How can I automatically configure the owner account for my self-hosted n8n setup?

Other Questions N8n
1

Self-hosted n8n requires automated owner initialization for API integration in both test and production environments.

database:
  image: postgres:14-alpine
  ports:
    - "5432:5432"
  environment:
    POSTGRES_USER: admin
    POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secret123
    PGDATA: /var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata
  volumes:
    - ./data/pg_db/:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    - ./scripts/pgsql_init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d:ro

workflow_engine:
  image: custom/n8n-instance
  ports:
    - "5678:5678"
  environment:
    - DB_ENGINE=postgres
    - DB_PREFIX=custom_
    - DB_NAME=n8nworkflow
    - DB_HOST=database
    - DB_PORT=5432
    - DB_USER=admin
    - DB_PASS=secret123
  volumes:
    - ./data/n8n_workflow:/home/user/.n8n
    - ./files/n8n_files:/files
2

hey i ended up using a startup script that calls the n8n cli to automatically create the owner post db init. its a bit flaky if timing’s off but works good once adjusted

3

I solved this by integrating an initialization step directly into my container’s startup routine. Before launching n8n, I implemented a simple wait-and-check loop to confirm that the database is ready to accept connections. After confirming readiness, a custom script executes an SQL seed that creates the owner account automatically. Although it’s a bit of a workaround, it reliably handles the timing issues between post-init database setup and service startup, ensuring that the owner account configuration is always completed.

4

After some trial and error, I managed to solve the issue by using a customized entrypoint script within my container. Instead of relying solely on the database initialization scripts, I added a small polling mechanism to the container startup. This script waits for the API to become responsive before sending a call to create the owner account. This way, the owner account setup is done only after the service is up and running. I found this approach to be much more reliable and flexible, particularly when dealing with varying startup times in different environments.