Source control failed to connect error

Questions
1

Describe the problem/error/question

Hi Everyone,

I started to see this error message once I upgraded to 2.20.6 version. Do you have any idea on how to fix it?

Thanks in advance

Screenshot 2026-05-13 at 6.21.54 p.m.
Screenshot 2026-05-13 at 6.21.54 p.m.702Ă—154 4.56 KB

2

Welcome @Gonzalo_Romero_Herna

Please share your workflow and indicate which node did the error occur

3

Thank you @kjooleng !! Actually it’s happening just by refreshing my canvas! No execution of workflows is required to trigger the error!

4

Hi,

It would help if you could share the exact error message or a screenshot of it. Since the issue started after upgrading to version 2.20.6, it could be related to a configuration change, dependency mismatch, or a compatibility issue introduced in that release.

Also, mentioning:

  • your operating system,

  • deployment method,

  • and whether the upgrade was clean or in-place

would make it easier for others to help troubleshoot the problem.

Thanks!

5

Can you check the n8n container logs right after the error appears? Run docker logs n8n --tail 50 and share the error lines - “Source control failed to connect” usually surfaces as an SSH key rejection or a Git URL format mismatch underneath. Also confirm: is the SSH public key you added in Settings > Source Control still properly deployed to your GitHub/GitLab repo’s deploy keys? After upgrades, the key stored in n8n’s settings sometimes needs to be re-saved.

6

Hey @David_Warner, Thanks a lot for your response, actually I’m getting the error directly from the UI as I shared in the screenshot. However I also noticed this error from the browser dev tools every time the error is triggered:

Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 8.37.43 a.m.
Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 8.37.43 a.m.634Ă—179 21.5 KB

I’ms using a self-hosted instance deployed to ECS Fargate
Thank you so much

7

Hi @nguyenthieutoan , thanks for your comment! that’s interesting!! In fact a forgot to mention that I also upgrade my license from community to business. Not sure if its related but may be it could. So far I don’t have any kind of ssh configuration set :thinking:!!!

8

That actually explains a lot - if no SSH key is configured, n8n can’t authenticate to the Git repo, so the Source Control feature fails immediately on any attempt to connect. Go to Settings > Source Control > SSH Key and click “Generate” to create a new ED25519 key pair. n8n will show you the public key - copy it and add it as a Deploy Key in your GitHub/GitLab repo (Settings > Deploy Keys). Then paste your repo’s SSH URL (not HTTPS) into the Repository URL field. The license upgrade to Business shouldn’t cause this, but make sure you reconnect after upgrading since the Source Control settings can reset.

9

Awesome @nguyenthieutoan !! I’m gonna do it in that way!. Thinking about this issue, Does n8n try to authenticate to Git automatically by default?

10

Yes - n8n uses the SSH key you configure in Source Control settings to authenticate automatically on every pull/push. It doesn’t prompt for credentials at runtime. The key needs to be added to your Git provider (GitHub, GitLab, etc.) as a deploy key with write access if you want to push from n8n. If the key is read-only (deploy key without write access), pull works but push will fail.