Worker Crash Mid Execution in queue

Questions
1

In queue mode, if a worker crashes mid-node execution, what guarantees exist around execution consistency? Could partial state persist before Redis requeues the job?

Describe the problem/error/question

What is the error message (if any)?

Please share your workflow

(Select the nodes on your canvas and use the keyboard shortcuts CMD+C/CTRL+C and CMD+V/CTRL+V to copy and paste the workflow.)

Share the output returned by the last node

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version:
  • Database (default: SQLite):
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):
  • Operating system:
1 Like
2

n8n only marks execution as successful after the entire workflow completes.

If a worker crashes mid-execution:

  • Redis does not receive the job acknowledgment
  • The job remains unacknowledged and is retried
  • Partial node results are not considered finalized

However:

  • If your workflow performs external side effects (API writes, DB inserts), those can already have occurred
  • n8n does not provide built-in idempotency protection

Best practice:

Design workflows to be idempotent when external state mutation is involved

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