Mastering n8n Self-Hosting on Ubuntu with Docker Compose and HAProxy

Installation: Update and install Docker:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-plugin

Create directory and config:

mkdir n8n-setup && cd n8n-setup
nano docker-compose.yml

Paste this secure configuration with basic auth and OpenRouter:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678"
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - N8N_BLOCK_ENV_ACCESS_IN_NODE=false
      - N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=false
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=${N8N_PASSWORD}
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.texgo.it/
      - N8N_PROXY_HOPS=1
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - OPENROUTER_API_KEY=${OPEN_API_KEY}
      - OPENROUTER_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
      - OPENROUTER_MODEL=x-ai/grok-code-fast-1
    extra_hosts:
      - "felipeferreira.net:51.178.46.243"      
volumes:
  n8n_data:

Save (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X). Create .env file:

echo "N8N_PASSWORD=your_secure_password" > .env
sudo docker compose up -d

Verification: Check sudo docker ps (status Up). Access http://localhost:5678 (login: admin/your_secure_password).

Troubleshooting: Permission errors? Use sudo. Crashes? Check sudo docker logs n8n.

1. Install and Get Certificate (stop n8n port 80 first if needed):

sudo apt update && sudo apt install haproxy certbot -y
sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d n8n.example.com
cat /etc/letsencrypt/live/n8n.example.com/fullchain.pem /etc/letsencrypt/live/n8n.example.com/privkey.pem | sudo tee /etc/haproxy/n8n.pem

2. Configure HAProxy Append to /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg:

listen n8n-https
    bind *:443 ssl crt /etc/haproxy/n8n.pem
    mode http
    server n8n_app 127.0.0.1:5678 check

3. Restart and Verify

sudo systemctl restart haproxy
curl -I https://n8n.example.com

Tips: 503 error? Verify docker ps. SSL issues? Check PEM permissions.