# n8n: your first steps

> Your owner login, webhooks on your address, the encryption key and how to update.

Source: https://veldhost.eu/docs/n8n-getting-started

Picked n8n? Your site came with n8n installed on the Node.js runtime — workflow automation you host yourself, with webhooks on your own address and your data in your own EU container.

## What gets installed

- **n8n 2** from the official npm package (pinned; checksums verified by npm), running as a systemd service on **Node.js 24** (which n8n 2 requires) with its own **PostgreSQL** database in your container.
- Your **owner account** (the email address on your veldhost account); webhook and editor addresses set to your site's https address; task runners on; telemetry off; execution history pruned after 14 days.
- Settings live in `.env` in the site's code root (Files tab): the database, the addresses and `N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY`. n8n's data folder (`storage/n8n`) holds binary data and is included in backups.

## First login

1. Your site page shows the sign-in address (`/signin`), your login email and a generated password — we display it for 7 days, so save it now.
2. Sign in, then set your own password under **Settings → Personal**.
3. Build a workflow; a **Webhook** node listens at `https://your-site/webhook/…` straight away — no tunnel needed.
4. Credentials you store are encrypted with the `N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY` in `.env`. Keep it: without it they cannot be decrypted, and a restore on another server needs the same key.

## Updating

- Press **Back up now** on the Files tab first.
- Bump the `n8n` version in `package.json` (Files tab), then run a deploy: it runs `npm install` and restarts; n8n migrates its database on start. Read n8n's release notes for breaking changes before a major.

## Limits

- n8n needs 1 GB of memory (Pro or higher); heavy workflows with large binary files want Business.
- Password-reset mail needs SMTP settings in `.env`; until then, ask support to reset the owner password.
- Outgoing connections from workflows are allowed; inbound is https on your site address only.