n8n
Render
Supabase
Automation
Deployment

Deploy n8n on Render + Supabase (Free, Persistent, Simple)

A clean, step-by-step guide for deploying n8n on Render with Supabase Postgres for persistent storage, all on free tiers.

What you'll need

  • A Supabase account (free)
  • A Render account (free)
  • A generated 256-bit encryption key (for n8n credentials)
  • 10–15 minutes

Create your Supabase project

  1. Go to Supabase → New Project

  2. Choose a region close to you (e.g., Mumbai ap-south-1 or a US region)

  3. Set a strong database password and save it

  4. After the project is ready, open Project Settings → Database → Connection Info

  5. Copy the pooler connection details (host + port):

    • Session pooler: port 5432 (best to run migrations and for long-lived connections)
    • Transaction pooler: port 6543 (works well after initial setup)

Tip: Supabase requires SSL for external connections.

Create the n8n service on Render

  1. In Render Dashboard: New → Web Service → Deploy an existing image
  2. Image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n (This is the new official registry; it fixed startup issues for us compared to the old n8nio/n8n.)
  3. Choose a name and region near your Supabase region
  4. Plan: Free (you can upgrade later)

Add environment variables on Render

Option A — Start with Session Pooler (recommended for first boot)

Use this first so n8n can run database migrations smoothly.

# Database (Supabase - Session Pooler)
DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=your-supabase-pooler-host   # e.g. aws-1-ap-south-1.pooler.supabase.com
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=postgres
DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA=public
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=your-supabase-user          # e.g. postgres.xxxxxxxx
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=your-supabase-password

# SSL (Supabase requires it)
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_ENABLED=true
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=false

# Connection tuning (safer defaults for free tiers)
DB_POSTGRESDB_POOL_SIZE=5
DB_POSTGRESDB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=60000
DB_POSTGRESDB_IDLE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=30000

# Timezone (example: Mumbai)
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata
TZ=Asia/Kolkata

# n8n basics
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-256-bit-key
N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true
N8N_PROTOCOL=https

Deploy once with the session pooler. When n8n starts the first time, it creates its tables and completes migrations.

Option B — (Optional) Switch to Transaction Pooler after first successful boot

If you want to move to the transaction pooler later:

DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=6543

(Keep the rest as-is.)

🛡️ Keep your N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY safe. If you ever redeploy, using the same key lets you decrypt previously saved credentials.

First deploy

  • Click Deploy Web Service
  • If you see "n8n is starting up. Please wait" for a bit on first boot, that's normal while migrations run
  • If it doesn't come up, see Troubleshooting below

Set your external webhook URL

After Render gives you a public URL, add this variable and redeploy:

WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-render-service.onrender.com

Use WEBHOOK_URL (that's the one n8n recognizes). There is no N8N_WEBHOOK_URL in the official env list.

Finish setup in the n8n UI

  1. Open your Render URL
  2. Create the first user (email + password)
  3. Log in to n8n and you're good to go
  4. Create a quick Webhook workflow and test it (e.g., with Postman or curl)

Why these settings worked (key learnings)

  • Docker image: Switching to docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n resolved startup/UI glitches seen with the older n8nio/n8n image

  • Session vs Transaction pooler:

    • Use 5432 (session) for first boot so migrations complete reliably
    • You can switch to 6543 (transaction) later if you prefer

  • SSL is mandatory for Supabase external access: DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_ENABLED=true (+ often DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=false on managed hosts)

  • Timeouts/pool size: Slightly higher connection timeout and small pool keep things stable on free tiers

  • WEBHOOK_URL: Use the correct variable name so external webhooks resolve to your public Render URL

Troubleshooting (copy-paste fixes)

ECONNREFUSED <ip>:6543 or :5432

  • Wrong port/host or DB down
  • Try session pooler (5432) first
  • Confirm host is the pooler host from Supabase
  • Ensure SSL vars are set (see above)

"Could not establish database connection within 20,000 ms"

  • Add/increase timeout: DB_POSTGRESDB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=60000
  • Ensure DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_ENABLED=true
  • Verify user/password and that you're using the pooler endpoint

Stuck on "n8n is starting up. Please wait"

  • Use session pooler (5432) for the first deploy so migrations run
  • Check logs in Render; usually it's DB connect/SSL issues
  • After a successful first boot, you can switch to the transaction pooler (6543) if desired

Render says "No open ports detected"

  • That usually means n8n crashed before starting its HTTP server—most often due to DB connection issues. Fix DB/env and redeploy

Optional: one-file "transaction pooler" sample env

(Use after you've booted at least once with the session pooler, or if you know 6543 works for you.)

DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=your-supabase-pooler-host
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=6543
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=postgres
DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA=public
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=your-supabase-user
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=your-supabase-password
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_ENABLED=true
DB_POSTGRESDB_SSL_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=false
DB_POSTGRESDB_POOL_SIZE=5
DB_POSTGRESDB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=60000
DB_POSTGRESDB_IDLE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=30000
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata
TZ=Asia/Kolkata
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-256-bit-key
N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-render-service.onrender.com

Final notes

  • Keep your Supabase password and n8n encryption key safe
  • Free Render services can sleep; opening the URL wakes them
  • If you ever change regions, create a new Supabase project in that region and update your env variables
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