n8n-install/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

This is the n8n-installer: a Docker Compose-based installer that creates a comprehensive self-hosted AI automation environment. It includes n8n, Flowise, Open WebUI, Supabase, Qdrant, Langfuse, Ollama, and 20+ other services that can be selectively deployed.

Essential Commands

Installation and Updates

# Main installation (from project root)
sudo bash ./scripts/install.sh

# Update all services to latest versions
sudo bash ./scripts/update.sh

# Clean up unused Docker resources
sudo bash ./scripts/docker_cleanup.sh

Docker Operations

# View running services
docker compose ps

# View logs for specific service
docker compose logs [service-name]

# Restart services with specific profiles
docker compose --profile n8n,flowise up -d

# Stop all services
docker compose down

Python Helper Script

# Start services with automatic profile detection
python3 start_services.py

Service Management

# Apply configuration updates to running services
sudo bash ./scripts/apply_update.sh

# View all available Docker Compose profiles
grep -E '^\s*profiles:' docker-compose.yml

# Check service health status
docker compose ps --format "table {{.Name}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}"

Architecture

Core Installation Flow

The installation follows a strict 6-step sequence managed by scripts/install.sh:

1. 01_system_preparation.sh - Updates system, installs dependencies, configures security
2. 02_install_docker.sh - Installs Docker Engine and Docker Compose
3. 03_generate_secrets.sh - Creates .env file with secure passwords and keys
4. 04_wizard.sh - Interactive service selection with whiptail UI
5. 05_run_services.sh - Deploys selected services using Docker Compose profiles
6. 06_final_report.sh - Displays access URLs and credentials

Docker Compose Architecture

• Profiles: Services are organized into profiles (n8n, flowise, monitoring, langfuse, ollama, etc.)
• Environment: All configuration through .env file generated in step 3
• Volumes: Named volumes for data persistence across container rebuilds
• Networks: All services on default Docker network with internal service discovery

Key Service Dependencies

• n8n: Requires postgres, redis. Runs in queue mode with configurable worker count
• Supabase: Full stack with postgres, auth, storage, analytics, edge functions
• Langfuse: Requires postgres, redis, clickhouse, minio for LLM observability
• Open WebUI: Can integrate with Ollama for local LLMs

Important Implementation Details

Environment Variable System

• Generated by 03_generate_secrets.sh using openssl rand -hex
• Contains service hostnames, passwords, API keys
• Used by both Docker Compose and Caddy for routing

Service Selection Wizard

• 04_wizard.sh uses whiptail to create interactive checklist
• Updates COMPOSE_PROFILES in .env based on user selections
• Some services have dependencies (e.g., langfuse requires clickhouse)

Shared File Access

• ./shared/ directory is mounted to /data/shared inside n8n containers
• Use this path in n8n workflows to read/write files on the host system

Custom n8n Configuration

• Pre-installs Node.js libraries: cheerio, axios, moment, lodash
• Runs in production mode with PostgreSQL backend
• Enables queue mode for parallel workflow processing with configurable worker count
• Community packages and AI runners enabled
• Configured for tool usage and external function calls
• Metrics enabled for monitoring integration

Network Architecture

• Caddy handles HTTPS/TLS termination and reverse proxy
• Services exposed via subdomains: n8n.domain.com, flowise.domain.com, grafana.domain.com, etc.
• Internal services (redis, postgres) not exposed externally
• Supports Cloudflare Tunnel as alternative to port exposure

Common Development Tasks

Testing Profile Changes

1. Update COMPOSE_PROFILES in .env
2. Run docker compose --profile [profiles] up -d
3. Check docker compose ps to verify services started

Adding New Services

1. Define service in docker-compose.yml with appropriate profile
2. Add hostname variables to Caddy environment section
3. Update 04_wizard.sh to include in service selection
4. Add Caddyfile routing if service needs web access
5. Consider service dependencies and health checks

Backup/Restore Workflows

• n8n workflows stored in ./n8n/backup/workflows/
• Credentials stored in ./n8n/backup/credentials/
• Import script: ./n8n/n8n_import_script.sh

Troubleshooting Service Issues

1. Check service logs: docker compose logs [service-name]
2. Verify environment variables in .env
3. Check DNS configuration for domain-based services
4. Monitor resource usage: docker stats

Security Considerations

• All services require authentication (configured during setup)
• Firewall configured to only allow SSH, HTTP, HTTPS
• Fail2Ban enabled for brute-force protection
• SSL certificates managed by Caddy with Let's Encrypt
• Sensitive data in .env file (never commit to git)

File Structure Notes

• memory-bank/ - Project documentation and development notes
• flowise/ - Flowise workflow templates and custom tools
• n8n-tool-workflows/ - n8n workflow tools for integration
• grafana/ - Monitoring dashboards and provisioning configs
• scripts/ - Installation and utility scripts (all bash)
• prometheus/ - Prometheus monitoring configuration
• searxng/ - SearXNG search engine settings
• caddy-addon/ - Additional Caddy configuration files
• python-runner/ - Optional Python execution environment

Critical Implementation Notes

• Never modify the installation script sequence (01-06) without understanding dependencies
• Always use logging functions from utils.sh in new scripts
• The .env file contains all secrets and must never be committed
• Services use Docker health checks - respect dependency conditions
• Profile-based deployment allows selective service activation
• All bash scripts should be executable and follow the established patterns
• When modifying docker-compose.yml, maintain the x-templates pattern for service definitions
• Community workflows are imported during installation - see n8n/backup/workflows/ for examples