I’m noticing a difference in how the Gmail Node handles authentication depending on the hosting environment, and I’m hoping to get some clarification.
The Observation:
On n8n Cloud (14-day trial): When adding a Gmail node, I can simply click “Connect my Google Account.” It’s a seamless OAuth flow that doesn’t ask for any backend credentials.
On Hostinger (Self-hosted): The node requires a Client ID and Client Secret, which involves setting up a project in the Google Cloud Console.
My Questions:
Why the difference? Does n8n Cloud provide a pre-configured “Global App” for users that isn’t available for self-hosted instances?
Is Google Cloud mandatory? To use Gmail/Google nodes on my Hostinger setup, is it strictly required to create a Google Cloud project (even a free one), or is there a way to use the simplified “one-click” authentication?
I’m trying to understand if I need to manage my own Google Cloud credentials long-term for my self-hosted production workflows.
Yes @leppu it is mandatory for self-hosted versions.
On n8n Cloud, the n8n team maintains a verified Google App that handles the “handshake” for you. When you self-host on Hostinger, you are the owner of the software. Because Google needs to know who is requesting access to the data, you have to register your own “App” in the Google Cloud Console to get those credentials.
The good news? The Google Cloud Free Tier is more than enough for this, you won’t typically need a paid account just for API access.
Yeah a Google Cloud project is required for self-hosted, but the good news is you don’t need a paid account, just create a free project, enable the Gmail/Sheets APIs, and set up OAuth credentials. One thing to watch out for though, if you leave your Google app in “Testing” mode your OAuth tokens will expire every 7 days which is super annoying. If you’re on Google Workspace you can set the user type to “Internal” to avoid that, otherwise you’ll want to push the app to production status eventually. The n8n docs walk through the whole setup here: Google OAuth2 single service | n8n Docs
Yeah exactly right, you need your own Google Cloud project for self-hosted but the good news is you don’t need a paid account at all. Just create a project in the Google Cloud Console, enable the Gmail/Sheets APIs, set up an OAuth consent screen and create OAuth2 credentials — the whole thing is free. One thing to watch out for on Hostinger specifically is making sure your OAuth redirect URL matches exactly and uses HTTPS, that trips people up a lot. The n8n docs walk through the whole process here: Google OAuth2 single service | n8n Docs
Hi @leppu !
Yes, the difference is expected. n8n Cloud uses a pre-configured OAuth app, but in self-hosted setups you must create your own Google Cloud project and OAuth credentials. There is no one-click authentication outside of n8n Cloud, and even a free Google Cloud project is sufficient.