Security 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.

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`N8N_BLOCK_ENV_ACCESS_IN_NODE`	Boolean	`false`	Whether to allow users to access environment variables in expressions and the Code node (false) or not (true).
`N8N_BLOCK_FILE_ACCESS_TO_N8N_FILES`	Boolean	`true`	Set to `true` to block access to all files in the `.n8n` directory and user defined configuration files.
`N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS`	Boolean	`false`	Set to `true` to try to set 0600 permissions for the settings file, giving only the owner read and write access.
`N8N_RESTRICT_FILE_ACCESS_TO`	String		Limits access to files in these directories. Provide multiple files as a colon-separated list ("`:`").
`N8N_SECURITY_AUDIT_DAYS_ABANDONED_WORKFLOW`	Number	90	Number of days to consider a workflow abandoned if it's not executed.
`N8N_SECURE_COOKIE`	Boolean	`true`	Ensures that cookies are only sent over HTTPS, enhancing security.
`N8N_SAMESITE_COOKIE`	Enum string: `strict`, `lax`, `none`	`lax`	Controls cross-site cookie behavior (learn more): `strict`: Sent only for first-party requests. `lax` (default): Sent with top-level navigation requests. `none`: Sent in all contexts (requires HTTPS).
`N8N_GIT_NODE_DISABLE_BARE_REPOS`	Boolean	`false`	Set to `true` to prevent the Git node from working with bare repositories, enhancing security.

This page was