Memory OOM & License Activation Failures

[BenjaminTTF]

I’m trying to self-host n8n CE on a FastComet VPS (AlmaLinux 9, cPanel/WHM). I can start the app fine with PM2, but I keep hitting two issues:

1. RuntimeError OOM:

RuntimeError: abort(RangeError: WebAssembly.instantiate(): Out of memory:
Cannot allocate Wasm memory for new instance)
at /node_modules/ssh2/lib/protocol/crypto/poly1305.js
Node.js v20.19.5

2. License activation always fails (both in the UI and with CLI). The UI shows:

Activation failed
Failed to activate license: Connection Error: fetch failed

Information on my n8n setup

• 1. n8n version: 1.110.1 (npm, PM2 managed)
  2. Database: SQLite (default)
  3. n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting: regular/own
  4. Running n8n via: npm + PM2 on VPS
  5. Operating system: AlmaLinux 9 (CloudLinux environment, FastComet VPS with cPanel/WHM)
  6. Node.js version: 20.19.5 (installed via nvm)

ecosystem.config.js excerpt:

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: "n8n",
    script: "/home/taftc/n8n.taftc.org/node_modules/n8n/bin/n8n",
    args: "start",
    interpreter: "/home/taftc/.nvm/versions/node/v20.19.5/bin/node",
    node_args: "--max-old-space-size=2048 --dns-result-order=ipv4first",
    env: {
      N8N_HOST: "n8n.taftc.org",
      N8N_PROTOCOL: "https",
      N8N_PUBLIC_URL: "https://n8n.taftc.org",
      WEBHOOK_URL: "https://n8n.taftc.org",
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: "Asia/Singapore",
      N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE: "filesystem",
      N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: "<redacted>",
      N8N_LICENSE_ACTIVATION_KEY: "<redacted>"
    }
  }]
}

---

What we’ve tried so far

• Initially on Node 21 → switched to Node 20 LTS via nvm.

• Clean reinstall of node_modules under Node 20.

• Added --max-old-space-size=2048 and set N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE=filesystem.

• Confirmed outbound connectivity:

  • curl -I https://api.n8n.io → 200 OK

  • curl -I https://license.n8n.io → 404 (but this happens everywhere, so not sure if expected).

• Tried seeding license key via env (N8N_LICENSE_ACTIVATION_KEY) and CLI activation (n8n license:activate), but both fail with “Connection Error: fetch failed”.

---

Questions

1. Is the poly1305 WebAssembly OOM a known issue? Any way to disable poly1305/llhttp WASM or bypass ssh2 crypto in n8n?

2. Would switching from SQLite → Postgres help with stability, or unrelated?

3. For license activation:

   • Is a 404 on https://license.n8n.io root expected?

   • Is there a way to force licence activation purely via env or CLI without the UI fetch?

   • Are there any additional env vars we should set (e.g. N8N_LICENSE_SERVER_URL)?

4. Could CloudLinux LVE limits (per-user memory/network) be breaking fetch/licence calls even though curl works?

5. Should we try Node 22.x LTS, or is Node 20.x strictly recommended?