Setting Up Google Cloud

To get started with Google Cloud, follow these steps to take advantage of their free tier offerings:

Step 1: Check Google Cloud Free Tier Features

Google Cloud offers an E2 micro instance as part of its free tier, which provides:

30 GB of standard persistent disk storage
1 GB of outbound data transfer
No charge for external IP addresses

This setup is typically sufficient for hosting n8n for an extended period.

Step 2: Create a Google Cloud Project

Go to Google Cloud Console.
Click on "Create New Project" to establish a new project.

Step 3: Set Up Compute Engine

Search for "Compute Engine" in the console.
Click on "Create Instance."
Select the Region (US West 1 recommended).
Choose E2 Micro under machine type, as it qualifies for the free tier.
Adjust the boot disk type to Standard Persistent Disk and set size to 30 GB. Then click on select.
Under Networking, check all boxes and finally click on Create to start your instance.

Step 4: Configure Your Domain

After your instance is created:

Copy the external IP address.
Go to your domain provider (like Cloudflare) and create an A record pointing to this IP address.

Step 5: Connect to Your VM via SSH

Click on SSH to log into your newly created VM.
copy below code

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# n8n “One-Shot” Installer for Google Cloud free-tier VMs

# v2.2.1 – 2025-05-09 (SSE/WebSocket keep-alive + wait-until-ready)

#

# Usage (inside the VM)

# curl -sSL <RAW_URL_OF_THIS_FILE> | sudo bash -s "your-domain.com" "admin@domain.com"

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

set -euo pipefail

DOMAIN=${1:? "First arg must be the domain (FQDN)"}

EMAIL=${2:? "Second arg must be a valid email address"}

echo -e "\n📦 Installing Docker, Nginx & Certbot …"

apt-get update -y

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \

apt-get install -y docker.io nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

echo -e "\n🚀 Enabling Docker service …"

systemctl enable --now docker

echo -e "\n🗄️ Preparing persistent volume …"

mkdir -p /var/n8n

chown 1000:1000 /var/n8n # UID 1000 = node user in the image

echo -e "\n🐳 Launching n8n container …"

docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --name n8n -p 5678:5678 \

-e N8N_HOST="$DOMAIN" \

-e WEBHOOK_URL="https://$DOMAIN/" \

-e WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL="https://$DOMAIN/" \

-v /var/n8n:/home/node/.n8n \

n8nio/n8n:latest

echo -e "\n🌐 Writing Nginx site …"

cat >/etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n <<EOF

server {

listen 80;

server_name $DOMAIN;

# keep browser ↔ nginx socket alive > Chrome’s 60 s default

keepalive_timeout 70s;

location / {

proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5678;

# WebSocket / SSE essentials

proxy_http_version 1.1;

proxy_set_header Upgrade \$http_upgrade;

proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

proxy_set_header Host \$host;

# instant flush, no buffering

proxy_buffering off;

proxy_cache off;

# accept very long-running streams (24 h)

proxy_read_timeout 86400s;

proxy_send_timeout 86400s;

# avoid 100-continue glass wall

proxy_set_header Expect "";

}

}

EOF

ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/n8n

# 🔥 remove the distro’s default site to avoid 502 clashes

rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default 2>/dev/null || true

nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

echo -e "\n🔒 Obtaining Let’s Encrypt certificate …"

certbot --non-interactive --agree-tos --nginx --redirect \

-m "$EMAIL" -d "$DOMAIN"

# Make sure any rewritten proxy_pass keeps the correct port

sed -i 's|proxy_pass http://localhost/|proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5678/|g' \

/etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n

# Keep ONLY our v-host enabled

for f in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*; do

[ "\$(basename "\$f")" = "n8n" ] || rm -f "\$f"

done

nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

echo -n "⏳ Waiting for n8n to finish first-run migrations"

until curl -fs http://127.0.0.1:5678 >/dev/null 2>&1; do

echo -n "."

sleep 3

done

echo -e " done!\n"

echo -e "✅ All set! Open → https://$DOMAIN (first load ≈ 60 s)\n"

Step 6: Execute the Setup Script

Create .sh file on VM : vi install_one_shot.sh
Enter insert mode: Press i to start typing or pasting content.
Paste the copied script in this file
Exit insert mode: Press Esc key.
Save and exit:Type :wq! and press Enter.
Run the following commands to grant execute permissions:

chmod +x install_one_shot.sh

Execute the script to deploy n8n:

sudo ./install_one_shot.sh "Replace your n8n domain" "Replace your Email ID" install_one_shot.sh

Step 7: Access Your n8n Instance

Open your browser and enter your domain (the one set up with the A record).
You should see the n8n interface ready for sign-up.
Complete the registration and customize your experience.

Maximize Your n8n Experience

Now that you have n8n successfully hosted:

Explore available features and integrations.
Try out various workflows to automate your tasks.
Consider exploring the n8n community and documentation for advanced tips and tricks.