Expose n8n (or any local app) to the Web with a $1 Domain + Cloudflare Tunnel

This guide shows how to run n8n locally but make it accessible anywhere in the world using:

• A cheap domain (e.g., from Namecheap, ≈$1 for the first year)
• A free Cloudflare account (for DNS + Tunnel)
• Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared)
• Docker Desktop (to run n8n)

Buy a domain (example: yourdomain.online) from a registrar like Namecheap or Cloudflare Registrar.

1. Go to Cloudflare Dashboard → Add a Site → enter your domain (e.g., yourdomain.online).
2. Choose the Free plan.
3. Cloudflare scans DNS records → accept defaults.
4. Cloudflare shows two nameservers (e.g., amy.ns.cloudflare.com, bob.ns.cloudflare.com).
5. At your registrar → set your domain’s nameservers to Cloudflare’s.
6. Wait ~10–30 minutes (sometimes a few hours).

Quick check:

nslookup -type=ns yourdomain.online 1.1.1.1

It should return Cloudflare nameservers.

Windows (Winget):

winget install Cloudflare.cloudflared

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install cloudflare/cloudflare/cloudflared

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt-get install cloudflared

Log in to Cloudflare (browser will open):

cloudflared login

Create a tunnel (replace my-tunnel with a name you like):

cloudflared tunnel create my-tunnel

Note the tunnel UUID. A credentials JSON is saved at:

C:\Users\<YOU>\.cloudflared\<UUID>.json

Pick a subdomain (e.g., n8n.yourdomain.online) and route DNS to the tunnel:

cloudflared tunnel route dns my-tunnel n8n.yourdomain.online

Create file:

C:\Users\<YOU>\.cloudflared\config.yml

Put this content (adjust placeholders):

tunnel: <YOUR_TUNNEL_UUID>
            credentials-file: C:\Users\<YOU>\.cloudflared\<YOUR_TUNNEL_UUID>.json

            ingress:
              - hostname: n8n.yourdomain.online
                service: http://localhost:5678
              - service: http_status:404

• <YOUR_TUNNEL_UUID> → UUID from step 4
• <YOU> → your Windows username
• 5678 → your app’s local port (n8n default)

Create a folder (e.g., C:\\Users\\<YOU>\\n8n). Inside it, create docker-compose.yml:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    container_name: n8n
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: "Europe/Paris"
      N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: "your-32-char-secret"   # must stay stable!
      WEBHOOK_URL: "https://n8n.yourdomain.online"
      N8N_EDITOR_BASE_URL: "https://n8n.yourdomain.online"
      N8N_PROTOCOL: "https"
      N8N_HOST: "n8n.yourdomain.online"
      N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE: "true"
      N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER: "admin"
      N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD: "supersecret"
    volumes:
      - ./n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n

Create two .bat files on your Desktop.

▶️ start-all.bat

@echo off
set "PROJECT_DIR=%USERPROFILE%\n8n"
set "TUNNEL_NAME=my-tunnel"
set "HOST_URL=https://n8n.yourdomain.online"

echo [START] Launching Cloudflare Tunnel...
start "Cloudflared Tunnel" cmd /k cloudflared tunnel run "%TUNNEL_NAME%"

timeout /t 2 /nobreak >nul

echo [START] Launching n8n container...
pushd "%PROJECT_DIR%"
docker compose up -d
popd

echo [OK] n8n should now be reachable at: %HOST_URL%
pause

⏹ stop-all.bat

@echo off
set "PROJECT_DIR=%USERPROFILE%\n8n"

echo [STOP] Stopping n8n container...
pushd "%PROJECT_DIR%"
docker compose down
popd

echo [STOP] Stopping Cloudflare Tunnel...
taskkill /IM cloudflared.exe /F >nul 2>&1

echo [CLOSED] External access is now blocked.
pause

1. Double-click start-all.bat.
2. Cloudflared window should show Connected.
3. Docker starts the n8n container.
4. Open: https://n8n.yourdomain.online

1. Double-click stop-all.bat.
2. Tunnel is closed.
3. n8n container is stopped.
4. External access is blocked.

• yourdomain.online → your own domain
• n8n.yourdomain.online → your chosen subdomain
• my-tunnel → your tunnel name
• <YOUR_TUNNEL_UUID> → tunnel UUID string
• <YOU> → your local username
• Passwords & secrets → choose strong values

You’re running n8n locally with a secure public HTTPS URL via Cloudflare Tunnel — all for the price of a $1 domain. 🎯