npm

npm is a quick way to get started with n8n on your local machine. You must have Node.js installed. n8n requires a Node.js version between 20.19 and 24.x, inclusive.

Try n8n with npx

You can try n8n without installing it using npx.

From the terminal, run:

npx n8n

This command will download everything that's needed to start n8n. You can then access n8n and start building workflows by opening http://localhost

Install globally with npm

To install n8n globally, use npm:

npm install n8n -g

To install or update to a specific version of n8n use the @ syntax to specify the version. For example:

npm install -g n8n@0.126.1

To install next:

npm install -g n8n@next

After the installation, start n8n by running:

n8n
# or
n8n start

Next steps

Try out n8n using the Quickstarts.

Updating

To update your n8n instance to the latest version, run:

npm update -g n8n

To install the next version:

npm install -g n8n@next

n8n with tunnel

To use webhooks for trigger nodes of external services like GitHub, n8n has to be reachable from the web. n8n runs a tunnel service that can redirect requests from n8n's servers to your local n8n instance.

Start n8n with --tunnel by running:

n8n start --tunnel

Reverting an upgrade

Install the older version that you want to go back to.

If the upgrade involved a database migration:

1. Check the feature documentation and release notes to see if there are any manual changes you need to make.
2. Run n8n db:revert on your current version to roll back the database. If you want to revert more than one database migration, you need to repeat this process.

Windows troubleshooting

If you are experiencing issues running n8n on Windows, make sure your Node.js environment is correctly set up. Follow Microsoft's guide to Install NodeJS on Windows.