Self-hosted n8n: two things not done for you

n8n was live over HTTPS 7 minutes 24 seconds after we clicked Deploy in Coolify. Two things were not done for us.

The checklist

1. Backups are off until you add them. Coolify schedules none by default, and the default destination is the same server. Add a scheduled database backup and send it to S3-compatible storage.
2. The database backup is not enough. n8n's encryption key lives in its data volume, not in the database. Without it, restored credentials cannot be decrypted. Back up the data volume (the .n8n folder) too.
3. Test a restore once, on a throwaway server.

The full test

• Self-host n8n with Coolify on a $6 VPS

The starter kit includes encrypted restic backups of Docker volumes and Postgres, with a tested restore.