5678.
  • Port already in use on your host. Change N8N_HOST_PORT in .env and restart: docker compose up -d n8n.

Want a lower-code way to prototype LLM/agent flows instead? See Flowise. New to Laradock? Start with Getting Started.