Step-by-Step Guide: n8n Oracle Cloud Setup Always Free (Docker + Caddy TLS)

Why follow this tutorial

This walkthrough shows a complete, tested method to run n8n Oracle Cloud setup Always Free Ampere instance using Docker and Caddy as a reverse proxy with automatic Let’s Encrypt TLS. It covers DNS, Oracle VCN rules, Docker Compose configuration, IPv6 pitfalls and a proven fallback when Caddy can’t resolve container hostnames.

Prerequisites for n8n Oracle Cloud Setup

• Oracle Cloud account (n8n Oracle Cloud Setup) with Always Free resources (Ampere A1 recommended).
• A domain you control (DNS editor access) — e.g. example.com.
• Basic SSH knowledge and a terminal client (Termius, PuTTY, or native SSH).
• You will only need to edit email, domain, username, password in the example files.

Quick overview for n8n Oracle Cloud Setup

1. Create Ampere A1 instance and assign a Public IPv4 (reserved recommended).
2. Configure VCN/Subnet security lists (allow 22, 80, 443).
3. SSH into the instance and install Docker / Docker Compose.
4. Create ~/n8n folder and add docker-compose.yml + Caddyfile.
5. Launch containers, wait for certificates, test.
6. Troubleshoot IPv6 / SSL issues and clear browser cache if needed.
7. Backup workflows and maintain.

Step 1 — Create the Oracle instance + public IP

In Oracle Console → Compute → Instances → Create Instance.

• Choose Ampere A1 Flexible (Always Free eligible).
• Select Ubuntu (22.04 LTS ARM / aarch64) or the image you prefer.
• In Networking, ensure the VNIC is in a subnet with an Internet Gateway.

Make sure a Public IPv4 is assigned:

• In instance page → Attached VNICs → click the VNIC → under IPv4 Addresses, click Assign Public IP.
• Prefer a Reserved Public IP (won’t change on stop/start).

Note the public IP (example: 123.456.789.10) and use it in DNS.

Step 2 — DNS: Create an A record

At your DNS provider (Hostinger):

• Create an A record: n8n → points to your instance public IPv4 (123.456.789.10).
• (Optional) If you have IPv6 and a working route assign AAAA to the server IPv6 — but only do this if your provider routes IPv6 correctly; otherwise leave AAAA blank (we address IPv6 below).

Wait a few minutes and verify:

Host: n8n
Type: A
Value: YOUR_PUBLIC_IPV4
TTL: default

Verify:

dig +short n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN @8.8.8.8

It should return your public IPv4.

Step 3 — VCN / Security Lists (Oracle Console)

Make sure your subnet has these ingress rules (source 0.0.0.0/0):

• TCP 22 — SSH
• TCP 80 — HTTP (required for Let’s Encrypt HTTP-01)
• TCP 443 — HTTPS

Also confirm the subnet route table has a route to the Internet Gateway.

Step 4 — SSH into the instance and prepare the server

SSH (Termius) to your public IP:

ssh ubuntu@123.456.789.10

SSH to your instance and run these commands to update, install Docker & Docker Compose and enable UFW:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose ufw curl jq
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Apply docker group to current shell (no logout required)
newgrp docker
# Firewall
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw --force enable

Step 5 — Create project folder and files

From your home folder ~/ run:

mkdir -p ~/n8n && cd ~/n8n

Caddyfile (reverse proxy + TLS)

Create ~/n8n/Caddyfile — (replace YOUR_DOMAIN and YOUR_EMAIL):

YOUR_DOMAIN = n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN
YOUR_EMAIL = you@your-email.com

# Caddyfile content
n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN {
    reverse_proxy n8n:5678
    tls YOUR_EMAIL
    encode gzip
    # Optional: force IPv4 only if you encounter IPv6/SSL issues
    # bind 0.0.0.0
}

Also Read : https://itgyan.in/how-to-claim-perplexity-pro-ai-for-free-airtel/

docker-compose.yml

Create ~/n8n/docker-compose.yml and replace placeholders: YOUR_DOMAIN, YOUR_EMAIL, YOUR_USERNAME, YOUR_PASSWORD.

version: "3.8"
services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    container_name: n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - N8N_HOST=n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN/
      - VUE_APP_URL_BASE_API=https://n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN/
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=YOUR_USERNAME
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=YOUR_PASSWORD
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata
      - NODE_ENV=production
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    expose:
      - "5678"

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2
    container_name: caddy
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config
    depends_on:
      - n8n

volumes:
  n8n_data:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:

Step 6 — Launch the stack

From ~/n8n: n8n Oracle Cloud Setup

docker-compose up -d

#Check Caddy logs to see certificate issuance
docker-compose logs -f caddy  

Watch the Caddy logs until you see “certificate obtained successfully” for your domain.

Step 7 — If Caddy cannot resolve n8n (fallback)

In some rare cases Caddy inside the container cannot resolve the service name. If your browser shows ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR or blank pages, do this:

Get the n8n (n8n Oracle Cloud Setup) container IP:

docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' n8n
# Example output: 172.18.0.2

Update Caddyfile to use the container IP:

n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN {
    reverse_proxy 172.18.0.2:5678
    tls YOUR_EMAIL
    encode gzip
    bind 0.0.0.0   # optional: force IPv4
}

Restart:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

This was the exact fallback used to solve a DNS-in-container issue during testing.

Troubleshooting (most common issues)

SSL / ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR

• Browser may prefer IPv6. Test IPv6 from the server: curl -6 -vk https://n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN If IPv6 fails with Network is unreachable, force IPv4 in Caddy with bind 0.0.0.0.
• Test IPv4: curl -4 -vk https://n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN

DNS

• Make sure dig A n8n.YOUR_DOMAIN +short returns your public IPv4.
• If DNS changed, wait for propagation (minutes to a few hours).

Ports & firewall

• UFW on VM: sudo ufw status
• Oracle VCN Security List (n8n Oracle Cloud Setup) needs ports 80 & 443 inbound from 0.0.0.0/0.

Browser cache (client-side SSL errors)

• Chrome: chrome://net-internals/#dns → Clear host cache; chrome://net-internals/#sockets → Flush socket pools.
• OS-level DNS flush: Windows ipconfig /flushdns, macOS sudo dscacheutil -flushcache && sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder.

If Caddy refuses to issue certificates

• Check docker-compose logs -f caddy for http-01 or tls errors. Often the cause is blocked port 80 or DNS not pointing correctly.

Backup & maintenance

Export workflows via the n8n UI (n8n Oracle Cloud Setup), or backup the Docker volume:

docker run --rm -v n8n_data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup alpine \
  sh -c "cd /data && tar czf /backup/n8n_data_$(date +%F).tgz ."

For PostgreSQL setups, use pg_dump.

Update containers:

docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d

Uninstall / Clean everything

Run these commands to remove the deployment and data:

cd ~
cd n8n || true

# Stop and remove containers
docker-compose down

# Remove volumes and network
docker volume rm n8n_data caddy_data caddy_config || true
docker network rm n8n_default || true

# Prune unused docker objects
docker system prune -f
docker volume prune -f
docker network prune -f

# Remove files
rm -rf ~/n8n

Frequently Asked Questions