# Self-host n8n for workflow automation

> Install n8n on blitz.cloud in one click, hosted in the EU with HTTPS and public webhooks. Memory, encryption key, email, and how to keep your workflows safe.

Web page: https://blitz.cloud/guides/self-host-n8n/
Updated: 2026-09-26

To self-host n8n on blitz.cloud, install it from the App Store: pick n8n, choose an address and click Put it online. blitz.cloud sets up the HTTPS address, the webhook URL, an encryption key and 1 GB of space for n8n's data, and gives it more memory than a typical app because n8n needs it. On the free plan n8n sleeps after 15 minutes without a visit, and schedule triggers don't fire while it sleeps. Webhooks don't wake it either: while it sleeps, a webhook call gets an answer that n8n is asleep and never reaches your workflow. Opening n8n in your browser wakes it. On Pro you can keep n8n awake, so schedules fire on time and every webhook is answered straight away.

## Install it

1. In the [dashboard](https://dashboard.blitz.cloud/), open the App Store and pick n8n, or click Host something new and choose "A ready-made app".
2. Give it an address such as `n8n` and click Put it online.
3. Open `https://n8n.yourname.blitz.cloud` and create the owner account. The first person to open a fresh n8n becomes its owner, so do this right after the install.

What the App Store entry sets for you:

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| `N8N_HOST` | your app's address |
| `N8N_PROTOCOL` | `https` |
| `WEBHOOK_URL` | `https://n8n.yourname.blitz.cloud` |
| `N8N_SECURE_COOKIE` | `true` |
| `N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY` | a random key generated at install |

You can see and change all of them on the app's Environment tab.

## Why n8n gets the medium size

We ran n8n in the small size first. Its editor looked healthy for a minute and then died with "JavaScript heap out of memory". So the App Store installs it in the medium size: 256 MB of memory reserved from your plan's 512 MB, with room to grow to 1 GB, and up to one CPU. That handles a personal set of workflows. Workflows that load big files or thousands of items at once can still hit the ceiling.

## Webhooks

Webhook nodes get public URLs under your address, for example:

```text
https://n8n.yourname.blitz.cloud/webhook/<id>
```

They work from GitHub, Stripe, a form service or anything else on the internet, because `WEBHOOK_URL` already points at the right place.

## Keep a copy of the encryption key

n8n encrypts the credentials you save (API keys, OAuth tokens) with `N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY`. Open the Environment tab, click Show next to it and store the value in your password manager. Without it, a copy of your n8n data is useless, because the credentials in it can't be decrypted.

## Backups: on Pro, not on the free plan

n8n stores workflows, credentials and execution history in a SQLite file in `/home/node/.n8n`. On the free plan blitz.cloud backs up databases every night, but not files kept by apps, so that folder is in no backup. On Pro the files apps keep are copied every night and kept for 30 nights, and you can put them back from the app's Settings tab.

Either way, export your workflows regularly. In the n8n editor, open a workflow and use Download from its menu to save it as JSON. Keep the files in a Git repository and you get history for free. Credentials don't export in readable form, so write down which accounts each workflow uses.

## Sending email

The Send Email node won't reach a mail server on the standard ports: blitz.cloud blocks outgoing ports 25, 465 and 587 for every app, to keep the platform from being used for spam. Some mail providers also accept SMTP on port 2525, which is not blocked. The other way is a provider with an HTTP API, called from the HTTP Request node or the provider's own n8n node.

## When n8n Cloud is the better choice

If you need many workflows running in parallel, several team members with roles, or queue mode with workers, a self-hosted n8n in 1 GB of memory is the wrong tool. For one person or a small team automating their own chores, it's a good fit, and the data stays in the EU.