Why Can't I Rename Workflows in n8n?

Other Questions N8n
1

Using Docker Compose to launch n8n enables creating and deleting workflows, yet renaming them remains unchangeable. Environment settings offer no control. Is this a permission or config issue?

version: '3'
services:
  workflowApp:
    image: custom/n8n:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:5678"
    environment:
      - APP_SECRET=example123
      - ENABLE_AUTH=true
      - PROTOCOL=https
      - WEBHOOK_ENDPOINT=https://mydomain
      - DB_TYPE=postgres
      - DB_NAME=exampledb
      - DB_HOST=dbservice
      - DB_PORT=5432
      - DB_USER=appuser
      - DB_PASS=pass123
    volumes:
      - data_vol:/home/app/.data
    depends_on:
      - dbservice

  dbservice:
    image: postgres:13
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=exampledb
      - POSTGRES_USER=appuser
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pass123
    volumes:
      - db_vol:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  data_vol:
  db_vol:
2

hey ppl, i had a similar issue. in my case, it was a caching trap in the persistent volume. try a full reset of your data vol and restart your container. sometimes it’s not a permission bug but a stale config bug that only shows up with docker.

3

My experience with this issue led me to conclude that it was less about permissions and more about how data caching is handled when persistent volumes are used. I once encountered a situation where renaming workflows was ignored because the application kept pulling old metadata from the cache stored on the volume. I solved the issue by stopping the container, clearing the volume cache completely, and then restarting the container, which forced a refresh of the stored data. In my case, this allowed the application to recognize and apply the new workflow names properly. I recommend checking your container logs and ensuring that cached data is fully cleared for a proper configuration update.

4

I encountered a similar problem while running n8n through Docker. In my case, the workflow names are saved as part of the workflow’s metadata, and renaming becomes tricky once this metadata is already stored. I observed that when persistent volumes are used, caching issues can interfere with data updates, resulting in an apparent inability to rename workflows. Adjusting volume settings and carefully managing the workflow’s lifecycle helped rectify the problem in my environment. Additionally, ensure you are fully synchronizing configuration changes to avoid such metadata corruption.

5

I experienced a similar issue with renaming workflows when using Docker to run n8n. I found that sometimes the settings might not register changes immediately if the application is working off a cached state from the persistent volume. It was not so much a permission problem as a configuration nuance within the Docker setup. In my case, refreshing the volume cache and ensuring that I’m running the most stable version of n8n resolved the problem. Evaluating the container logs and verifying version consistency also provided insights into the issue.