Unable to modify workflow name in n8n Docker setup

Other Questions N8n
1

Hey everyone, I’m having trouble with my n8n setup using Docker Compose. The services start up fine, and I can create, run, and delete workflows. But for some reason, I can’t change the workflow names. It’s driving me nuts!

I’ve set up n8n with a Postgres database and some basic auth. Here’s a snippet of my docker-compose file:

services:
  workflow_app:
    image: workflow_image:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:5678"
    environment:
      - ENCRYPTION_KEY=mysecretkey
      - AUTH_USER=admin
      - AUTH_PASS=strongpassword
      - DB_TYPE=postgres
      - DB_HOST=db_server
      - DB_USER=app_user
      - DB_PASS=dbpassword
    volumes:
      - app_data:/app/data
    depends_on:
      - db_server

  db_server:
    image: postgres:latest
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=workflow_db
      - POSTGRES_USER=app_user
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=dbpassword
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

I’ve looked through the environment variables, but I can’t find anything related to workflow naming permissions. Am I missing something obvious? Has anyone else run into this issue before?

2

hey ZoeStar42, that’s weird! i’ve run n8n in docker before and never hit that issue. have u tried clearing ur browser cache? sometimes the ui gets funky. also, double-check ur postgres permissions - maybe theres a hiccup with write access to the workflow table. good luck!

3

I encountered a similar issue when setting up n8n in Docker. After some troubleshooting, I found that the problem was related to the volume permissions. Try adding the user ID to your docker-compose file:

services:
  workflow_app:
    user: '1000:1000'
    # ... other configurations

This ensures that the container process has the correct permissions to modify files. Also, check if your ‘app_data’ volume is properly mounted and writable. You might need to adjust its permissions on the host system.

If that doesn’t work, consider updating n8n to the latest version. Some older versions had quirks with workflow name changes in certain setups. Hope this helps!

4

I’ve dealt with this issue before, and it’s often related to database permissions. Check your Postgres roles and ensure the app_user has sufficient privileges to update all columns in the workflows table. You might need to grant additional permissions:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON TABLE public.workflows TO app_user;

Execute this in your Postgres database. If that doesn’t resolve it, consider inspecting the n8n logs for any error messages during rename attempts. They might provide more insight into what’s blocking the operation.

Also, verify that your ENCRYPTION_KEY is consistent across restarts. Inconsistent encryption can sometimes cause unexpected behavior with data modifications.