Use Queue Mode With Redis for High-Throughput Deployments

By default, n8n runs in "main" mode where the same process handles the UI, webhook reception, and workflow execution. Queue mode separates these concerns: the main process handles the UI and webhook ingestion, while dedicated worker processes execute workflows via a Redis-backed queue.

Real-world example: A data platform processes 50,000 webhook events per hour. In main mode, heavy workflow executions block the webhook endpoint, causing event loss.

# Main process .env

EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
QUEUE_HEALTH_CHECK_ACTIVE=true
```text
```yaml

# docker-compose.yml for queue mode

services:
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    command: redis-server --requirepass your-redis-password --maxmemory 512mb
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data

  n8n-main:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    command: n8n start
    environment:
      - EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"

  n8n-worker-1:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    command: n8n worker
    environment:
      - EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
      - N8N_CONCURRENCY_PRODUCTION_LIMIT=10

  n8n-worker-2:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    command: n8n worker
    environment:
      - EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST=redis
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT=6379
      - QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
      - N8N_CONCURRENCY_PRODUCTION_LIMIT=10

volumes:
  redis_data:
```text
Scale workers horizontally based on your throughput needs. Each worker can process multiple executions concurrently based on the concurrency limit.

**Related:** [Flatten Deeply Nested API Responses](../code-node-mastery/01-flatten-deeply-nested-api-responses.md) | [Use Docker Compose with Health Checks for n8n and PostgreSQL](../self-hosting-operations/01-use-docker-compose-with-health-checks-for-n8n-and-postgresql.md)