Self-Hosted Automation Stack

A production-ready Docker Compose stack running n8n, Baserow, and PostgreSQL behind Caddy with automatic HTTPS. Clone, configure, and deploy a self-hosted automation suite on any VPS in minutes — no manual SSL certificate management, no external dependencies.

Architecture

                 ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
                 │                VPS (Docker host)                  │
                 │                                                  │
  Internet       │  ┌─────────┐        proxy-network               │
 ──:80/:443 ────►│  │  Caddy  │──► n8n (:5678)                     │
                 │  │  (TLS)  │└──► Baserow (:80)                   │
                 │  └─────────┘         │          │                │
                 │                      │          │ backend-network │
                 │                      ▼          ▼                │
                 │                   ┌──────────────────┐           │
                 │                   │    PostgreSQL     │           │
                 │                   └──────────────────┘           │
                 └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Caddy terminates TLS and proxies to n8n and Baserow over proxy-network. Neither Caddy nor the internet can reach PostgreSQL directly — it is only reachable from n8n and Baserow via backend-network.

Services

Service	Image	Purpose	Default URL
n8n	n8nio/n8n:latest	Workflow automation	https://n8n.yourdomain.com
Baserow	baserow/baserow:latest	No-code database / spreadsheet UI	https://baserow.yourdomain.com
PostgreSQL	postgres:15-alpine	Shared database backend	Internal only
Caddy	caddy:2-alpine	Reverse proxy + automatic TLS	Handles 80/443

Prerequisites

• A VPS running Ubuntu 20.04 or later
• Docker and Docker Compose v2 installed
• A domain name with DNS A records pointing to your server's public IP
• Ports 80 and 443 open in your firewall

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/whybothercoding/self-hosted-automation-stack.git
cd self-hosted-automation-stack
bash scripts/setup.sh

The setup script prompts for your domain, email, and passwords, writes .env, pulls images, and starts the stack. Caddy automatically issues Let's Encrypt certificates for both subdomains.

Usage

First Run

Once the stack is up, open your browser:

• n8n: https://n8n.yourdomain.com — create your admin account, then start building workflows
• Baserow: https://baserow.yourdomain.com — create your admin account, then create databases and tables

SSL certificates are issued within 1–2 minutes of first start. If your browser shows a certificate warning, wait a moment and refresh.

Daily Management

make up         # Start the stack
make down       # Stop and remove containers
make restart    # Restart all services
make logs       # Follow logs for all services
make dev        # Start in dev mode (direct ports, no Caddy)

Or with Docker Compose directly:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs n8n --follow
docker compose restart n8n

Backup

make backup
# or: bash scripts/backup.sh

Stops the stack, snapshots all volumes to ./backups/, and restarts. See Backup & Restore for restore instructions and cron automation.

Update

make update
# or: bash scripts/update.sh

Pulls latest images and redeploys. Always run a backup first.

Development Mode

Run locally without Caddy — services are exposed on direct ports:

make dev
# or: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up

• n8n: http://localhost:5678
• Baserow: http://localhost:8080

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Example
DOMAIN	Root domain	example.com
N8N_SUBDOMAIN	Subdomain for n8n	n8n
BASEROW_SUBDOMAIN	Subdomain for Baserow	baserow
POSTGRES_USER	PostgreSQL superuser name	automation
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	PostgreSQL password	(strong random string)
POSTGRES_DB	Default DB created at init	automation
N8N_DB_NAME	Database name for n8n	n8n
BASEROW_DB_NAME	Database name for Baserow	baserow
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY	Encrypts n8n credentials — never change after set	(openssl rand -hex 32)
BASEROW_SECRET_KEY	Django secret key for Baserow	(openssl rand -hex 32)
GENERIC_TIMEZONE	Timezone for n8n scheduling	Europe/Athens
LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL	Email for Let's Encrypt registration	you@example.com
N8N_EMAIL_MODE	Email sending mode: smtp or empty	smtp
N8N_SMTP_HOST	SMTP server hostname	smtp.example.com
N8N_SMTP_PORT	SMTP port	587
N8N_SMTP_USER	SMTP username	user@example.com
N8N_SMTP_PASS	SMTP password	(your smtp password)
WEBHOOK_URL	Public URL for n8n webhooks	https://n8n.example.com

All variables are documented with comments in .env.example.

Scripts

Script	Description
scripts/setup.sh	Interactive first-run: writes .env, pulls images, starts stack
scripts/backup.sh	Stops stack, snapshots all volumes to backups/, restarts stack
scripts/update.sh	Pulls latest images, redeploys with --remove-orphans, prunes old

Documentation

• Initial Setup Guide — Full walkthrough from fresh VPS to running stack
• SSL Configuration — How TLS works and troubleshooting
• Backup & Restore — Backup volumes and restore procedures
• Updating Services — Safely updating n8n, Baserow, and Postgres
• Troubleshooting — Common issues and solutions

License

MIT — see LICENSE