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

Laradock CLI

./laradock start n8n

Docker Compose

docker compose up -d n8n

Workflows, credentials, and execution history persist in the n8n Docker volume across restarts. Name any other services alongside it to start them together, for example ./laradock start n8n redis.

Stop n8n

Stopping just pauses the container; your workflows are safe:

Laradock CLI

./laradock stop n8n

Docker Compose

docker compose stop n8n

To delete the container entirely (the n8n volume, and everything in it, is still untouched):

Laradock CLI

./laradock remove n8n

Docker Compose

docker compose rm -sf n8n

Configuration

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

Variable	Default	What it does
N8N_VERSION	latest	Image tag from the n8nio/n8n Docker Hub image.
N8N_HOST_PORT	5678	Host-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.

Change the n8n version

Set the version in your .env:

N8N_VERSION=1.60.0

Then apply the change:

Laradock CLI

./laradock rebuild n8n

Docker Compose

docker compose build n8n

Connect

Open the editor at http://localhost:5678. On first visit n8n asks you to create the owner account (email/password), that account is stored in the n8n volume, not in an env var. Health check: /healthz.

Backup and restore

Workflows and credentials live inside the n8n volume as a SQLite database, together with the encryption key n8n generated on first boot to encrypt saved credentials. Keep that volume (or a backup of it) together with any exported credentials, restoring credentials into a container with a different encryption key leaves them undecryptable.

Export all workflows to a JSON file, then copy it out to your host:

Laradock CLI

./laradock exec -T n8n n8n export:workflow --all --output=/tmp/n8n-workflows.json

Docker Compose

docker compose exec -T n8n n8n export:workflow --all --output=/tmp/n8n-workflows.json

docker compose cp n8n:/tmp/n8n-workflows.json ./n8n-workflows.json

Export all credentials the same way (add --decrypted only if you intend to import into a container with the same encryption key, otherwise leave them encrypted):

Laradock CLI

./laradock exec -T n8n n8n export:credentials --all --output=/tmp/n8n-credentials.json

Docker Compose

docker compose exec -T n8n n8n export:credentials --all --output=/tmp/n8n-credentials.json

docker compose cp n8n:/tmp/n8n-credentials.json ./n8n-credentials.json

Restore by copying the file back in and importing it:

docker compose cp ./n8n-workflows.json n8n:/tmp/n8n-workflows.json

Laradock CLI

./laradock exec -T n8n n8n import:workflow --input=/tmp/n8n-workflows.json

Docker Compose

docker compose exec -T n8n n8n import:workflow --input=/tmp/n8n-workflows.json

Use import:credentials --input=... the same way for the credentials file.

Start completely fresh (wipe all data)

To throw away every workflow, credential, and execution and start n8n from a clean, empty state (⚠️ this permanently deletes everything in the n8n volume, back up first if you need anything):

Laradock CLI

./laradock stop n8n
./laradock remove n8n

Docker Compose

docker compose stop n8n
docker compose rm -sf n8n

Then remove the underlying volume (n8n's data is a named Docker volume, not a folder under DATA_PATH_HOST, so find its exact project-prefixed name first):

docker volume ls | grep n8n
docker volume rm <the-name-you-just-found>

Laradock CLI

./laradock start n8n

Docker Compose

docker compose up -d n8n

Starting again re-creates the volume and re-runs first-boot setup, including the owner-account prompt in the editor.

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: ./laradock restart n8n.
• Imported credentials show as invalid. The encryption key used to export them doesn't match the target container's key, see the note in Backup and restore.

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