description: Understand the n8n database structure
contentType: explanation
Database structure
This page describes the purpose of each table in the n8n database.
Database and query technology
By default, n8n uses SQLite as the database. If you are using another database the structure will be similar, but the data-types may be different depending on the database.
n8n uses TypeORM{:target=_blank .external-link} for queries and migrations.
To inspect the n8n database, you can use DBeaver{:target=_blank .external-link}, which is an open-source universal database tool.
Tables
These are the tables n8n creates during setup.
auth_identity
Stores details of external authentication providers when using SAML.
auth_provider_sync_history
Stores the history of a SAML connection.
credentials_entity
Stores the credentials used to authenticate with integrations.
event_destinations
Contains the destination configurations for Log streaming.
execution_data
Contains the workflow at time of running, and the execution data.
execution_entity
Stores all saved workflow executions. Workflow settings can affect which executions n8n saves.
execution_metadata
Stores Custom executions data.
installed_nodes
Lists the community nodes installed in your n8n instance.
installed_packages
Details of npm community nodes packages installed in your n8n instance. installed_nodes lists each individual node. installed_packages lists npm packages, which may contain more than one node.
migrations
A log of all database migrations. Read more about Migrations{:target=_blank .external-link} in TypeORM's documentation.
project
Lists the projects in your instance.
project_relation
Describes the relationship between a user and a project, including the user's role type.
role
Not currently used. Foruse in future work on custom roles.
settings
Records custom instance settings. These are settings that you can't control using environment variables. They include:
- Whether the instance owner is set up
- Whether the user chose to skip owner and user management setup
- License key
shared_credentials
Maps credentials to users.
shared_workflow
Maps workflows to users.
tag_entity
All workflow tags created in the n8n instance. This table lists the tags. workflows_tags records which workflows have which tags.
user
Contains user data.
variables
Store variables.
webhook_entity
Records the active webhooks in your n8n instance's workflows. This isn't just webhooks uses in the Webhook node. It includes all active webhooks used by any trigger node.
workflow_entity
Your n8n instance's saved workflows.
workflow_history
Store previous versions of workflows.
workflow_statistics
Counts workflow IDs and their status.
workflows_tags
Maps tags to workflows. tag_entity contains tag details.
Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
