Execution Limit Issue

Questions
1

Describe the problem/error/question

I have an issue with executions. When I try to run a node that depends on an external call, it doesn’t execute. Upon checking, I see the message: ‘Current active executions: 0 out of 5. This instance is limited to 5 concurrent production executions.’ However, when I look at the execution panel, I don’t see anything else running.

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8nVersion: 1.78.1
  • platform: docker (cloud)
  • nodeJsVersion: 20.18.2
  • database: sqlite
2

Restart the Docker container:
This should clean up any zombie executions that are stuck but not visible.

Review executions directly in the database:
With SQLite, you can inspect the execution_entity table and look for entries with a running or waiting status.

SELECT ID, status, started FROM execution_entity WHERE status = 'running';

Migrating from SQLite to PostgreSQL:
In production, it is always recommended to use PostgreSQL as the backend to avoid these types of limitations and crashes.

Make sure you are using the latest version of n8n. There may be fixes in newer versions.

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