n8n + Express + PostgreSQL: Workflow Automation Starter Kit

🔧 Project Overview

This repository offers a pre-configured Docker Compose setup integrating:

• n8n – A powerful, open-source workflow automation tool that lets you connect APIs, databases, and services using a visual interface.
• Express.js – A lightweight Node.js server framework ideal for building RESTful APIs.
• PostgreSQL – A robust relational database used by both n8n and Express for storing structured data.

This boilerplate is ideal for building API-first applications, rapidly prototyping integrations, or automating business processes — all in a fully containerized development environment.

🧱 Architecture

The stack includes:

• n8n (Port 5678)

  • Visual workflow builder.
  • Connected to its own Postgres DB (n8ndb) to store workflows, credentials, and execution history.
  • Supports over 300+ native integrations (e.g., Slack, Gmail, Airtable, Notion, GitHub).

• Express API (Port 3000)

  • A REST API scaffold that connects to a dedicated Postgres DB (expressdb).
  • Acts as an integration point for n8n or external clients.
  • Easily extensible with new endpoints or business logic.

• PostgreSQL

  • Two separate logical databases for isolation:

    • n8ndb: Used exclusively by n8n.
    • expressdb: Used by the Express server.

📁 Project Structure

n8n-express/
├── docker/
│   └── postgres/
│       └── init.sql
├── docker-compose.yml
├── express/
│   ├── db.js
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   ├── index.js
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── itemModel.js
│   ├── package.json
│   ├── README.md
│   └── routes/
│       └── items.js
├── LICENSE
├── notes.md
├── README.md

🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the repository and configure .env

   POSTGRES_USER=youruser
   POSTGRES_PASSWORD=yourpassword
   POSTGRES_DATABASE_N8N=n8ndb
   POSTGRES_DATABASE_EXPRESS=expressdb

2. Start the services

   docker-compose up --build

3. Open in browser

   • n8n UI: http://localhost:5678
   • Express API: http://localhost:3000

🔄 What You Can Do with This Template

✅ Automate Any Workflow Visually (with n8n)

n8n allows you to drag and drop pre-built nodes to:

• Fetch data from external APIs (e.g., GitHub, Twitter, REST APIs).
• Trigger workflows from schedules, webhooks, or database events.
• Create multi-step workflows using conditional logic, loops, or data transformations.
• Notify users via Slack, Telegram, Discord, or email.
• Write results back to Postgres or trigger your custom Express API endpoints.

🧩 Integrate Custom APIs (with Express)

• Define routes for internal tools, dashboards, or third-party apps.
• Use Express endpoints as part of your n8n workflows for custom logic or secured operations.

📊 Store and Process Structured Data (with Postgres)

• Use Express or n8n to read/write to PostgreSQL.
• Schedule nightly jobs to sync or clean up data.
• Use n8n’s Postgres node to query and process records dynamically.

📌 Example Scenarios

• Marketing Automation: Fetch leads from Typeform, enrich via Clearbit, store in Postgres, and notify via Slack.
• ETL Pipelines: Pull data from external APIs and push to Express for processing and persistence.
• Internal Tooling: Build Express endpoints to trigger n8n workflows manually or based on events.
• Ops Monitoring: Use n8n to watch database changes and send alerts or create tickets automatically.

🧱 Why Use This Template?

• 🔄 Zero-config orchestration: Everything runs locally with Docker Compose.
• 🧠 Low-code automation: Non-developers can build and manage workflows using n8n’s UI.
• 🚀 Extendable stack: Easily build and scale the Express API or add new integrations to n8n.
• 📦 Modular design: Separate databases for n8n and your app prevent data conflicts.

🔗 Useful Resources

📘 n8n

• 🌐 Official Website
• 📖 Documentation
• 🧩 Integrations List
• 🧠 Workflow Gallery (Official)
• 💬 Community Forum
• 🐙 GitHub Repository
• 🔧 Self-Hosting Guide
• 🔐 Security Best Practices

📦 Unofficial Workflow Libraries

• ⭐ Zie619/n8n-workflows – Collection of real-world n8n workflows
• 🌟 enescingoz/awesome-n8n-templates – Curated list of n8n templates and resources

🌐 Other Documentation

• Express Documentation
• PostgreSQL Documentation
• Docker Documentation

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author: Siva Sai Krishna