n8n-workbench-syncer

This project helps to sync local n8n workflows with remote host. It uses private bitbucket repo (it is the only option atm) as a storage, so as a bonus you receive a full history of your workflows changes.

Installation - Local

1. Install node.js ( https://nodejs.org/en/download/ ), n8n ( npm run n8n-install ) and git
2. Clone or "Save as zip" this repo
3. Create your private repo to store your workflows and creds, e.g. on the bitbucket
4. Create 2 access tokens at https://bitbucket.org/%username%/%reponame%/admin/access-tokens: with read rights (for remote pull) and with read+write rights (for local push)
5. Run npm i - it will install all necessary modules
6. Create file ./.env and add lines:

REPO_PULL_URL="https://x-token-auth:xxx" - bitbucket url for pull
REPO_PUSH_URL="https://x-token-auth:xxx" - bitbucket url for push
REPO_PUSH_AUTHOR="xxx@bots.bitbucket.org"- bitbucket email for push
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY="n8n_long_secret_key" - encryption key

7. Optonally, you can add more settings in order to configure n8n instance:

N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED=false
N8N_USER_MANAGEMENT_DISABLED=true
N8N_METRICS=true
EXECUTIONS_DATA_PRUNE=true
EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE=168

Installation - Host

1. Install node.js ( https://nodejs.org/en/download/ ), n8n ( npm run n8n-install ) and git
2. Manually copy root folder to the host (most important is to keep .env outside of repo)
3. Run npm i - it will install all necessary modules

Workflow - Local

1. Run npm run ex - (export) it will create new folder project, export your current workflow and creds, clones your private repo, commit all changes and push them to the bitbucket

Workflow - Host - Common flow

1. Run npm run imr - (import + run) it will create folder project, pull your private repo, import downloaded workflows and creds to the n8n instance, and run n8n with envs variables

Workflow - Host - Experimental flow

1. Run npm run imar - the same as imr above, but doing activation before the import. Activation will open every workflow and:

• activate the workflow, if its name starts with "[A]"
• disable the workflow otherwise This way, i can have all workflows disabled on the local machine, and enable them on host just by adding "[A]" to its name

Known issues

1. Sometimes there’s an error “resource is busy” during the n8n run. Just re-run "npm run imr" (or "npm run n8n"), it will fix the issue.
2. Workflows statuses are exported as well. So before the export, it’s important to enable the ones you wish to run on the host. Or enable them manually on the host afterwards, whatever you prefer.
3. Sometimes i note "sql update" issues. Mostly probably, it is caused by newer n8n version usage. I just wipe the database (%username%.n8n folder), as all workflows are going to be imported anyways.