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How to Backup n8n Workflows: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, automation is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Businesses and individuals alike rely on automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce the chance of human error. One powerful player in this field is n8n, a flexible low-code workflow automation tool. With n8n, you can easily connect apps, APIs, and services to build complex automation workflows with minimal coding experience.

However, as with any critical business tool, your n8n workflows are valuable assets that require protection. Imagine investing hours designing a workflow only to lose it due to a system crash, accidental deletion, or migration hiccup. The consequences can range from lost productivity to lost revenue.

This makes backing up your workflows an essential part of your automation strategy. Backups help you recover from mishaps, facilitate smooth migrations, enable version control, and support team collaboration.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore:

  • Why backing up your workflows matters
  • How n8n stores workflow data
  • Multiple methods to back up your workflows — from manual exports to automated backups
  • Best practices to keep backups effective and reliable
  • How to restore your workflows safely and efficiently

Let’s dive in!

Why Backing Up n8n Workflows Is Crucial

Before we get technical, let’s understand why backing up your workflows should be a priority.

Protect Against Accidental Deletion or Corruption

No matter how careful you are, mistakes happen. A misclick can delete an important workflow, or a system update might corrupt files or data. Without backups, you risk losing days or even weeks of work that went into building and fine-tuning your automations.

Having regular backups means you can recover quickly, minimizing downtime and maintaining business continuity.

Ensure Smooth Migration Across Environments

In many organizations, development, staging, and production environments are kept separate. Migrating workflows between these can be challenging if you don’t have reliable backups.

Backups simplify migrations by letting you export workflows from one environment and import them into another without rebuilding from scratch. This is especially helpful when scaling up infrastructure, upgrading servers, or moving to a cloud platform.

Facilitate Version Tracking and Rollback

Automation workflows evolve over time. You may tweak logic, add new nodes, or integrate additional services. Sometimes these changes introduce bugs or unintended behavior.

With a robust backup strategy, you can maintain multiple versions of workflows and rollback to previous stable versions when needed. This ensures your automations stay reliable.

Enable Collaboration and Sharing

When working in teams, sharing workflows is key to collaboration. Exporting and backing up workflows as files allows team members to review, improve, and combine their work efficiently. It also supports auditing and knowledge sharing.

Understanding n8n Workflow Storage

To back up workflows effectively, it’s important to know how and where n8n stores its data.

How n8n Stores Workflows

At its core, n8n uses a database to save workflow configurations and other data.

  • SQLite: The default, lightweight database used for local installations and small-scale setups. It stores data in a single file on disk, making it simple to back up.
  • PostgreSQL: Preferred for larger or production-grade deployments. It stores data in tables, offering better performance and scalability.

The choice depends on your setup and requirements, but understanding this helps tailor your backup strategy.

Workflow Data Schema Overview

Workflows in n8n are saved as JSON objects inside the database. Each workflow record includes:

  • Workflow ID and name
  • Detailed nodes and their connections
  • Execution settings and triggers
  • Credentials (stored separately, encrypted)
  • Metadata such as created/updated timestamps and owner information

This JSON structure fully describes the automation logic and settings.

Where to Find Workflow Data

  • For SQLite, workflows reside in the SQLite database file (often named database.sqlite or ~/.n8n/database.sqlite).
  • For PostgreSQL, workflows are stored in the workflow_entity table within your configured database.

Knowing this is critical when performing direct database backups or migrations.

Methods to Backup n8n Workflows

Let’s look at practical methods for backing up your workflows, with pros, cons, and step-by-step instructions.

A. Manual Export via UI

The most straightforward method, suitable for small numbers of workflows or ad hoc backups.

How to Export a Workflow via UI:

  1. Open your n8n web interface and log in.
  2. Navigate to the Workflows section.
  3. Select the workflow you want to back up.
  4. Click on the three-dot menu (or options) next to the workflow name.
  5. Choose Export > Download.
  6. Save the workflow as a JSON file to your desired folder.

Pros:

  • Extremely simple — no technical expertise needed.
  • Good for quick backups or sharing individual workflows.

Cons:

  • Not scalable for many workflows.
  • Manual process — prone to forgetfulness or inconsistency.
  • No built-in version control.

This method is perfect if you have just a few workflows or want to share a workflow snapshot with a teammate.

B. CLI-Based Export (Using API or n8n Commands)

For larger setups, automation, or bulk backups, leveraging the REST API or command line tools is more efficient.

Exporting Workflows via n8n REST API

n8n provides a REST API endpoint to fetch workflow JSON data:

  • GET /workflows/:id returns the JSON definition of a specific workflow.

Authentication Setup

  • The API is usually protected by an API key or OAuth token.
  • Ensure you have the proper credentials configured.

Example: Bulk Export Script Using curl and jq

Bash
#!/bin/bash

API_URL="http://localhost:5678/rest"
API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

# Get all workflow IDs
workflow_ids=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" "$API_URL/workflows" | jq -r '.data[].id')

# Export each workflow JSON
for id in $workflow_ids; do
    curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" "$API_URL/workflows/$id" -o "backup/workflow_${id}.json"
done

echo "All workflows exported successfully."

This script:

  • Queries all workflow IDs.
  • Downloads each workflow as a JSON file.
  • Saves files with unique names in a backup folder.

You can schedule this script using cron jobs or Windows Task Scheduler for automated backups.

Pros:

  • Can export all workflows quickly.
  • Supports automation and integration into CI/CD pipelines.
  • Useful for version control workflows.

Cons:

  • Requires API and scripting knowledge.
  • You need to safeguard your API key.
  • May require additional error handling in production scripts.

C. Database Backup

Backing up the entire database is a comprehensive method that captures everything, including workflows, credentials, and execution data.

SQLite Backup

  • Locate the .sqlite database file used by n8n.
  • Simply copy the file to a backup location.
Bash
cp ~/.n8n/database.sqlite ~/backups/n8n_database_$(date +%F).sqlite

Pros:

  • Simple file copy.
  • Includes all data (workflows, credentials, executions).

Cons:

  • Not granular; you cannot restore individual workflows easily.
  • Risk of data corruption if copied while n8n is running.

Tip: Stop the n8n service or ensure no writes during backup for best results.

PostgreSQL Backup

For PostgreSQL, use pg_dump to export the database:

Bash
pg_dump -U n8nuser -h localhost n8ndb > ~/backups/n8n_backup_$(date +%F).sql

Pros:

  • Full backup of all n8n data.
  • Easy to schedule with cron or backup software.
  • Ideal for disaster recovery.

Cons:

  • Requires database access and knowledge.
  • Larger file size.
  • Restoring partial workflows can be complicated.

Automating Workflow Backups

Manual backups are good, but automation takes your backup strategy to the next level—reducing risk and saving time.

A. Scheduled Exports with the n8n API

One powerful technique is to use n8n itself to back up workflows regularly.

How to build a scheduled backup workflow:

  1. Use a Cron Trigger node to schedule periodic runs (daily, weekly).
  2. Use an HTTP Request node to call the /workflows API endpoint.
  3. Iterate over workflows, exporting JSON data.
  4. Save exported JSON to cloud storage—Dropbox, AWS S3, Google Drive—using respective integration nodes.
  5. Include timestamps in filenames for versioning.

This “backup workflow” runs automatically, ensuring your workflow exports are always up to date and safely stored offsite.

Benefits:

  • Fully automated—no manual effort needed.
  • Cloud storage protects against local hardware failure.
  • Easy to extend (add email notifications, error handling).

B. Git Integration (Optional)

For teams who want version control and collaboration, integrating workflow backups with Git is a game-changer.

Workflow:

  • Export workflows as JSON files.
  • Commit and push to a Git repository.
  • Use Git history to track changes, review pull requests, and rollback.

You can build a custom n8n workflow or script to export workflows and sync with Git, giving you full control over your automation evolution.

Advantages:

  • Comprehensive version control.
  • Facilitates collaboration and code reviews.
  • Easy rollback to any previous version.

Best Practices for Workflow Backups

Creating backups is only half the battle. To make them effective, follow these best practices:

1. Use Consistent Naming and Folder Structures

Organize backups logically with:

  • Clear workflow names
  • Date or version in filenames
  • Separate folders for daily, weekly, or monthly backups

This makes it easy to find and restore the right backup.

2. Automate and Schedule Backups

Manual backups are prone to human error. Set up automated schedules and notifications to ensure backups happen regularly.

3. Store Backups in Multiple Locations

Don’t rely on a single storage medium. Use a combination of:

  • Local disk or NAS
  • Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, AWS S3)
  • Version control repositories

This protects against hardware failures, theft, or disasters.

4. Test Your Restore Process Regularly

A backup is useless unless it can be restored. Schedule regular drills to:

  • Import exported workflows
  • Restore databases in test environments
  • Verify workflows run correctly after restoration

5. Track Versions and Changes Over Time

Keep detailed change logs or use Git to track changes in workflows. This helps troubleshoot issues and understand workflow history.

How to Restore Workflows

Backing up is important, but knowing how to restore is critical.

Manual Import via UI

  1. Open n8n and go to Workflows.
  2. Click Import.
  3. Select your exported JSON file.
  4. Confirm import.

The workflow appears as a new entity in your environment.

API-Based Import

Use the API endpoint:

  • POST /workflows with the workflow JSON in the request body.

This is useful for automated restores or bulk imports.

Import from Database Backup (With Caution)

If restoring from full DB backups:

  • Usually done in dev or staging to avoid overwriting live data.
  • Restore the database dump using psql or by replacing the SQLite file.
  • Ensure n8n is stopped during restore.

Tips to Avoid Overwriting Live Workflows

  • Always import workflows into a separate environment first.
  • Use new IDs or version suffixes.
  • Backup current workflows before restoring old versions.
  • Test restored workflows thoroughly before going live.

Conclusion

Backing up your n8n workflows is a critical safeguard that protects your automation investment. Whether you choose manual exports, API-driven scripting, or full database backups, the key is consistency and automation.

Automated scheduled backups stored in multiple locations, coupled with version control via Git, offer the most resilient setup. Regularly testing your restore procedures completes the safety loop.

By following this step-by-step guide and best practices, you’ll ensure your workflows remain safe, recoverable, and ready to keep your business running smoothly—even when unexpected issues arise.