n8n-install/cloudflare-instructions.md

🔒 Secure Access with Cloudflare Tunnel (Optional)

Cloudflare Tunnel provides zero-trust access to your services without exposing any ports on your server. All traffic is routed through Cloudflare's secure network, providing DDoS protection and hiding your server's IP address.

⚠️ Important Architecture Note

Cloudflare Tunnel bypasses Caddy and connects directly to your services. This means:

• You get Cloudflare's security features (DDoS protection, Web Application Firewall, etc.)
• You lose Caddy's authentication features (basic auth for Prometheus, ComfyUI, SearXNG, etc.)
• Each service needs its own public hostname configuration in Cloudflare

Benefits

• No exposed ports - Ports 80/443 can be completely closed on your firewall
• DDoS protection - Built-in Cloudflare protection
• IP hiding - Your server's real IP is never exposed
• Zero-trust security - Optional Cloudflare Access integration
• No public IP required - Works on private networks

Setup Instructions

1. Create a Cloudflare Tunnel

1. Go to Cloudflare One Dashboard
2. Navigate to Networks → Connectors → Cloudflare Tunnels
3. Click Create a tunnel
4. Select Cloudflared as the connector type and click Next
5. Name your tunnel (e.g., "n8n-install") and click Save tunnel
6. Copy the installation command shown - it contains your tunnel token

2. DNS Configuration (Critical!)

⚠️ Important: For Cloudflare Tunnel to work, your domain's DNS must be managed by Cloudflare. When DNS is managed by Cloudflare:

• Public hostnames automatically create CNAME records pointing to the tunnel
• Records appear with Proxy status ON (orange cloud)
• Traffic routes through Cloudflare's network

Option A: Transfer DNS to Cloudflare (Recommended)

If your domain DNS is managed elsewhere (DigitalOcean, GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.), you need to transfer it to Cloudflare:

1. Add domain to Cloudflare:

   • Go to Cloudflare Dashboard
   • Click Add a site → enter your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com)
   • Select the Free plan (or higher)
   • Cloudflare will scan existing DNS records

2. Review DNS records:

   • Cloudflare imports your existing records automatically
   • Verify all records are present (especially A records for your server)
   • Delete any A records for subdomains you want to route through the tunnel

3. Update nameservers at your registrar:

   • Cloudflare shows two nameservers (e.g., anna.ns.cloudflare.com, bob.ns.cloudflare.com)
   • Go to your domain registrar (DigitalOcean, GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)
   • Change nameservers from current to Cloudflare's nameservers
   • DigitalOcean example: Networking → Domains → your domain → change NS records

4. Wait for propagation:

   • DNS propagation takes 5 minutes to 48 hours (usually under 1 hour)
   • Most users see propagation complete within 10-30 minutes
   • Check status: dig NS yourdomain.com — should show Cloudflare nameservers
   • Cloudflare dashboard will show "Active" when complete

Option B: External DNS with Manual CNAME (Not Recommended)

Warning

: This approach is for advanced users only. You lose most Cloudflare benefits and must maintain DNS records manually. Strongly consider Option A instead.

If you cannot transfer DNS to Cloudflare, you can manually create CNAME records pointing to the tunnel. Note: This provides limited functionality — no automatic DNS management, no orange cloud proxy benefits.

1. Get your tunnel ID:

   # From tunnel logs
   docker compose -p localai logs cloudflared 2>&1 | grep "Connector ID"
   

   Or find it in Cloudflare Zero Trust → Tunnels → your tunnel → Overview

2. Create CNAME in your DNS provider (e.g., DigitalOcean):

   Type:    CNAME
   Name:    databasus (or your subdomain)
   Value:   <tunnel-id>.cfargotunnel.com
   TTL:     Auto or 300
   

3. Limitations of this approach:

   • No Cloudflare proxy benefits (DDoS protection limited)
   • No automatic DNS record management
   • Must manually update if tunnel ID changes
   • Some Cloudflare features won't work

Verifying DNS Configuration

After setup, verify DNS points to Cloudflare:

# Check if domain resolves to Cloudflare IPs
dig +short yourdomain.com

# Cloudflare IPs are in ranges: 104.x.x.x, 172.x.x.x, etc.
# Your server IP means DNS is NOT going through Cloudflare

# Check nameservers
dig NS yourdomain.com +short
# Should show: xxx.ns.cloudflare.com

3. Configure Public Hostnames

After DNS is configured, go to Cloudflare One Dashboard → Networks → Connectors → Cloudflare Tunnels → your tunnel → Public Hostname tab. For each service you want to expose, click Add a public hostname and configure:

Service	Public Hostname	Service URL	Auth Notes
n8n	n8n.yourdomain.com	http://n8n:5678	Built-in login
ComfyUI	comfyui.yourdomain.com	http://comfyui:8188	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
Databasus	databasus.yourdomain.com	http://databasus:4005	Built-in login
Dify ¹	dify.yourdomain.com	http://nginx:80	Built-in login
Docling	docling.yourdomain.com	http://docling:5001	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
Flowise	flowise.yourdomain.com	http://flowise:3001	Built-in login
Grafana	grafana.yourdomain.com	http://grafana:3000	Built-in login
Langfuse	langfuse.yourdomain.com	http://langfuse-web:3000	Built-in login
Letta	letta.yourdomain.com	http://letta:8283	No auth
LibreTranslate	libretranslate.yourdomain.com	http://libretranslate:5000	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
LightRAG	lightrag.yourdomain.com	http://lightrag:9621	No auth
Neo4j	neo4j.yourdomain.com	http://neo4j:7474	Built-in login
NocoDB	nocodb.yourdomain.com	http://nocodb:8080	Built-in login
Open WebUI	webui.yourdomain.com	http://open-webui:8080	Built-in login
PaddleOCR	paddleocr.yourdomain.com	http://paddleocr:8080	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
Portainer	portainer.yourdomain.com	http://portainer:9000	Built-in login
Postiz	postiz.yourdomain.com	http://postiz:5000	Built-in login
Prometheus	prometheus.yourdomain.com	http://prometheus:9090	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
Qdrant	qdrant.yourdomain.com	http://qdrant:6333	API key recommended
RAGApp	ragapp.yourdomain.com	http://ragapp:8000	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
RagFlow	ragflow.yourdomain.com	http://ragflow:80	Built-in login
SearXNG	searxng.yourdomain.com	http://searxng:8080	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth
Supabase ¹	supabase.yourdomain.com	http://kong:8000	Built-in login
WAHA	waha.yourdomain.com	http://waha:3000	API key recommended
Weaviate	weaviate.yourdomain.com	http://weaviate:8080	API key recommended
Welcome Page ²	welcome.yourdomain.com	http://caddy:80	⚠️ Loses Caddy auth

Notes:

• ¹ Dify and Supabase use external compose files from adjacent directories
• ² Welcome Page is served by Caddy as static content; tunnel proxies through Caddy

⚠️ Security Warning:

• Services marked "Loses Caddy auth" have basic authentication via Caddy that is bypassed by the tunnel. Use Cloudflare Access or keep them internal.
• Services marked "No auth" have no protection at all - always use Cloudflare Access for these.
• Services with "Built-in login" have their own authentication and are generally safe to expose.
• Services with "API key recommended" should be configured with API keys in their settings.

4. Install with Tunnel Support

1. Run the n8n-install as normal:

   sudo bash ./scripts/install.sh
   

2. When prompted for Cloudflare Tunnel Token, paste your token
3. In the Service Selection Wizard, select Cloudflare Tunnel to enable the service
4. Complete the rest of the installation

Note: Providing the token alone does not auto-enable the tunnel; you must enable the "cloudflare-tunnel" profile in the wizard (or add it to COMPOSE_PROFILES).

5. Secure Your VPS (Recommended)

After confirming services work through the tunnel:

# Close web ports (UFW example)
sudo ufw delete allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw delete allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw delete allow 7687/tcp
sudo ufw reload

# Verify only SSH remains open
sudo ufw status

Choosing Between Caddy and Cloudflare Tunnel

You have two options for accessing your services:

Method	Pros	Cons	Best For
Caddy (Traditional)	• Caddy auth features work • Simple subdomain setup • No Cloudflare account needed	• Requires open ports • Server IP exposed • No DDoS protection	Local/trusted networks
Cloudflare Tunnel	• No open ports • DDoS protection • IP hiding • Global CDN	• Requires Cloudflare account • Loses Caddy auth • Each service needs configuration	Internet-facing servers

Adding Cloudflare Access (Optional but Recommended)

For services that lose Caddy's basic auth protection, you can add Cloudflare Access:

1. In Cloudflare One Dashboard → Access → Applications (or Access controls → Applications depending on your dashboard version)
2. Click Add an application → Self-hosted
3. Configure:
   • Application name: e.g., "Prometheus"
   • Session Duration: Set token expiry time
   • Click Add public hostname and select your domain
4. Enable your preferred identity providers (Google, GitHub, etc.)
5. Add access policies to control who can access the service
6. Save the application

🛡️ Advanced Security with WAF Rules

Cloudflare's Web Application Firewall (WAF) allows you to create sophisticated security rules. This is especially important for n8n webhooks which need to be publicly accessible but should be protected from abuse.

Creating IP Allow Lists

1. Go to Cloudflare Dashboard → Settings → Lists
2. Click Create new list
3. Configure:
   • List name: approved_ip_addresses (lowercase letters, numbers, underscores only)
   • Content type: IP Address
4. Click Create, then Add items to add IP addresses manually or via CSV upload

Protecting n8n Webhooks with WAF Rules

n8n webhooks need special consideration because they must be publicly accessible for external services to trigger workflows, but you want to limit who can access them.

1. Go to your domain → Security → WAF → Custom rules
2. Click Create rule
3. Rule name: "Protect n8n webhooks"
4. Expression Builder or use Edit expression:

Example expressions:

Rule	Expression	Action
Block all except approved IPs	(not ip.src in $approved_ip_addresses and http.host contains "yourdomain.com")	Block
Protect UI, allow webhooks	(http.host eq "n8n.yourdomain.com" and not ip.src in $approved_ip_addresses and not http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook/")	Block
Restrict webhooks to services	(http.host eq "n8n.yourdomain.com" and http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook/" and not ip.src in $webhook_allowed_ips)	Block
Challenge suspicious webhook traffic	(http.host eq "n8n.yourdomain.com" and http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook/")	Managed Challenge

Common Security Rule Patterns

Use Case	Expression	Action	Notes
Protect webhooks (CRITICAL)	(http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook" and not ip.src in $webhook_service_ips)	Block	Webhooks have NO auth - must restrict!
Protect all services	(not ip.src in $approved_ip_addresses)	Block	Strictest - only approved IPs
Geographic restrictions	(ip.geoip.country ne "US" and ip.geoip.country ne "GB")	Block	Allow only specific countries
Block bots on sensitive services	(http.host in {"prometheus.yourdomain.com" "grafana.yourdomain.com"} and cf.bot_management.score lt 30)	Block	Blocks likely bots
Moderate UI protection	(not http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook" and cf.threat_score gt 30)	Managed Challenge	UI has login, less strict
Rate limit webhooks	(http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook/")	Rate Limit (10 req/min)	Additional webhook protection
Separate webhook types	(http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook/stripe" and not ip.src in $stripe_ips)	Block	Service-specific webhook protection

Service-Specific Security Strategies

n8n (CRITICAL): Webhooks have NO auth and can trigger powerful workflows.

# Webhook protection - only from known service IPs
(http.host eq "n8n.yourdomain.com" and
 http.request.uri.path contains "/webhook" and
 not ip.src in $webhook_service_ips)
Action: Block

Flowise: Protect API endpoints while allowing public chatbot access.

(http.host eq "flowise.yourdomain.com" and
 http.request.uri.path contains "/api/" and
 not ip.src in $api_allowed_ips)
Action: Block

Monitoring (Grafana/Prometheus): Use strict IP allowlists.

(http.host in {"grafana.yourdomain.com" "prometheus.yourdomain.com"} and
 not ip.src in $monitoring_team_ips)
Action: Block

Managing Multiple IP Lists

Create separate lists for different access levels:

List Name	Purpose	Example IPs
approved_ip_addresses	General admin access	Office IPs, VPN endpoints
webhook_allowed_ips	Services that call webhooks	Stripe, GitHub, Slack servers
monitoring_team_ips	DevOps team access	Team member home IPs
api_consumer_ips	Third-party API access	Partner service IPs

Webhook Security Best Practices

⚠️ CRITICAL: Webhooks have NO authentication and can execute powerful workflows. Always protect them with IP allowlists.

Key Protection Steps:

1. Use IP allowlists - Only allow IPs from services that need webhook access (GitHub, Stripe, etc.)
2. Use unique webhook paths - e.g., /webhook/prod-abc123 instead of guessable URLs
3. Verify signatures - Check HMAC signatures from GitHub/Stripe in your n8n workflows
4. Add rate limiting - Prevent abuse even from approved IPs
5. Monitor regularly - Check Cloudflare Analytics → Security → Events for blocked attempts

Testing Your Rules

1. Use Cloudflare's Trace Tool:

   • Go to Account Home → Trace
   • Enter test URLs and IPs
   • See which rules would trigger

2. Start with Log mode:

   • Set initial action to "Log" instead of "Block"
   • Monitor for false positives
   • Switch to "Block" after verification

3. Test webhook access:

   # Test from allowed IP
   curl -X POST https://n8n.yourdomain.com/webhook/test-webhook
   
   # Test from non-allowed IP (should be blocked)
   curl -X POST https://n8n.yourdomain.com/admin
   

Important Considerations

• Webhook IPs can change: Services like GitHub, Stripe publish their webhook IP ranges - keep your lists updated
• Development vs Production: Consider separate rules for development environments
• Bypass for emergencies: Keep a "break glass" rule you can quickly enable for emergency access
• Logging: Enable logging on security rules to track access patterns

Verifying Tunnel Connection

Step 1: Check tunnel container is running

docker compose -p localai ps cloudflared
docker compose -p localai logs cloudflared --tail 20

You should see:

INF Registered tunnel connection connIndex=0 ... location=xxx protocol=quic
INF Registered tunnel connection connIndex=1 ... location=xxx protocol=quic
INF Updated to new configuration

Step 2: Verify traffic goes through Cloudflare

This is the most important check — confirms your domain uses the tunnel, not direct connection:

# Check for Cloudflare headers
curl -sI https://yourdomain.com | grep -iE '^(cf-|server:)'

✅ Working through Cloudflare — you'll see:

server: cloudflare
cf-ray: 8a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h-YYZ

❌ NOT through Cloudflare — you'll see:

server: Caddy

or no cf-ray header at all.

Step 3: Check DNS resolution

# Should return Cloudflare IPs, NOT your server IP
dig +short yourdomain.com

# Quick check: is it Cloudflare? (requires whois: apt install whois)
whois $(dig +short yourdomain.com | head -1) 2>/dev/null | grep -i cloudflare

If you see your server's IP (e.g., 137.184.x.x), DNS is not configured correctly.

Quick one-liner test

curl -sI https://yourdomain.com 2>/dev/null | grep -q "cf-ray" && echo "✓ Traffic goes through Cloudflare Tunnel" || echo "✗ Traffic goes DIRECTLY to server (tunnel not working)"

Note: This test requires curl and a working HTTPS connection. If you're debugging early setup before SSL is working, use dig commands from Step 3 instead.

Common issues if verification fails

Symptom	Cause	Solution
No cf-ray header	DNS points to server IP	Transfer DNS to Cloudflare or create CNAME
server: Caddy	Traffic bypasses tunnel	Check DNS, delete A records for subdomains
Tunnel connected but no traffic	Missing public hostname	Add hostname in Zero Trust dashboard
DNS shows server IP	Nameservers not updated	Update NS records at registrar

Troubleshooting

Tunnel running but traffic goes directly to server (no cf-ray header):

• Most common cause: DNS is managed outside Cloudflare (e.g., DigitalOcean, GoDaddy)
• Solution: Transfer DNS to Cloudflare (see "DNS Configuration" section above)
• Quick check: dig NS yourdomain.com +short — should show xxx.ns.cloudflare.com
• If DNS is external, you must create CNAME records manually pointing to <tunnel-id>.cfargotunnel.com

"Too many redirects" error:

• Make sure you're pointing to the service directly (e.g., http://n8n:5678), NOT to Caddy
• Verify the service URL uses HTTP, not HTTPS
• Check that DNS records have Proxy status ON (orange cloud)

"Server not found" error:

• Verify DNS records exist for your subdomain
• Check tunnel is healthy in Cloudflare dashboard
• Ensure tunnel token is correct in .env

Services not accessible:

• Verify tunnel status: docker ps | grep cloudflared
• Check tunnel logs: docker logs cloudflared
• Ensure the service is running: docker ps
• Verify service name and port in tunnel configuration

"ERR Cannot determine default origin certificate path":

• This warning in logs is normal for token-based tunnels
• Does not affect functionality — tunnel still works

Mixed mode (tunnel + direct access):

• You can run both tunnel and traditional Caddy access simultaneously
• Useful for testing before closing firewall ports
• Simply keep ports 80/443 open until ready to switch fully to tunnel

Disabling Tunnel

To disable Cloudflare Tunnel and return to Caddy-only access:

1. Remove from compose profiles:

   # Edit .env and remove "cloudflare-tunnel" from COMPOSE_PROFILES
   nano .env
   

2. Stop the tunnel and restart services:

   docker compose -p localai --profile cloudflare-tunnel down
   docker compose -p localai up -d
   

3. Re-open firewall ports if closed:

   sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
   sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
   sudo ufw reload
   

Important Notes

1. Service-to-service communication remains unchanged - containers still communicate directly via Docker network
2. Ollama is not included in the tunnel setup as it's typically used internally only
3. Database ports (PostgreSQL, Redis) should never be exposed through the tunnel
4. Consider using Cloudflare Access for any services that need authentication