Step 1 – Verify n8n Works

Your server’s IP address and root password are shown in the Server Information section on the Overview tab of your server in the client portal. The application settings you entered when ordering, passwords included, are shown in the n8n Credentials card on the same tab. Open your browser and navigate to:

https://your.server.ip

HTTPS without a domain. Since January 2026 Let’s Encrypt issues certificates for IP addresses (official announcement), so your server gets a real, browser-trusted certificate on first boot – before you connect any domain. Certificates of this kind are short-lived (about six days) and renew automatically. If your server is not reachable from the internet on port 80 (for example, it sits behind a router), the certificate cannot be issued – in that case use http:// instead.

Log in with the email and password you provided when ordering. Your owner account was created automatically during setup.

If the login page loads and you can sign in, n8n is working correctly.

For the first minute after the server is created n8n answers 403 Forbidden: it stays closed to visitors until your owner account is set up, so nobody else can claim the instance. Wait a minute and reload.

If you placed the server behind a VyOS router on a private network, the server has only a private address, so it does not get the IP certificate, and n8n is set up for that private address. You can open n8n over http:// on the private address through a VPN on the router (WireGuard or OpenVPN, on the router’s Configuration tab). To make n8n reachable from the internet, forward ports 80 and 443 to the server on the router’s Configuration tab (Port forwarding), point your domain to the router’s public address and connect the domain (Steps 2-3): until then, n8n’s links point to the private address. Webhooks from external services need n8n on the internet, through the domain. Forward port 22 as well if you need SSH from the internet.

Firewall. If you turn on the Firewall for this server in the client portal, allow incoming TCP port 80 in its rules, along with 443 (HTTPS). Certificates renew over port 80 – the IP certificate every few days – and without that rule the certificate expires and the browser starts showing a warning.

Step 2 – Configure Custom Domain (Optional)

n8n works by IP address right away. To use your domain (the one you entered when ordering or another one), point it to your server by creating a DNS A record:

your-domain.com  ->  your.server.ip

DNS changes usually take a few minutes, but can take up to 24 hours. You can check the status at dnschecker.org.

Step 3 – Enable SSL with Let’s Encrypt

Once your domain resolves to the server IP, connect via SSH and run:

ssh root@your.server.ip

/opt/setup/get-ssl.sh your-domain.com you@example.com

The email is optional (Let’s Encrypt uses it for expiry notices). The domain you entered when ordering is already saved on the server, so you can run the script without arguments. The script will automatically configure Nginx with your domain, obtain a free Let’s Encrypt certificate, and update n8n to use HTTPS. After completion, n8n will be available at https://your-domain.com. Automatic renewal is already configured.

Fail2Ban – Brute-Force Protection

Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect SSH from brute-force attacks.

Useful commands:

# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status sshd

# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip 1.2.3.4

If you accidentally lock yourself out, open the Console on your server’s Overview tab in the client portal and unban your IP.

Service Management

# Check n8n service status
systemctl status n8n

# View n8n logs
journalctl -u n8n -f

# Restart n8n
systemctl restart n8n

# View setup log
cat /opt/setup/setup.log

Backups

n8n stores all data (workflows, credentials, execution history) in an SQLite database:

# Back up n8n data
cp -r /root/.n8n /root/n8n-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Or export workflows via CLI
n8n export:workflow --all --output=/root/workflows-backup.json

Updates

# Update n8n
npm install -g n8n
systemctl restart n8n

# Update OS packages
apt update && apt upgrade -y

Software Included

• n8n Documentation: docs.n8n.io
• n8n Community Forum: community.n8n.io
• n8n Integrations Library: n8n.io/integrations