[n8n Docker] TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'subscribe')

[ashrea06]

Describe the problem/error/question

I’m encountering a TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘subscribe’) when running n8n in Docker with N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true and Redis configured as the pub/sub provider.

The issue occurs during orchestration startup (Start.initOrchestration), preventing n8n from finishing initialization.
Even when I set N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=false, n8n still does not start properly, so the issue seems to be rooted in the orchestration/pubsub subsystem itself rather than the runners specifically.

I have already:

• Confirmed Redis and Postgres containers are healthy and responding.

• Verified that all N8N_PUBSUB_* environment variables are correctly loaded in the container.

• Cleared the n8n_data volume multiple times and relaunched the stack.

Despite all of that, n8n crashes with the same .subscribe() error on startup.

What is the error message (if any)?

2025-10-23T01:57:14.289Z | error | TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘subscribe’)
at Subscriber.subscribe (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/src/scaling/pubsub/subscriber.service.ts:60:21)
at Start.initOrchestration (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/src/commands/start.ts:273:20)
at Start.init (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/src/commands/start.ts:223:15)
at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)
at CommandRegistry.execute (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/src/command-registry.ts:66:4)
at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/bin/n8n:63:2
2025-10-23T01:57:14.292Z | error | Exiting due to an error.
2025-10-23T01:57:23.122Z | error | last session crashed {“file”:“crash-journal.js”,“function”:“init”}

Please share your workflow

(Not applicable – issue occurs on fresh startup, no workflow loaded.)

Share the output returned by the last node

(Not applicable – n8n does not finish startup, so no nodes execute.)

Information on your n8n setup

• n8n version: 1.116.2
• Database (default: SQLite): PostgreSQL 15
• n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main): main
• Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app): Docker (Docker Desktop on Windows)
• Operating system: Windows 10 (WSL2 Docker Engine)

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB}
      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER}
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U ${POSTGRES_USER} -d ${POSTGRES_DB}"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 20

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - redisdata:/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 20





  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:1.116.2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      # Database
      DB_TYPE: postgresdb
      DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST: postgres
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT: 5432
      DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE: ${POSTGRES_DB}
      DB_POSTGRESDB_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER}
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}

      # Redis Queue
      QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_HOST: redis
      QUEUE_BULL_REDIS_PORT: 6379

      # Pub/Sub for Runners
      N8N_PUBSUB_PROVIDER: redis
      N8N_PUBSUB_REDIS_HOST: redis
      N8N_PUBSUB_REDIS_PORT: 6379
      N8N_PUBSUB_REDIS_DB: "0"

      # n8n Core
      EXECUTIONS_MODE: main
      N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED: "true"
      N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      N8N_HOST: ${N8N_HOST}
      N8N_PORT: 5678
      N8N_PROTOCOL: http
      WEBHOOK_URL: http://localhost:5678/
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: ${GENERIC_TIMEZONE}
      N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE: filesystem
      N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS: "true"
      N8N_LOG_LEVEL: debug
      N8N_BLOCK_ENV_ACCESS_IN_NODE: "false"
      N8N_GIT_NODE_DISABLE_BARE_REPOS: "true"

      # AI / Model Runner
      N8N_AI_ENABLED: "true"
      N8N_AI_OPENAI_DEFAULT_BASE_URL: http://model-runner.docker.internal/engines/llama.cpp/v1
      N8N_AI_DEFAULT_MODEL: ${N8N_AI_DEFAULT_MODEL}

    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
      - ./shared:/data/shared
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy

volumes:
  pgdata:
  redisdata:
  n8n_data:

# Database Configuration
POSTGRES_DB=n8n
POSTGRES_USER=n8n
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=

# n8n Configuration
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=dd3a0c8357bbce4b36097c4cf9bf3429e3a377abeff43959fff09db92c6c9c8c
N8N_HOST=localhost
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York

# AI Model Configuration
N8N_AI_DEFAULT_MODEL=ai/llama3.2:3B