1Prepare Your Ubuntu Environment

Begin by ensuring your Ubuntu system has the latest security updates and package information. This foundational step prevents potential compatibility issues during the installation process.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

These commands refresh your package repository and apply any available system updates, creating a stable foundation for Docker installation.

2Install Docker Engine and Compose Plugin

Docker Engine powers container management, while Docker Compose simplifies multi-container application deployment. We'll install both components using Ubuntu's official repositories.

# Install prerequisite packages
sudo apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg -y
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings

# Add Docker's official GPG key
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

# Configure Docker repository
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Update package index
sudo apt update

# Install Docker components
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin -y

sudo docker run hello-world

3Configure n8n Container Environment

Create a dedicated workspace for your n8n installation. This organizational approach keeps your automation platform files separate and manageable.

mkdir ~/n8n-automation && cd ~/n8n-automation

Now create the Docker Compose configuration file that defines how n8n should run:

nano docker-compose.yml

Insert the following configuration into your file:

services:
  n8n-automation:
    image: docker.io/n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false
      - N8N_HOST=0.0.0.0
      - N8N_PORT=5678
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--no-verbose", "--tries=1", "--spider", "http://localhost:5678/healthz"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

volumes:
  n8n_data:
    driver: local

Save your configuration by pressing Ctrl + X, then Y, followed by Enter.

4Deploy Your n8n Instance

Execute the deployment command to launch your n8n automation platform:

sudo docker compose up -d

The -d flag runs containers in detached mode, allowing them to operate in the background. Docker will automatically download the n8n image and initialize your automation environment.

Access your new automation platform by opening a web browser and navigating to the URL above, replacing "your-server-ip" with your actual server's IP address.