License Activated but features not enabled on Windows Self-Host (Similar to another topic)

[akihiko]

Hello. I have a very difficult license activation problem.

My problem seems to be exactly the same as the one described in this topic, but on Windows instead of macOS:

License Key Fails to Unlock Features on Self-Hosted Docker Install

Hello n8n Community, I’m new to n8n and I’m having trouble activating my license key on a self-hosted instance. I’ve spent a few hours troubleshooting this but couldn’t solve it. I would be very grateful for any help! My Environment: n8n Version: 1.98.1 Database: SQLite (default) Running n8n via: Docker on macOS Sonoma The Problem: When I perform a clean install and enter my license key, I see a green pop-up message saying “License has been activated”. However, the core paid features (like…

Here are my details:

• Environment: Windows 11, Docker Desktop, McAfee Security
• n8n Version: 1.99.1
• Setup: Self-hosted using docker-compose with Traefik.

Problem:
I can run n8n successfully. When I enter my license key, I get a green “License activated” success message.
However, the paid features (like Folders) do not appear in the UI. The dropdown on the “Create Workflow” button only shows “Create Credential”.

Things we have tried for many hours:

• Network Troubleshooting: Confirmed the PC is on the correct home network (not tethering) and that port forwarding is working. We solved all connection timeout errors.
• Firewall: Temporarily disabled the McAfee firewall. It did not solve the problem.
• Restarting & Reloading: We have tried restarting containers and hard-reloading the browser many times.
• Complete Data Reset: We completely reset the instance using docker compose down --volumes.
• Moving Directory: We moved the entire project from the C:\Users\...\Documents folder to C:\n8n_data to avoid any special folder permissions.
• Fixing Permissions: We encountered a persistent EACCES: permission denied error. We fixed this by setting user: "root" in the docker-compose.yml file. The container now runs stable without crashing.

Current Situation:
Even after all these steps, the “License activated” message appears, but the features are never unlocked. This seems to be a bug within n8n, as another user on macOS is facing the exact same issue.

Could you please help me? Thank you.

[jabbson]

Can you post a screenshot of the workflows page?

That’s for the path:
/projects/<your project_id>/workflows

[akihiko]

Hello Jabbson,

Thank you for your reply.
Here is the screenshot of my workflow page. As you can see, the “Folder” option is not available in the dropdown menu.

[jabbson]

The second screenshot is not what I asked, could you please click on “Personal” in the left pane and show us how it looks like?

[akihiko]

Hi Jabbson,

My apologies. Here is the screenshot of the “Personal” space as you requested.
Thank you again for your help!

[jabbson]

No worries, can you create a single workflow (even empty) and show the same page again, please?

[akihiko]

Hi Jabbson,

Sorry for the delay in my reply.

I’ve created one empty workflow as you asked. Here is the new screenshot of the “Personal” space. Thank you for looking into this!

[jabbson]

Thanks, here is your create folder functionality

[akihiko]

Hi Jabbson,

Thank you so much for your continued help!

It’s a miracle, but the problem is now solved. After I created the first empty workflow (as you suggested), the “Create Folder” option has now appeared in the “Create Workflow” dropdown menu.

I think it was a very strange UI bug where the option only appears after the first workflow is created.

Thank you again for your time and dedication. I couldn’t have done it without you!

[jabbson]

I think you were looking at the same icon on the overview page first and it is not available there (with a helpful tip explaining where to find folders). But I am glad we found the answer for you. Happy flow-ing!