n8n Native macOS Installer

A one-script solution to install n8n natively on macOS for local file automation and workflow tasks.

🎯 Why Native Installation?

Unlike Docker-based installations, this native setup provides:

• ✅ Full file system access - Watch folders, process files anywhere on your Mac
• ✅ Better performance - No containerization overhead
• ✅ Local automation - Perfect for processing photos, documents, downloads
• ✅ macOS integration - Direct access to system events and files
• ✅ Zero configuration - SQLite database, no setup required

🚀 Quick Start

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GroveOS/n8n-mac/refs/heads/root/n8n.sh
chmod +x n8n.sh
./n8n.sh install

That's it! n8n will be running at the URL shown at the end.

That's it! n8n will be running at the URL shown at the end of installation.

📋 What Gets Installed

• Node.js (if not already present) - via Homebrew
• n8n (latest version) - via npm globally
• SQLite database - at ~/.n8n/database.sqlite
• Auto-start service - LaunchAgent for automatic startup
• Logging system - All logs saved to ~/.n8n/logs/

💻 Usage

Install n8n

./n8n.sh install

Uninstall n8n

./n8n.sh uninstall

Get help

./n8n.sh --help

🔧 Management Commands

After installation, you can manage n8n with:

# View logs
tail -f ~/.n8n/logs/n8n.log

# Stop n8n
pkill -f 'n8n start'

# Start n8n manually
~/bin/n8n-start.sh &

# Disable auto-start
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.n8n.native.plist

# Enable auto-start
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.n8n.native.plist

🎮 Perfect For

Local File Automation

• Photo processing - Watch ~/Pictures for new photos
• Document workflow - Process files in ~/Documents
• Download management - Monitor ~/Downloads folder
• Backup automation - File sync and organization
• Data processing - CSV, JSON, log file processing

System Integration

• Shell commands - Full access to command line tools
• AppleScript integration - Trigger macOS automation
• File system events - Real-time folder monitoring
• Local APIs - Connect to local development servers

⚙️ Technical Details

System Requirements

• macOS (any recent version)
• Internet connection (for downloads)
• 1GB+ free disk space

Smart Features

• Port detection - Automatically finds available ports (5678, 5679, etc.)
• Node.js version checking - Ensures compatibility (Node.js 18+)
• Homebrew integration - Installs dependencies automatically
• Data persistence - All workflows saved to local SQLite database
• Auto-restart - LaunchAgent keeps n8n running through reboots/crashes

File Locations

~/.n8n/                     # Main data directory
├── database.sqlite         # All workflows and settings
├── logs/                   # Service and application logs
├── nodes/                  # Custom nodes
├── binaryData/            # File attachments
└── config                 # Configuration files

~/bin/n8n-start.sh         # Startup wrapper script
~/Library/LaunchAgents/    # Auto-start service
  └── com.n8n.native.plist

🛠️ Troubleshooting

n8n Won't Start

# Check logs
tail -f ~/.n8n/logs/n8n.log

# Check service status
launchctl list | grep n8n

# Restart service
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.n8n.native.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.n8n.native.plist

Port Conflicts

The installer automatically detects busy ports and finds alternatives. If you need a specific port:

# Stop n8n
pkill -f 'n8n start'

# Edit the wrapper script
nano ~/bin/n8n-start.sh
# Change N8N_PORT=5678 to your desired port

# Start n8n
~/bin/n8n-start.sh &

Permission Issues

# Fix npm permissions
sudo chown -R $(whoami) $(npm config get prefix)/{lib/node_modules,bin,share}

# Or reinstall with different permissions
sudo npm install -g n8n

🔄 Uninstall

The uninstall process removes:

• ✅ n8n npm package
• ✅ LaunchAgent service
• ✅ Startup wrapper script
• ✅ Legacy configuration

Data preservation: You choose whether to keep your ~/.n8n folder with workflows and settings.

./n8n.sh uninstall

📚 n8n Resources

• Official Documentation: https://docs.n8n.io
• Community Forum: https://community.n8n.io
• Workflow Templates: https://n8n.io/workflows
• Node Documentation: https://docs.n8n.io/nodes/

🤝 Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome! This installer aims to be the easiest way to get n8n running natively on macOS for local automation tasks.

📄 License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify for your needs.

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🎉 Happy Automating! Once installed, visit the URL shown in your terminal to start building powerful local workflows with full macOS file system access.