Routines::no start line

Questions
1

Describe the problem/error/question

Using of the envs N8N_PROTOCOL, N8N_SSL_KEY and N8N_SSL_CERT

What is the error message (if any)?

Error: error:0480006C:PEM routines::no start line (code ERR_OSSL_PEM_NO_START_LINE)

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version: 1.58.2
  • Database (default: SQLite): PostgreSQL
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main): Not changed
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app): NPM (via package.json)
  • Operating system: Linux Debian 13
2

Hey @Justman10000,

Welcome to the community :raised_hands:

That error tends to mean that either your certificate or key isn’t in a PEM format with the header intact. I would start with the CERT file and make sure the first line contains -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE and see how it goes.

I would also recommend using Docker over npm and if you don’t want to manage your own certificate a reverse proxy using Lets Encrypt makes life a lot easier.