Update and back up a self-hosted n8n

Running n8n yourself means you own two jobs that n8n Cloud does for you: backups and updates. Both are simple once you have a routine. This article is for whoever looks after a self-hosted instance running in Docker. If that is nobody yet, decide who it is before you put important workflows on it.

What a complete backup contains

Part	Where it lives	Why it matters
The .n8n folder	The Docker volume mounted at /home/node/.n8n	Holds the encryption key, and with SQLite also the whole database
PostgreSQL database	Your database server, if you use one	Workflows, credentials, users, executions
Configuration	Your compose.yml, .env or docker run command	Database settings, WEBHOOK_URL, custom encryption key
Custom nodes	Folders you configured for custom nodes	Workflows that use them break without them

Warning: Credentials are encrypted with the key in the .n8n folder (or in N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY). A database backup without that key is useless for credentials. Store the key safely, separate from the server.

Back up the Docker volume

With the default SQLite database, stop n8n first, so the database file is not copied halfway through a write.

1. Find your volume name:

   docker volume ls

2. Stop n8n, archive the volume, and start n8n again:

   docker stop n8n
   docker run --rm -v n8n_data:/data -v "$PWD":/backup alpine \
     tar czf /backup/n8n-data-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C /data .
   docker start n8n

   With Docker Compose, use docker compose stop and docker compose start instead, and your own volume name.

3. If you use PostgreSQL, also make a dump with pg_dump using your database’s own backup tooling.

4. Copy the backup files off the server, for example to object storage.

Export workflows and credentials as files

For an extra, readable copy, export workflows and credentials with the n8n command line. This example writes into the volume, so the files survive container restarts:

docker exec -u node n8n n8n export:workflow --backup --output=/home/node/.n8n/backups/workflows/
docker exec -u node n8n n8n export:credentials --backup --output=/home/node/.n8n/backups/credentials/

These exports are handy to move workflows to another instance. They do not include users, execution history, variables or settings, so they do not replace the full backup above.

Test your restore

A backup you never restored is a hope, not a backup. Once per quarter:

1. Start a fresh n8n container on a test machine.
2. Restore the volume archive (and database dump) into it.
3. Open n8n, check that workflows are there and that a credential still connects.

Update n8n safely

Before you update

1. Read the release notes for every version between yours and the target, on the n8n releases page. Pay attention to breaking changes in major versions.
2. Make a full backup.
3. Pick a quiet moment. Workflows do not run while n8n restarts.

Note: n8n 3.0 requires Docker for self-hosted installs and no longer supports running n8n with npm. Before a major upgrade, read n8n’s breaking changes page for that version and check the migration report in your instance settings.

Pin a version

Use a specific version tag instead of latest, such as n8nio/n8n:<version>. Then you decide when to upgrade, and you know exactly which version to go back to.

Update with Docker Compose

1. Change the version in your compose.yml or .env.

2. Pull and restart:

   docker compose pull
   docker compose up -d

If you used the one-line installer, rerun it with the upgrade flag: curl -fsSL https://get.n8n.io | sh -s -- --upgrade.

Update a plain docker run setup

1. Pull the new image: docker pull n8nio/n8n:<version>.
2. Stop and remove the old container: docker stop n8n and docker rm n8n. Your data stays in the volume.
3. Start it again with your usual docker run command and the new tag.

After the update

1. Log in and confirm the new version number.
2. Open the Executions overview and watch the next scheduled and webhook runs.
3. Check that triggers are still active, especially email and app triggers.

If something is badly wrong, go back to the previous image tag and restore your backup. Updates can migrate the database, so going back to an older version usually means restoring the backup as well.

A maintenance routine

How often	Task
Daily	Automatic backup of volume and database, copied off the server
Monthly	Update to the latest stable version, after reading release notes
Quarterly	Test a restore, review users and unused credentials

If you would rather have us host and maintain your instance, book a strategic call: https://calendly.com/marrallisa/30min

Next steps

• Get n8n: cloud or self-hosted
• Error handling and alerts
• Connect your apps with credentials