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🚀 Railway Deployment Guide (Website + n8n)

Deploy your File Upload Website + n8n completely on Railway!

📋 Prerequisites

  1. GitHub Account - For code repository
  2. Railway Account - Sign up free
  3. Your Project Code - Already created

🎯 Overview

You'll deploy 2 services on Railway:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Railway Project                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Service 1: File Upload Website              │
│  ├─ URL: your-app.railway.app               │
│  └─ Port: 3000                              │
│                                              │
│  Service 2: n8n (Self-Hosted)                │
│  ├─ URL: your-n8n.railway.app               │
│  └─ Port: 5678                              │
│                                              │
│  ✓ Connected via internal Railway network   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

✅ Part 1: Prepare GitHub Repository

Step 1: Initialize Git (if not done)

Go to your project folder:

cd "d:\Gitam Leaker\N8N Workflows\File Upload Project"

Initialize git:

git init
git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "your-email@gmail.com"

Step 2: Add & Commit Files

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit: File upload system"

Step 3: Create GitHub Repository

  1. Go to github.com/new
  2. Repository name: file-upload-system
  3. Click Create Repository
  4. Follow the instructions to push:
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/file-upload-system.git
git push -u origin main

Now your code is on GitHub! ✓

🌐 Part 2: Deploy Website to Railway

Step 1: Create Railway Project

  1. Go to railway.app
  2. Login with GitHub
  3. Click "New Project"
  4. Select "Deploy from GitHub Repo"

Step 2: Select Repository

  1. Click "Configure GitHub App"
  2. Authorize Railway
  3. Select your file-upload-system repo
  4. Click "Deploy"

Railway will auto-detect Node.js and install dependencies!

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

  1. Go to "Variables" tab
  2. Add these variables:
PORT=3000
N8N_WEBHOOK_URL=https://YOUR_N8N_URL/webhook/file-upload
NODE_ENV=production

Don't know N8N_WEBHOOK_URL yet? We'll set it after deploying n8n.

Step 4: Get Your Website URL

  • Railway assigns automatic URL: your-project-abc123.railway.app
  • Visit it → Your website is live! ✓
  • Save this URL for later

Example: https://file-upload-9xk2.railway.app

🤖 Part 3: Deploy n8n to Railway (Self-Hosted)

Option A: Using Docker (Recommended)

Step 1: Create n8n Repository

Create a new GitHub repo named n8n-railway:

mkdir n8n-railway
cd n8n-railway
git init

Step 2: Create Dockerfile

Create file named Dockerfile:

FROM n8nio/n8n

EXPOSE 5678

ENV N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false
ENV N8N_PROTOCOL=https
ENV N8N_HOST=YOUR_N8N_DOMAIN.railway.app
ENV N8N_PORT=5678
ENV N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL=https://YOUR_N8N_DOMAIN.railway.app/
ENV N8N_WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL=https://YOUR_N8N_DOMAIN.railway.app/

# Optional: Database persistence
# This uses SQLite by default, stored in /home/node/.n8n
VOLUME ["/home/node/.n8n"]

CMD ["n8n", "start"]

Step 3: Create docker-compose.yml

For local testing:

version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=http
      - N8N_HOST=localhost
      - N8N_PORT=5678
    volumes:
      - n8n_storage:/home/node/.n8n

volumes:
  n8n_storage:

Step 4: Push to GitHub

git add .
git commit -m "Initial n8n setup"
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/n8n-railway.git
git push -u origin main

Step 5: Deploy to Railway

  1. Go to Railway → New Project
  2. Select GitHub repo: n8n-railway
  3. Railway detects Docker automatically
  4. Click Deploy

Option B: Direct n8n Deployment (Simpler)

If you prefer simpler setup without Docker:

  1. Create package.json:
{
  "name": "n8n-railway",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "n8n start"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "n8n": "latest"
  }
}
  1. Create Procfile:
web: npm start
  1. Push to GitHub and deploy same way

🔗 Part 4: Connect Website ↔ n8n

Step 1: Get n8n URL

After n8n deployment completes:

  • Railway assigns URL: your-n8n-abc.railway.app
  • This is your n8n instance!

Example: https://n8n-file-upload-xyz.railway.app

Step 2: Access n8n Dashboard

  1. Visit: https://your-n8n-abc.railway.app
  2. First time: Create admin password
  3. You're in! ✓

Step 3: Create Webhook in n8n

  1. New Workflow
  2. Add Webhook node
  3. Set:
    • Authentication: None
    • Method: POST
  4. Click "Test" or "Execute Workflow"
  5. Copy the full webhook URL (shown at bottom)

Example: https://your-n8n-abc.railway.app/webhook/WORKFLOW_ID/trigger

Step 4: Update Website Configuration

  1. Go to Railway Dashboard
  2. Select File Upload Website service
  3. Go to Variables
  4. Update: 
    N8N_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-n8n-abc.railway.app/webhook/WORKFLOW_ID/trigger
  5. Railway auto-redeploys! ✓

Step 5: Test Connection

# From your terminal, test the webhook:
curl -X POST https://your-n8n-abc.railway.app/webhook/WORKFLOW_ID/trigger \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "recipientEmail": "your-email@gmail.com",
    "senderName": "Test",
    "file": {
      "filename": "test.txt",
      "size": 1024,
      "filepath": "/tmp/test.txt",
      "mimetype": "text/plain"
    },
    "timestamp": "2024-01-27T12:00:00Z"
  }'

⚙️ Part 5: Configure n8n Workflow

Option 1: Import Workflow (Easy)

  1. In n8n Dashboard: Click Import
  2. Select n8n-workflow.json from your project
  3. Configure Gmail credentials
  4. Activate workflow ✓

Option 2: Create Manually

  1. New Workflow
  2. Add nodes:
    • Webhook (trigger)
    • Gmail (send email)
    • Set (response)

Gmail Node Configuration:

From: myn8nuploade@gmail.com
To: {{ $json.recipientEmail }}
Subject: 📎 File Attachment: {{ $json.file.filename }}

Body (HTML):
<h2>File Attachment</h2>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>{{ $json.senderName }} sent you a file!</p>
<p><strong>File:</strong> {{ $json.file.filename }}<br>
<strong>Size:</strong> {{ ($json.file.size/1024/1024).toFixed(2) }} MB</p>
<p>See attachment below.</p>
  1. Test and activate ✓

📧 Part 6: Gmail Authentication in n8n

On Railway n8n Instance:

  1. Go to Credentials → New → Gmail
  2. Click OAuth2 Connection
  3. Click "Connect my account"
  4. Sign in with: myn8nuploade@gmail.com
  5. Grant permissions
  6. Done! ✓

Alternative: Use Gmail App Password

If OAuth doesn't work:

  1. Go to myaccount.google.com
  2. Security → 2-Step Verification
  3. Scroll down → App Passwords
  4. Select: Mail, Windows Computer
  5. Copy generated password
  6. In n8n Gmail credential:
    • Email: myn8nuploade@gmail.com
    • Password: (paste app password)
    • SMTP: smtp.gmail.com:587

🧪 Part 7: End-to-End Test

Test Flow:

  1. Open website: https://your-app-xyz.railway.app
  2. Upload file with test recipient email
  3. Check logs in Railway
  4. Check n8n execution logs
  5. Check email inbox ✓

Monitoring:

Website Service:

  • Railway Dashboard → File Upload service
  • Click "Logs" to see Node.js output
  • Shows: file received, webhook triggered, responses

n8n Service:

  • Railway Dashboard → n8n service
  • Click "Logs" to see n8n activity
  • Or in n8n Dashboard → Execution History

🔐 Part 8: Security & Environment

Recommended Environment Variables

Website Service:

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=production
N8N_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-n8n.railway.app/webhook/WORKFLOW_ID
CORS_ORIGIN=https://your-app.railway.app

n8n Service:

N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=true
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
N8N_HOST=your-n8n.railway.app
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secure-random-key
N8N_DB_TYPE=sqlite

Database for n8n

By default: SQLite (file-based)

  • Persists in /home/node/.n8n
  • Good for small projects

For production with multiple instances:

  • Add PostgreSQL service in Railway
  • Update n8n environment variables

💾 Part 9: File Storage

Current Setup:

  • Files stored in /uploads directory
  • Temporary storage (cleaned up)
  • Good for small/medium load

For Production:

Consider moving to cloud storage:

Option 1: AWS S3

npm install aws-sdk

Update server.js to upload to S3 instead of local directory.

Option 2: Railway Volumes (Easy!)

Add volume to website service in Railway:

/uploads:/mnt/uploads

This persists uploaded files.

Option 3: Google Cloud Storage

  • Create bucket
  • Store files there instead
  • Cost: ~$0.02/GB

📊 Part 10: Monitoring & Logs

Railway Dashboard

Website Service → Logs:

Server running on http://localhost:3000
File uploaded: document.pdf
Webhook triggered: https://your-n8n...

n8n Service → Logs:

n8n started
Workflow executed
Email sent: user@example.com

Check Status

# Check if services are running
curl https://your-app-xyz.railway.app/health
# Should return: {"status": "Server is running"}

# Test n8n
curl https://your-n8n-xyz.railway.app/api/v1/health

💰 Cost on Railway

Component Tier Cost/Month
File Upload Website Hobby ($5 credit/month) Free*
n8n Service Hobby Free*
Database (PostgreSQL) Optional $15+
Total Free-$15/mo

*Free tier: $5/month credit (covers both services)

Paid plans:

  • Standard: $20/month usage + costs
  • Pro: $50/month + costs

🔄 Part 11: Auto-Deploy on Push

Railway auto-deploys when you push to GitHub!

# Make changes locally
cd d:\Gitam Leaker\N8N Workflows\File Upload Project
# ... edit files ...

# Push to GitHub
git add .
git commit -m "Update email template"
git push origin main

# Railway automatically redeploys! ✓
# Check Railway logs to confirm

⚡ Quick Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
Website can't connect to n8n Check webhook URL in Railway variables
n8n webhook returns 404 Verify webhook path in n8n node
Gmail not sending Check OAuth credentials in n8n
Files not uploading Check /uploads directory permissions
Services won't start Check logs in Railway dashboard

📱 Access Your Services

After everything is deployed:

Service URL
Website https://your-app-xyz.railway.app
n8n https://your-n8n-xyz.railway.app
n8n Webhook https://your-n8n-xyz.railway.app/webhook/WORKFLOW_ID

🎉 You're Done!

Your complete system is now live on Railway:

  • ✅ Website hosted and accessible
  • ✅ n8n self-hosted and running
  • ✅ Webhook connected
  • ✅ Email automation working
  • ✅ Auto-deployed on code push

Next Steps:

  1. Share your website URL with users
  2. Monitor logs regularly
  3. Keep dependencies updated
  4. Add custom domain (optional)

📚 Useful Links

Everything running on Railway, zero server management needed! 🚀