docs/hosting/configuration/supported-databases-settings.md

metadata

contentType: reference

Supported databases

By default, n8n uses SQLite to save credentials, past executions, and workflows. n8n also supports PostgresDB.

Shared settings

The following environment variables get used by all databases:

• DB_TABLE_PREFIX (default: -) - Prefix for table names

PostgresDB

To use PostgresDB as the database, you can provide the following environment variables:

• DB_TYPE=postgresdb
• DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE (default: 'n8n')
• DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST (default: 'localhost')
• DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT (default: 5432)
• DB_POSTGRESDB_USER (default: 'postgres')
• DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD (default: empty)
• DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA (default: 'public')
• DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CA (default: undefined): Path to the server's CA certificate used to validate the connection (opportunistic encryption isn't supported)
• DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CERT (default: undefined): Path to the client's TLS certificate
• DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_KEY (default: undefined): Path to the client's private key corresponding to the certificate
• DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED (default: true): If TLS connections that fail validation should be rejected

export DB_TYPE=postgresdb
export DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
export DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgresdb
export DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
export DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
export DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=n8n
export DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA=n8n

# optional:
export DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_CA=$(pwd)/ca.crt
export DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=false

n8n start

Required permissions

n8n needs to create and modify the schemas of the tables it uses.

Recommended permissions:

CREATE DATABASE n8n-db;
CREATE USER n8n-user WITH PASSWORD 'random-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE n8n-db TO n8n-user;

TLS

You can choose between these configurations:

• Not declaring (default): Connect with SSL=off
• Declaring only the CA and unauthorized flag: Connect with SSL=on and verify the server's signature
• Declaring _{CERT,KEY} and the above: Use the certificate and key for client TLS authentication

SQLite

This is the default database that gets used if nothing is defined.

The database file is located at: ~/.n8n/database.sqlite