Disable Diagnostics and Version Notifications for Air-Gapped Deployments

In air-gapped or compliance-sensitive deployments, n8n's default outbound diagnostics and version checks can trip security alerts, violate data-residency rules, or fill logs with failed connections. Set N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED and N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED to false to stop that phone-home traffic, and add further flags to disable templates, the hiring banner, community packages, and outbound networking for fully isolated environments.

Why disable diagnostics and version checks in n8n?

In air-gapped, restricted, or compliance-sensitive environments, n8n's default behavior of phoning home for diagnostics and version checks is undesirable. These outbound requests can trigger network security alerts, violate data residency policies, or simply fail and fill logs with connection errors. Two environment variables disable all external communication from n8n.

Real-world example: You deploy n8n in an enterprise network that blocks outbound connections except to explicitly allowed destinations. Disabling diagnostics and version checks eliminates noisy connection timeout errors in logs and satisfies your security team's audit requirements.

How do you disable telemetry and version notifications?

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:1.94.1
    environment:
      # Disable telemetry data sent to n8n's servers

      N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED: "false"

      # Disable the version update notification banner in the editor

      N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED: "false"

      # Additional settings for locked-down environments

      N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED: "false"           # Disable workflow template gallery

      N8N_HIRING_BANNER_ENABLED: "false"       # Disable the hiring banner

      N8N_PERSONALIZATION_ENABLED: "false"      # Disable the onboarding survey

For fully air-gapped environments, also configure n8n to skip any community node installation attempts:

Additional air-gap settings

services:
  n8n:
    environment:
      N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED: "false"  # Prevent npm installs

      N8N_PUBLIC_API_DISABLED: "false"          # Keep API for internal tooling

    # Block all outbound traffic except to known internal hosts

    networks:
      - internal
    dns:
      - 10.0.0.53  # Internal DNS only

networks:
  internal:
    internal: true  # No external connectivity

What else should you lock down for air-gapped n8n?

Note: Network-Level Isolation Setting the Docker network to internal: true prevents all containers on that network from reaching the internet. Make sure your PostgreSQL container and any internal APIs your workflows call are on the same internal network, or add a second network for controlled external access.

These settings eliminate all outbound "phone home" traffic and make n8n suitable for deployment in regulated, air-gapped, or security-hardened environments.

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