Error: Command "start" not found problem

Questions
1

Describe the problem/error/question

I’m trying to install the latest version n8n but I got error:
Error: Command “start” not found
I installed by npm so I did:
npm install n8n -g
n8n
then the error shows:

No encryption key found - Auto-generating and saving to: /root/.n8n/config
Error: Command "start" not found

the no encryption only appears once but the Command "start" not found will always appear when using n8n command

What is the error message (if any)?

Please share your workflow

(Select the nodes on your canvas and use the keyboard shortcuts CMD+C/CTRL+C and CMD+V/CTRL+V to copy and paste the workflow.)

Share the output returned by the last node

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version: 2.28.7
  • Database (default: SQLite):default
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):default
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):npm
  • Operating system:Ubuntu 24.04LTS
2

Hi @Ruriko

This may help

3

Doesn’t work even though it is mentioned 2.28.6 should of been patched

4

So what did you do?

5

Reinstalled OS so it’s fresh again and installed nodejs v24.18.0 and finally this:

npm install -g n8n@2.28.6
n8n

6

Hi @Ruriko ,

This error usually occurs when the global npm installation is corrupted or fails to bind the executable binaries during installation on Ubuntu properly.

Here is the step-by-step solution to fix this:

Step 1: Check your Node.js version

First, make sure you are running a supported Node.js version n8n requires Node v18.x or v20.x.

node -v

If your version is older or unsupported, update Node.js first.

Step 2: Clean reinstall n8n

Completely remove the broken global installation and reinstall it cleanly:

sudo npm uninstall -g n8n

npm cache clean --force

sudo npm install -g n8n --unsafe-perm=true

Step 3: Run n8n

Once installed, try running it again:

n8n

Alternative Quick Test:
If you still get the same error, try running n8n directly via npx to bypass global linking issues:

npx n8n

Note: If you plan to run n8n long-term on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, setting it up via Docker is highly recommended for better stability.

Let me know if this resolves the issue for you!

7

Nope it still doesn’t work even with the alternative quick test and I also tested 2.28.7 which came out like an hour ago. Oh i forgot to mention that when I first used n8n it will say:

No encryption key found - Auto-generating and saving to: /root/.n8n/config
Error: Command "start" not found

but if I repeat entering n8n it only says Error: Command "start" not found so No encryption key found - Auto-generating and saving to: /root/.n8n/config only appears once.

My temp solution is to downgrade back to 2.26.4 :frowning:

8

Thanks for the extra details @Ruriko ! That info about /root/.n8n/config and version 2.26.4 working is super helpful.

This confirms it is a regression in the CLI argument parser in recent 2.28.x builds where invoking n8n alone no longer automatically aliases to the start command under certain node environments.

Can you try these steps?

1. Run the explicit command

Instead of running just n8n, try executing the full command:

n8n start

(Or npx n8n start)

2. Clear the auto-generated config (Backup first)

Since the config was created during the failed initial run of 2.28.x, it might contain a broken CLI state. Rename the folder and try again:

mv /root/.n8n /root/.n8n_backup
n8n start

3. Run as a non-root user (Recommended)

Running n8n directly as root can cause node permission overrides and CLI wrapper conflicts on Ubuntu 24.04. It’s best practice to create/use a standard system user to run n8n start.

If running n8n start explicitly works, it confirms the default CLI alias bug in 2.28.x! Let me know if that gets it past the error.

Thanks!

9

I tried n8n start but still doesn’t work and tried with a non-root account and still same error

11

Did all the recommendations. Even the downgrade does not work for me..

12

Well it looks like I’m not the only one with the same problem Can't access n8n in windows after upgrade: Error: Command "start" not found · Issue #33462 · n8n-io/n8n · GitHub