n8n on Edge, with no execution meter

1. 01

   Create a VM and a backup bucket

   A Performance VM (4 vCPU, 8 GiB) runs the main process, two workers, Redis and Postgres side by side.

   shellCopy

   $ edge compute create --name n8n --size s-4vcpu-8gb \
       --image ubuntu-24 --region london --script docker
   $ edge storage create n8n-backups

2. 02

   Configure n8n for queue mode

   Every n8n process, main and workers, needs the same encryption key. Keep it safe: it decrypts your credentials.

   .envCopy

   N8N_HOST=n8n.acme.com
   N8N_PROTOCOL=https
   WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.acme.com/
   N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=<openssl rand -hex 32>
   GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Europe/London
   
   DB_TYPE=postgresdb
   DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
   DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
   DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
   DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=<password>
   
   EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
   QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
   OFFLOAD_MANUAL_EXECUTIONS_TO_WORKERS=true

3. 03

   Write the compose file

   Main and workers share one definition. The worker service runs the same image with the worker command.

   docker-compose.ymlCopy

   x-n8n: &n8n
     image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
     env_file: .env
     restart: always
     depends_on: [postgres, redis]
   
   services:
     n8n:
       <<: *n8n
       ports: ["127.0.0.1:5678:5678"]
       volumes: ["n8n-data:/home/node/.n8n"]
     n8n-worker:
       <<: *n8n
       command: worker --concurrency=10
     redis:
       image: redis:7-alpine
     postgres:
       image: postgres:16
       environment:
         POSTGRES_USER: n8n
         POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD}
         POSTGRES_DB: n8n
       volumes: ["pg-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data"]
   
   volumes:
     n8n-data:
     pg-data:

4. 04

   Start it and put the CDN in front

   Add a bypassCache rule for /webhook/* and /rest/* in the deployment's configuration so nothing dynamic is ever cached.

   shellCopy

   $ docker compose up -d --scale n8n-worker=2
   $ edge cdn create --name n8n
   $ edge cdn domains add cdn-a1b2c3 \
       --domain n8n.acme.com \
       --origin https://<vm-ip>

5. 05

   Scale workers out when you need to

   Workers only need Redis and Postgres. Publish both on the private interface only, and point new worker VMs at the main VM's private IP.

   shellCopy

   $ for i in 1 2 3; do
       edge compute create --name n8n-worker-$i --size s-2vcpu-4gb \
         --image ubuntu-24 --region london --script docker
     done
   
   # attach each VM to the private network in the console, then set
   #   QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=10.185.0.2
   #   DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=10.185.0.2
   $ docker compose up -d n8n-worker

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