Skip to content

n8n

n8n workflow automation with a PostgreSQL database and optional queue mode
Chart n8n
Version 0.1.3
Application version 2.41.6
Kind Application
Source charts/n8n

The values are listed under Values, the changes per version under Changelog.

Purpose

n8n: workflow automation with a visual editor, several hundred integrations and AI nodes. The chart runs the upstream image with a data volume and a PostgreSQL database of the CloudNativePG operator. Queue mode, with separate workers and a Redis store, is an option.

Install

helm repo add grncloud https://apps.openshift.eu
helm install n8n grncloud/n8n

Install one release per project. The first start takes a minute or two: the database is created first and n8n restarts until it is there. Open the address and create the owner account in the browser; n8n has no default password.

oc get route n8n -o jsonpath='https://{.spec.host}{"\n"}'
Value Default Meaning
route.hostname empty Hostname. Empty: OpenShift assigns one.
persistence.size 5Gi Size of the data volume.
timezone Europe/Amsterdam Time zone of schedules.
database.instances 1 PostgreSQL instances. 2 adds a standby.
database.size 5Gi Size of the database volume of each instance.
queue.enabled false Queue mode: workers run the executions.
queue.workers 1 Number of workers in queue mode.
secrets.type kubernetes externalSecret reads the secrets from a secret store.
secrets.encryptionKey empty Key for stored credentials. Empty: generated.
extraEnv empty Further n8n settings as environment variables.

n8n must know its own address for webhook and OAuth callback addresses. With route.hostname set, the chart uses that name. With an empty hostname the pod reads the host that OpenShift assigned to the Route at every start; for that the chart adds a ServiceAccount that may read this one Route.

The encryption key in the Secret n8n-credentials encrypts every credential you store in n8n. Keep a copy of it: without the key the stored credentials are lost. It is generated at the first install and kept on every upgrade with helm upgrade. A tool that renders the chart without access to the cluster, such as Argo CD or helm template, generates a new value on every render: set secrets.encryptionKey and, in queue mode, secrets.redisPassword there.

The database user and password come from the Secret n8n-db-app that the operator creates. The default is one n8n pod that also runs the executions, which fits most installs. Switch on queue mode when executions are heavy or many: it adds one pod per worker and a small store for the queue.

helm uninstall deletes the database and the data volume. Export your workflows first.

Delivery instructions

  • A hostname outside the default application domain needs a DNS record pointing at the platform's ingress. Ask the platform team for the target; the certificate follows automatically once the name resolves.
  • The chart needs the CloudNativePG operator on the cluster. The platform team installs it and can add scheduled database backups to object storage.
  • With secrets.type=externalSecret, create the items named in secrets.externalSecret.items in your vault collection with the value in the password field, and set secrets.externalSecret.storeName to your store.