Check its license. It has its own license: read it before using it for work.

Does n8n use paid AI services?

Can use Google Gemini or Anthropic. Its settings have keys for these paid APIs. Its README says whether one is required.

Is n8n still maintained?

Yes, active. Last change today. Latest release n8n@2.47.4, today.

Widely used. 210k stars, 7 years old, by an organization. As with any download, get it from the official repo.

gitmanual

Reading the repo

Opening the box…

How to set up n8n (n8n-io/n8n) · gitmanual

Assembly instructions

n8n-io/n8n

Fair-code workflow automation platform with native AI capabilities. Combine visual building with custom code, self-host or cloud, 400+ integrations.

Node.js#ai#apis#automation#cli

Before you start

Is it free?: Check its licenseIt has its own license: read it before using it for work.
Paid AI services?: Can use Google Gemini or AnthropicIts settings have keys for these paid APIs. Its README says whether one is required.
Still maintained?: Yes, activeLast change today. Latest release n8n@2.47.4, today.
Can I trust it?: Widely used210k stars, 7 years old, by an organization. As with any download, get it from the official repo.

Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 30 min or more
Stars: ★ 210,157
Activity: Updated this month

Saved setup from 2 h ago

Will it work on macOS?

Yes, it installs on your macOS

The README gives an install script for macOS.

Your system

macOS Windows Linux

Start here

Website ↗n8n.ioThe project's own site.

Also: Docs ↗ · In the browser ↗

Heads-upBuilding it yourself? It also needs 43 settings in .env (8 secret).

Install with a package manager

install script

curl -fsSL https://get.n8n.io | sh

Pipes a remote script into your shell. Read it before running.

From the README, exactly as the maintainers wrote it.

Run it with Docker

A self-hosted app: Docker runs it on your computer and you open it in the browser. Needs Docker Desktop (or Docker Engine on Linux). Run docker compose commands inside the cloned repo folder.

Docker

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

From the README, exactly as the maintainers wrote it.

Did you get it running?

No reports for macOS yet.

Still stuck? Get a written guide

GitManual AI Agent reads the 14 key files and writes a step-by-step guide for macOS. Once written, it's saved for everyone.

Parts list

1×Node.js >=24.0.0runtime
1×Docker tool
1×pnpm pnpm@12.4.2package manager

43× settings in .env

N8N_USER_FOLDER
N8N_LICENSE_TENANT_ID
N8N_LICENSE_ACTIVATION_KEYsecret
N8N_LICENSE_CERT
N8N_AI_ENABLED
N8N_AI_ASSISTANT_BASE_URL
N8N_AI_ANTHROPIC_KEYsecret
LANGSMITH_ENDPOINToptional
LANGSMITH_PROJECToptional
LANGSMITH_TRACINGoptional
N8N_LOG_LEVEL
N8N_ENABLED_MODULES
N8N_INSTANCE_AI_EVAL_INSTANCE
N8N_INSTANCE_AI_ENABLED
N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_ENABLED
N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_PROVIDER
N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_EPHEMERAL
N8N_AGENTS_AI_SANDBOX_EPHEMERAL
DAYTONA_API_KEYsecret
DAYTONA_API_URL
N8N_BASE_URL
N8N_EVAL_EMAIL
N8N_EVAL_PASSWORDsecret
N8N_MCP_TOKENsecretoptional
COMPARE_BUILDERS
COMPARE_ISOLATION
COMPARE_RUNS_DIR
COMPARE_PARALLEL
COMPARE_LIVE
COMPARE_LIVE_WINDOWS
COMPARE_RECORD
COMPARE_CLI_MODE
CLAUDE_MODEL
COMPARE_CLAUDE_TOOLS
COMPARE_SCENARIOS
COMPARE_WIRE
COMPARE_BINARY_CHECKS
GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEYsecret
CLAUDE_API_KEYsecret
CODEX_MODEL
CODEX_REASONING_EFFORT
CODEX_API_KEYsecret
LANGSMITH_API_KEYsecret

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Add a badge to your README so newcomers find these steps.

[![Setup manual](https://gitmanual.com/n8n-io/n8n/badge.svg)](https://gitmanual.com/n8n-io/n8n)

Good to know

Monorepo (workspaces) — install from the repo root.
Dev Container config found — you can open it in VS Code Dev Containers or GitHub Codespaces for a zero-setup environment.
Has AGENTS.md — instructions for coding agents. You can open Claude Code (or another agent) in the cloned folder and ask it to do the setup for you.
Nested projects: .github/scripts/package.json, packages/@n8n/agents/package.json, packages/@n8n/ai-node-sdk/package.json, packages/@n8n/ai-utilities/package.json and 11 more

Details

License: Not detected
Open issues: 1,216
Branch: master

package.json scripts (93)

preparenode scripts/prepare.mjs
preinstallnode scripts/block-npm-install.js
buildturbo run build
build:uncheckedturbo run build:unchecked
build:n8nnode scripts/build-n8n.mjs
build:deploynode scripts/build-n8n.mjs
build:dockernode scripts/build-n8n.mjs && node scripts/dockerize-n8n.mjs
build:docker:coverageBUILD_WITH_COVERAGE=true node scripts/build-n8n.mjs && node scripts/dockerize-n8n.mjs
build:docker:scannode scripts/build-n8n.mjs && node scripts/dockerize-n8n.mjs && node scripts/scan-n8n-image.mjs
build:docker:smokenode scripts/smoke-n8n-image.mjs
build:docker:cleanTURBO_FORCE=true node scripts/build-n8n.mjs && DOCKER_BUILD_NO_CACHE=true DOCKER_BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=true node scripts/dockerize-n8n.mjs
build:docker:testnode scripts/build-n8n.mjs && node scripts/dockerize-n8n.mjs && turbo run test:container:standard --filter=n8n-playwright
typecheckturbo typecheck
devnode scripts/dev-command-removed-notice.mjs
dev:upnode scripts/dev-up.mjs
dev:beturbo run dev --env-mode=loose --log-prefix=none --filter=n8n
dev:aiturbo run dev --concurrency=150 --env-mode=loose --filter=@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain --filter=n8n --filter=n8n-core
dev:ferun-p start dev:fe:editor
dev:fe:editorturbo run dev --env-mode=loose --filter=n8n-editor-ui
dev:design-systemturbo run dev --env-mode=loose --log-prefix=none --filter=@n8n/design-system
dev:e2epnpm --filter=n8n-playwright dev --ui
dev-metrics:opt-innode scripts/dev-metrics/setup.mjs --enable
dev-metrics:statusnode scripts/dev-metrics/setup.mjs --status
dev-metrics:resetnode scripts/dev-metrics/setup.mjs --reset
cleanturbo run clean

Files we read (14)

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

.env.ai-surfaces.example

.env.eval.example

.env.local.example

.github/workflows/build-base-image.yml

.github/workflows/build-benchmark-image.yml

.github/workflows/build-node-pc-image.yml

.github/workflows/build-v3-nightly.yml

.github/workflows/build-windows.yml

.github/workflows/ci-check-pr-title.yml

CONTRIBUTING.md

README.md

package.json

pnpm-workspace.yaml

33,765 files in the repo