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Nodes environment variables#

File-based configuration

You can add _FILE to individual variables to provide their configuration in a separate file. Refer to Keeping sensitive data in separate files for more details.

This page lists the environment variables configuration options for managing nodes in n8n, including specifying which nodes to load or exclude, importing built-in or external modules in the Code node, and enabling community nodes.

Variable Type Default Description
NODES_INCLUDE Array of strings - Specify which nodes to load.
NODES_EXCLUDE Array of strings - Specify which nodes not to load. For example, to block nodes that can be a security risk if users aren't trustworthy: NODES_EXCLUDE: "[\"n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand\", \"n8n-nodes-base.readWriteFile\"]"
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN String - Permit users to import specific built-in modules in the Code node. Use * to allow all. n8n disables importing modules by default.
NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL String - Permit users to import specific external modules (from n8n/node_modules) in the Code node. n8n disables importing modules by default.
NODES_ERROR_TRIGGER_TYPE String n8n-nodes-base.errorTrigger Specify which node type to use as Error Trigger.
N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS String - Specify the path to directories containing your custom nodes.
N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED Boolean true Enables (true) or disables (false) the functionality to install and load community nodes. If set to false, neither verified nor unverified community packages will be available, regardless of their individual settings.
N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_REGISTRY String https://registry.npmjs.org NPM registry URL to pull community packages from (license required).
N8N_VERIFIED_PACKAGES_ENABLED Boolean true When N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED is true, this variable controls whether to show verified community nodes in the nodes panel for installation and use (true) or to hide them (false).
N8N_UNVERIFIED_PACKAGES_ENABLED Boolean true When N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED is true, this variable controls whether to enable the installation and use of unverified community nodes from an NPM registry (true) or not (false).
N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_PREVENT_LOADING Boolean false Prevents (true) or allows (false) loading installed community nodes on instance startup. Use this if a faulty node prevents the instance from starting.