1N8N USER HIERARCHY
2──────────────────
3 
4OWNER
5├── First user to sign up
6├── Full admin access
7├── Can invite users
8├── Manage all settings
9└── Cannot be removed
10 
11ADMIN (If configured)
12├── Manage users
13├── Access all workflows
14└── Manage credentials
15 
16MEMBER
17├── Create own workflows
18├── Use shared credentials
19└── Limited settings access
20 
21VIEWER (Enterprise)
22├── View workflows only
23├── Cannot edit
24└── Execution view only

1# Enable user management
2N8N_USER_MANAGEMENT_DISABLED=false
3 
4# SMTP for email invitations (required)
5N8N_EMAIL_MODE=smtp
6N8N_SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
7N8N_SMTP_PORT=587
8N8N_SMTP_USER=your@gmail.com
9N8N_SMTP_PASS=app_password  # Use app password, not regular
10N8N_SMTP_SENDER=noreply@yourdomain.com
11N8N_SMTP_SSL=true
12 
13# Optional: Custom domain for links
14N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL=https://n8n.yourdomain.com

11. Access n8n URL
22. You'll see "Set up your account"
33. Enter:
4   - First name
5   - Last name
6   - Email
7   - Password (strong!)
84. This user becomes OWNER

11. Click on user menu (top right)
22. Settings → Users
33. Click "Invite"
44. Enter email address
55. (Optional) Set temporary role
66. Click "Send Invitation"

1User receives email with:
2├── Link to set password
3├── 7-day expiration
4└── Instructions to complete setup

1#!/bin/bash
2# bulk-invite.sh
3 
4EMAILS=(
5    "user1@company.com"
6    "user2@company.com"
7    "user3@company.com"
8)
9 
10for email in "${EMAILS[@]}"; do
11    curl -X POST "https://n8n.yourdomain.com/rest/invitations" \
12        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
13        -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
14        -d "{\"email\": \"$email\"}"
15    
16    echo "Invited: $email"
17done

1# n8n User Onboarding
2 
3## Account Setup
4- [ ] Accept invitation email
5- [ ] Set strong password
6- [ ] Complete profile
7 
8## Getting Started
9- [ ] Review n8n basics documentation
10- [ ] Watch intro video (link)
11- [ ] Join team Slack channel
12 
13## Access Setup
14- [ ] Request necessary credentials
15- [ ] Join relevant workflow folders
16- [ ] Set notification preferences
17 
18## First Workflow
19- [ ] Clone starter template
20- [ ] Build first simple workflow
21- [ ] Get review from team lead
22 
23## Best Practices
24- [ ] Read naming conventions
25- [ ] Review error handling guidelines
26- [ ] Understand backup procedures

1# Welcome to Our n8n Instance! 👋
2 
3## Quick Links
4- n8n URL: https://n8n.yourdomain.com
5- Documentation: [Internal Wiki Link]
6- Support: #n8n-help on Slack
7 
8## Getting Started
91. Set up your account using the invitation link
102. Watch this 10-min intro: [Video Link]
113. Try the "Hello World" workflow template
12 
13## Need Help?
14- Check our internal FAQ first
15- Post in #n8n-help channel
16- Tag @n8n-admins for urgent issues
17 
18## Rules
19- Always test in staging first
20- Don't modify shared credentials
21- Document your workflows
22- Follow naming conventions
23 
24Happy automating! 🚀

1Settings → Users
2 
3Shows:
4├── User name
5├── Email
6├── Status (Active/Invited/Disabled)
7├── Role
8└── Last active

11. Settings → Users
22. Click on user
33. Click "Disable"
44. Confirm
5 
6User cannot:
7├── Log in
8├── Execute workflows
9└── Access API
10 
11Workflows remain (can transfer)

11. Settings → Users
22. Click on user
33. Click "Delete"
44. Choose what to do with workflows:
5   - Transfer to another user
6   - Delete all workflows
75. Confirm
8 
9⚠️ This action is irreversible!

1When user leaves:
21. Go to their workflows
32. For each workflow:
4   - Open workflow
5   - Settings → Transfer ownership
6   - Select new owner
73. Transfer credentials if needed
84. Then disable/delete user

1FOLDER STRUCTURE
2────────────────
3 
4📁 Marketing
5├── 📁 Email Campaigns
6│   ├── Welcome Sequence
7│   └── Newsletter Automation
8└── 📁 Social Media
9    ├── Post Scheduler
10    └── Analytics Collector
11 
12📁 Sales
13├── 📁 Lead Processing
14│   ├── New Lead Handler
15│   └── Lead Scoring
16└── 📁 CRM Sync
17    └── Salesforce Sync
18 
19📁 Operations
20├── 📁 Reporting
21│   ├── Daily Summary
22│   └── Weekly Metrics
23└── 📁 Integrations
24    └── Inventory Sync

1WORKFLOW NAMING
2───────────────
3 
4Pattern: [Team]-[Category]-[Name]
5 
6Examples:
7• Marketing-Email-WelcomeSequence
8• Sales-CRM-SalesforceLead Sync
9• Ops-Report-DailyMetrics
10• DevOps-Monitor-UptimeCheck
11 
12CREDENTIAL NAMING
13─────────────────
14 
15Pattern: [Service]-[Environment]-[Team]
16 
17Examples:
18• Slack-Prod-Marketing
19• Salesforce-Prod-Sales
20• PostgreSQL-Prod-ReadOnly

1All users in one workspace:
2├── ✅ Simple setup
3├── ✅ Easy collaboration
4├── ⚠️ Everyone sees everything
5└── Best for: Small teams (< 10)

1Organized by team:
2├── Marketing team → Marketing folder
3├── Sales team → Sales folder
4├── Share cross-team as needed
5└── Best for: Medium teams (10-50)

1Different n8n per team:
2├── marketing.n8n.company.com
3├── sales.n8n.company.com
4├── ops.n8n.company.com
5├── ✅ Full isolation
6├── ⚠️ More maintenance
7└── Best for: Large orgs with compliance needs

11. Settings → API
22. Generate API key
33. Note: API keys are personal
44. Each user generates their own

1# Store securely
2export N8N_API_KEY="your_key_here"
3 
4# Use in scripts
5curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
6  https://n8n.yourdomain.com/api/v1/workflows

1API keys inherit user permissions:
2├── Owner API key → Full access
3├── Member API key → Own workflows only
4└── Cannot elevate permissions via API

1# Enable 2FA on Gmail first
2# Create App Password:
3# 1. Google Account → Security
4# 2. App passwords
5# 3. Generate for "Mail"
6 
7N8N_SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
8N8N_SMTP_PORT=587
9N8N_SMTP_USER=your@gmail.com
10N8N_SMTP_PASS=generated_app_password
11N8N_SMTP_SENDER=your@gmail.com
12N8N_SMTP_SSL=true

1N8N_SMTP_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
2N8N_SMTP_PORT=587
3N8N_SMTP_USER=apikey
4N8N_SMTP_PASS=your_sendgrid_api_key
5N8N_SMTP_SENDER=noreply@yourdomain.com
6N8N_SMTP_SSL=true

1N8N_SMTP_HOST=mail.yourdomain.com
2N8N_SMTP_PORT=587
3N8N_SMTP_USER=n8n@yourdomain.com
4N8N_SMTP_PASS=your_password
5N8N_SMTP_SENDER=n8n@yourdomain.com
6N8N_SMTP_SSL=true

11. Check spam folder
22. Verify SMTP settings
33. Test SMTP connection:
4   
5   docker exec n8n sh -c "
6     echo 'Test' | mail -s 'Test' user@email.com
7   "
8   
94. Check n8n logs:
10   docker logs n8n | grep -i smtp

1Possible causes:
21. Account disabled → Re-enable
32. Password forgotten → Reset via email
43. Email not verified → Resend verification
54. Browser cache → Clear cache

1"Cannot access workflow"
21. Check workflow ownership
32. Verify sharing settings
43. Confirm credential access
5 
6"Cannot use credential"
71. Check credential sharing
82. Verify credential not deleted
93. Re-share if needed

1-- Check user activity
2SELECT 
3    u.email,
4    COUNT(e.id) as executions,
5    MAX(e."startedAt") as last_active
6FROM "user" u
7LEFT JOIN execution_entity e ON e."userId" = u.id
8WHERE e."startedAt" > NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days'
9GROUP BY u.id
10ORDER BY executions DESC;

1#!/bin/bash
2# user-activity.sh
3 
4echo "=== User Activity Report ==="
5echo "Date: $(date)"
6echo ""
7 
8docker exec n8n-postgres psql -U n8n -d n8n -c "
9SELECT 
10    email,
11    \"firstName\",
12    \"lastName\",
13    \"createdAt\"::date as joined,
14    CASE WHEN disabled THEN 'Disabled' ELSE 'Active' END as status
15FROM \"user\"
16ORDER BY \"createdAt\" DESC;
17"