n8n Workflow Server

Overview

Deploy a full n8n automation server on Apify without managing infrastructure. It runs as an Apify actor, handling setup, HTTPS, and data persistence automatically. You get three execution modes: an interactive web dashboard, headless webhook execution for APIs, and a persistent standby server for production endpoints. Pay only for compute time used.

Key Features

• Instant Deployment: Launch a configured n8n instance with a public URL in under 2 minutes.
• Automatic Data Persistence: On shutdown, a backup of your workflows, credentials, and execution history is saved to the actor's Key-Value Store. Upload it to resume exactly where you left off.
• Three Execution Modes:
  • Normal/Interactive Mode: Full n8n web interface. Auto-shuts down after a configurable idle period, creating a backup.
  • Webhook Mode: Headless execution. Provide webhook URLs via input; the actor runs them sequentially and outputs results. No backup is created.
  • Standby Mode: Persistent HTTP server with no auto-shutdown, ideal for production webhooks. A backup is created only on manual stop.
• Secure & Ephemeral: Unique login credentials and URLs are generated per session. Backups contain n8n-encrypted credentials.

How to Use

1. Start the Actor: Run it from the Apify Console or via API.
2. Configure Input: Set your desired executionMode and parameters (like idleTimeout for Normal mode).
3. Access & Build:
   • In Normal Mode, use the provided URL and credentials to access the n8n editor.
   • In Webhook Mode, the actor will execute the webhooks defined in the input and finish.
   • In Standby Mode, your n8n instance stays running until you manually stop it.
4. Stop & Save: When finished (or after idle timeout), the actor stops. In Normal/Standby mode, a backup is automatically saved.
5. Resume Later: Start a new run and upload the previous backup file to restore your complete environment.

Security Note: Backup files contain your encrypted n8n credentials. Never share them. Free plan users should download critical backups, as storage is cleared after 7 days of actor inactivity.

Input/Output

Input (via JSON)

{
  "executionMode": "NORMAL", // "NORMAL", "WEBHOOK", or "STANDBY"
  "idleTimeout": 60, // Seconds before auto-shutdown (NORMAL mode)
  "backupFileUrl": "", // URL of a previous backup to restore
  "webhooks": [ // Array for WEBHOOK mode
    {
      "url": "https://your-n8n/webhook/abc",
      "method": "POST",
      "payload": {"key": "value"}
    }
  ]
}

Output
- Normal/Standby Mode: Provides dashboardUrl, username, and password for accessing the n8n interface.
- Webhook Mode: Returns an array of execution results for each webhook triggered, with status and response data.
- All modes save a backup.json file to the actor's Key-Value Store on applicable shutdowns.