TD;LR

n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that allows you to automate tasks and integrate different applications. It provides a visual interface to create workflows, making it easy to connect various services and automate repetitive tasks. n8n can be self-hosted or run in the cloud, and it supports a wide range of integrations with popular applications and services.

Install Self-hosted n8n on MacBook Pro

Premise

The following components are already installed on the Mac

macOS Ventura
├── Colima
├── Docker CLI
└── Docker Compose

Components to install

The only additional component we need is n8n that is not installed directly on macOS but rather in a container. We will use Docker Compose to manage the n8n container.

The architecture looks like this:

macOS
└── Colima Linux VM
    └── Docker Engine
        └── n8n Container

Final Diectory Structure

After the installation, the project directory will look like this:

~/Dev/projects/n8n/
├── compose.yaml
└── data/
    ├── config
    ├── database.sqlite
    ├── binaryData/
    ├── git/
    ├── nodes/
    └── ssh/

Installation Steps

Create compose.yaml

services:
  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n

    restart: unless-stopped

    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5678:5678"

    environment:
      TZ: Asia/Tokyo
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: Asia/Tokyo
      N8N_SECURE_COOKIE: "false"

    volumes:
      - ./data:/home/node/.n8n

Validate the Compose File Before downloading anythin, let Docker validate the syntax.

% docker compose config
docker: unknown command: docker compose

Run 'docker --help' for more information

Use docker-compose instead of docker compose.
```
% brew install docker-compose
```

Validate the Compose File again

% docker-compose config
name: n8n
services:
  n8n:
    container_name: n8n
    environment:
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: Asia/Tokyo
      N8N_SECURE_COOKIE: "false"
      TZ: Asia/Tokyo
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:latest
    networks:
      default: null
    ports:
      - mode: ingress
        host_ip: 127.0.0.1
        target: 5678
        published: "5678"
        protocol: tcp
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: /Volumes/ST500LT/gxliu/Dev/projects/n8n/data
        target: /home/node/.n8n
        bind: {}
networks:
  default:
    name: n8n_default

The normalized configuration is printed, so the file is valid.

Download the n8n image

% docker-compose pull
[+] pull 13/13
 ✔ Image docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:latest Pulled

Start the n8n container

% docker-compose up -d
[+] up 2/2
 ✔ Network n8n_default Created                                                            0.3s
 ✔ Container n8n       Started

Check all running containers:

% docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                            COMMAND                   CREATED         STATUS         PORTS                      NAMES
e41109399fbe   docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:latest   "tini -- /docker-ent…"   3 minutes ago   Up 3 minutes   127.0.0.1:5678->5678/tcp   n8n

Check the startup logs

% docker logs n8n
n8n  | No encryption key found - Auto-generating and saving to: /home/node/.n8n/config
n8n  | Initializing n8n process
n8n  | n8n ready on ::, port 5678
n8n  | Migrations in progress, please do NOT stop the process.
n8n  | Starting migration InitialMigration1588102412422
n8n  | Finished migration InitialMigration1588102412422
n8n  | Starting migration WebhookModel1592445003908
...omitted...
n8n  | Building workflow dependency index...
n8n  | Finished building workflow dependency index. Processed 0 draft workflows, 0 published workflows.
n8n  |
n8n  | Editor is now accessible via:
n8n  | http://localhost:5678

Open n8n
Open this URL in your browser:
```
http://localhost:5678/setup
```
This is the owner-account creation page.

Create an Automation Workflow

Preperation

Create a new owner account
Get a free license key
- The license key will be sent to your email address.

The basic lifecycle

Trigger
    │
    ▼
Read Input
    │
    ▼
Process Data
    │
    ▼
Decision (optional)
    │
    ▼
Call APIs / AI / Database
    │
    ▼
Send Output

Example 1: Hello World

Workflow

Manual Trigger
      │
      ▼
Edit Fields (Set)
      │
      ▼
Code

file

Click the “Execute Workflow” button to execute the workflow.

file

Click the “Edit Fields” node to see the execution result.

file

Example 2 – Calling a REST API

Workflow

When clicking "Execute workflow"
            │
            ▼
      HTTP Request

Add an HTTP Request Node
Click the + button and search for “HTTP Request”. Then click the “HTTP Request” node to add it to the workflow.
Configure the Node
- Set the HTTP Method to “GET”
- Set the URL to “https://api.github.com/users/octocat”
- Click “Execute Node” to test the request.
No authentication is required because GitHub allows this endpoint to be accessed anonymously.
Execute
Click the “Execute Workflow” button to run the workflow. The HTTP Request node will fetch data from the GitHub API and display the response.
View the Result
Click the “HTTP Request” node to see the execution result. You should see a JSON response containing information about the GitHub user “octocat”.

Example JSON Response
```json [ { "login": "octocat", "id": 583231, "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjU4MzIzMQ==", "avatar_url": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/583231?v=4", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "user_view_type": "public", "site_admin": false, "name": "The Octocat", "company": "@github", "blog": "https://github.blog", "location": "San Francisco", "email": null, "hireable": null, "bio": null, "twitter_username": null, "public_repos": 8, "public_gists": 8, "followers": 23295, "following": 9, "created_at": "2011-01-25T18:44:36Z", "updated_at": "2026-06-22T11:32:20Z" } ] ```

Example 3 – GitHub REST API with Authentication

Workflow

GitHub Personal Access Token
        │
        ▼
GitHub REST API
        │
        ▼
Repository JSON
        │
        ▼
Extract only:
- name
- language
- stars

Create a GitHub Personal Access Token
- Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
- Choose “Fine-grained personal access tokens”
- Clidk “Generate new token”
- Repository access “Public repositories (Read-only)”
Create an HTTP Request Node
- HTTP Method : “GET”
- URL : “https://api.github.com/user/repos”
- Authentication : “Generic Credential Type”
- Generic Auth Type : “Bearer Auth”
Execute
In the “HTTP Request” node, click “Execute setup” to test the request. You should see a JSON response containing the repositories of the authenticated user.
Add Edit Fields
Add Edit Fields node after the HTTP Request node.
Extract Only Three Fields– |field name|value| |:-|:-| |repository|| |language|| |stars||
Execute the Workflow
Click the “Execute Workflow” button to run the workflow. The HTTP Request node will fetch data from the GitHub API, and the Edit Fields node will extract only the specified fields.

Conclusion

In this guide, we have successfully installed n8n on a MacBook Pro using Docker Compose and created a few example workflows to demonstrate its capabilities. n8n provides a powerful and flexible platform for automating tasks and integrating various services, making it a valuable tool for developers and businesses alike.

Install n8n to my MacBook Pro

Install n8n to my MacBook Pro

TD;LR

Install Self-hosted n8n on MacBook Pro

Premise

Components to install

Final Diectory Structure

Installation Steps

Create an Automation Workflow

Preperation

The basic lifecycle

Example 1: Hello World

Example 2 – Calling a REST API

Example 3 – GitHub REST API with Authentication

Conclusion