Get started

The order matters: decide where n8n runs, learn the four concepts everything else is built on, then build something.

The shortest possible start#

If you want to skip the reading, this gets you a running n8n on your own machine. You need Node.js between 20.19 and 24.x:

npx n8n

Open http://localhost:5678 and the editor is there. Nothing is saved to a server you do not control, and nothing is billed.

For anything beyond trying it out, use Docker Compose instead — see Self-hosting. npm-based installs are deprecated from n8n 3.0.

What a workflow actually is#

A workflow is a set of nodes connected on a canvas. The first node is a trigger: a schedule, an incoming webhook, a message in a queue, or a manual click. Every node after it receives the items the previous node produced, does something to them, and passes the result on.

When a workflow runs from start to finish, that is one execution. Your plan is measured in executions, not in nodes or steps, which is why splitting logic across more nodes never costs more.

Next steps#

• Decide where it runs: Choose how to run n8n
• Understand the vocabulary: Core concepts
• Build something: Build your first workflow