How to set up cluster nodes on n8n

Install and configure Redis server to act as the message broker between n8n nodes. Set up Redis with the following configuration:

redis-server --port 6379 --bind 0.0.0.0

Ensure Redis is accessible from all n8n instances and note the connection string for later use.

Configure the main n8n instance with clustering environment variables. Create a .env file or set environment variables:

N8N_EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=your-redis-host
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
N8N_SKIP_WEBHOOK_DEREGISTRATION_SHUTDOWN=true

Set up worker nodes that will execute workflows. Configure each worker with these environment variables:

N8N_EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=your-redis-host
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
N8N_EXECUTIONS_PROCESS=main
WEBHOOKS_ENABLED=false
N8N_DISABLE_UI=true

Start each worker node with: n8n worker

Ensure all nodes connect to the same database. Set the database connection string on all instances:

DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=your-db-host
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n_user
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=your-password

Configure a load balancer (nginx, HAProxy, or cloud load balancer) to distribute traffic to your main n8n instances. Example nginx configuration:

upstream n8n_backend {
    server n8n-main-1:5678;
    server n8n-main-2:5678;
}

server {
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://n8n_backend;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}

Start all instances in the correct order: Redis, database, main n8n instance(s), then worker nodes. Verify the cluster is working by checking the Executions page in the n8n UI and monitoring Redis queues:

redis-cli monitor

Create a test workflow and verify it executes on worker nodes.