Community nodes in queue mode

Describe the problem/error/question

What is the error message (if any)?

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Hi,

is it possible to install community nodes via ui, if running in queue mode? I´m getting mixed results searching for this topic on the community and docs.n8n.io

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version:
  • Database (default: SQLite):
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):
  • Operating system:

yeah it works but mixed results. the main instance picks them up fine when you install via the UI, but on worker nodes you gotta make sure the community node package folders are shared (like via Docker volumes or a shared fs). some people end up just adding them to the main and letting workers pull from there, depends on your setup. are you on docker or physical machines?

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@Kool_Baudrillard based on this search here

It says you can use community nodes with n8n in queue mode, but you cannot install them directly through the UI. The installation option is disabled when queue mode is active .

What version are you on? This got fixed in 1.54.0 so if youre on that or newer the UI install should just work in queue mode.

Yes, you can but Community nodes are blocked by default in the UI. This is done because n8n splits the execution across worker processes, this would mean that a community node would need to be installed on every worker. This would mean that you would get inconsistent behavior because you would only see things work on the main process and workers wouldn’t pick up the new nodes.

The best approach is to install the community node directly on each worker in the Docker before startup, then add them to your package.json so that they can appear across the entire app.

ah good catch @achamm, didn’t realize 1.54.0 fixed that — good to know for newer setups. and yeah @AnthonyAtXRay nailed the worker side of it. @Kool_Baudrillard so quick tl;dr: check your version first — if you’re on 1.54.0+ the UI install should work, otherwise pre-installing on each worker before startup is the reliable path

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