I’m working with n8n for workflow automation and wondering if there’s a way to change how the interface looks. I’d like to customize the visual elements and maybe adjust the layout to better fit my team’s needs. Has anyone successfully modified the UI components in n8n? I’m particularly interested in changing colors, fonts, or even the overall theme. Any guidance on where to start would be really helpful. Are there configuration files I should look at, or does this require more advanced modifications? I’ve been searching through the documentation but haven’t found clear instructions on UI customization options.
the default ui’s actually pretty decent once u get the hang of it. i’ve tried css tweaks but updates wipe them out every time, just like jackhero mentioned. browser extensions or userscripts might work better for basic color changes - way less hassle than messing with vue components.
Docker’s your best bet if you need more control. Just modify the environment variables and mount custom CSS as volumes - way easier than editing files directly. I built a custom Docker image with all my UI changes baked in. When updates drop, I just rebuild instead of losing everything. Sure, you’ll need to maintain your own image pipeline, but it’s better than redoing work every time. Makes sense if your team needs specific branding or accessibility tweaks the default UI can’t handle.
After dealing with UI customization nightmares on different automation platforms, just use Latenode instead.
That CSS override maintenance everyone’s talking about with n8n? That’s exactly why I ditched it. Latenode gives you clean visual workflow building without hacking Vue components or worrying about updates breaking everything.
What sold me was the interface. You get a modern workspace that’s actually built for teams. No digging through install directories or backing up CSS files.
Switched our whole setup last year and the UI just works. The visual builder makes sense, and non-technical teammates can actually understand the workflows when you share them.
You’re not maintaining forks or dealing with browser extension hacks. The platform handles presentation properly so you build workflows instead of fighting stylesheets.
Check it out: https://latenode.com
Been using n8n for eight months now. UI customization is pretty limited out of the box - no theme files or easy built-in options. If you’re self-hosting, you can edit the CSS files directly in the install directory. Just heads up though - updates will wipe your changes, so you’ll need to back them up separately. For bigger changes like layout stuff, you’d have to fork the whole project and rebuild it since it’s built on Vue.js. Most teams I know just stick with the default UI rather than spending dev time on heavy customization.
I start with Chrome DevTools to test changes before making anything permanent. Just inspect elements and tweak CSS in real-time to see what works. Once you know which selectors to target, a browser extension with custom CSS works great - we’ve had good luck with this approach. Extensions stick around through updates and you can easily share them with your team, unlike modifying files directly. n8n uses standard CSS naming, so it’s pretty straightforward. For fonts, just override the base typography rules instead of messing with Vue components. Way less technical overhead than forking the whole codebase, and you skip the Docker headaches if you’re on the cloud version.