Hi everyone, 👋
I’ve decided to dedicate the next couple of months to writing and demonstrating a complete series about automation; how it affects our day-to-day life, simplifies workflows, and keeps everything organized without unnecessary mess or fuss.
It took me a bit of time to think this through and finalize the idea, but now I’m confident about sharing real-life scenarios where we can adopt AI with automation to perform meaningful tasks efficiently.
So, what are we waiting for? Let’s start by laying the groundwork first.
What is n8n?
Automation is evolving at the speed of light (figure of speech 😅), and if we don’t grow or adapt to this pace, I am afraid we’ll soon find ourselves as backbenchers.
Day by day, automation is shifting from a luxury to a necessity especially for developers and businesses managing repetitive tasks.
That’s where an automation tool like n8n comes in.
As soon as we hear the word n8n, a question pops up; what is it? Right!.
Well, no need to overthink. It’s just a tool but one of the most flexible and powerful ones out there. It helps us streamline and contextualize repetitive tasks visually, without getting lost in lines of complex code. (I’m saying this on behalf of non-devs, so devs! please don’t take offense 😅.)
Haha, no worries — I didn’t mean to scare you.
It’s just a matter of time and a bit of practice before you’ll be using n8n like a pro.
Just be patient and stay consistent (trust me, that’s the real key to everything).
Let’s begin with “first things first.”
Before moving ahead, we must understand the basics: setup, workflows, and a few terminologies (don’t worry, nothing scary here — I’m just trying to sound cool 😎).
How to Set Up n8n Locally on Windows and macOS (Step-by-Step Guide)
Before installing make sure you have following installed in your machine
| Requirement | Recommended Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | 18.x or later | Runs n8n on your system |
| npm | Installed with Node.js | Manages dependencies |
| Docker (Its up to your practice) | Latest | Simplifies setup and isolation |
You can check by running the following in your terminal:
node -v
npm -v
If not installed, download Node.js from https://nodejs.org
Now, its time to setup n8n locally, yay!
For Windows
Step 1: Open PowerShell or Command Prompt
(You can use either, but I prefer PowerShell (Admin).)
Step 2: Install n8n globally via npm:
npm install n8n -g
This command installs n8n system-wide.
Step 3: Start n8n:
n8n
This will start a local web server. You’ll see something like:
Editor is now accessible via: http://localhost:5678/
Step 4: Open the n8n dashboard
Visit http://localhost:5678 in your browser.
You’ll now see the n8n workflow editor UI.
🎉 Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed n8n on Windows.
For macOS
Step 1: Open Terminal
Step 2: Install n8n globally via npm:
npm install n8n -g
Step 3: Start n8n:
n8n
Visit http://localhost:5678 in your browser.
You’ll now see the n8n workflow editor.
Or
Run n8n via Docker (Optional but Cool 😎)
If you prefer working in isolated environments (and want that developer-in-a-movie vibe 😄):
Step 1: Install Docker Desktop
Step 2: Open Terminal or PowerShell and run:
docker run -it --rm \
-p 5678:5678 \
-v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \
n8nio/n8n
Step 3: Once running, open your browser at http://localhost:5678
That’s it! n8n will be running inside Docker — neat, isolated, and developer-approved.
Wrapping Up
That’s all for this setup article.
You’re now ready to move on to the fun part building automation workflows.
From here onward, we’ll be referring back to this guide whenever we start a new automation tutorial, so you don’t have to repeat the setup every time.
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