Description

Hello,

I am experiencing a critical and persistent issue when trying to run the n8nio/n8n Docker image on my Windows 11 Home system (Surface Pro 8).

After extensive troubleshooting, the container consistently fails to start with the error: Error: Command "/usr/local/bin/n8n" not found. This occurs even when explicitly specifying the full path to the n8n executable within the container.

Problem Description:
When executing the docker run command for the n8nio/n8n:latest image, the container downloads the image successfully but then immediately fails with "Command not found" for the n8n executable itself. This prevents n8n from launching.

To Reproduce:

Ensure Docker Desktop is running.

Open a new Command Prompt or PowerShell (regular user, not admin).

Execute the following command:

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest /usr/local/bin/n8n start

Expected Behavior:
The n8n application should start successfully inside the container, and the terminal should display n8n is now listening on: http://localhost:5678.

Actual Behavior (Full Output from last attempt):

Unable to find image 'n8nio/n8n:latest' locally
latest: Pulling from n8nio/n8n
8b57f3d7e53b: Pull complete
c1ab3b052759: Pull complete
4f4fb700ef54: Pull complete
845179b1d451: Pull complete
ad03744990d9: Pull complete
adf64ed32ed4: Pull complete
6ca4b11b1e63: Pull complete
ae1238b52768: Pull complete
49b2f1c128a2: Pull complete
674b494db888: Pull complete
7775731060ac: Pull complete
fe07684b16b8: Pull complete
49b72e7e39fe: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:ee9bcd832eee4221d4944003bbf651be4866e7e33dd54308850b3eda5fd96a48
Status: Downloaded newer image for n8nio/n8n:latest
Error: Command "/usr/local/bin/n8n" not found

(Previous Error Context - if relevant):
Prior to this "command not found" error, I was consistently encountering EACCES: permission denied, open '/home/node/.n8n/config' errors, which were resolved by confirming Docker Desktop's File Sharing settings. However, now the error has shifted to the executable itself.

System Information:

OS Edition: Windows 11 Home

Device: Surface Pro 8

Windows Version & OS Build: (Please insert your specific version and build here, e.g., Version 22H2 (OS Build 22621.1992))

Docker Desktop Version: (Please insert your Docker Desktop version here, e.g., 4.29.0) - You can find this by clicking the whale icon in the system tray -> About Docker Desktop.

WSL Status (wsl -l -v output):

(Paste the full output from 'wsl -l -v' here. Ensure all distros show Version 2)

Virtualization Status (from Task Manager > Performance > CPU): "Enabled"

Windows Features Enabled (from "Turn Windows features on or off"):

Windows Subsystem for Linux (Checked)

Virtual Machine Platform (Checked)

Windows Hypervisor Platform (Checked)

Antivirus/Security Software: (e.g., "Windows Defender only," or list any third-party software)

Troubleshooting Steps Already Taken:

Confirmed all required Windows Features are enabled and WSL 2 is updated and set as default.

Verified hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x) is enabled in BIOS/UEFI.

Ensured Docker Desktop is running stably.

Configured Docker Desktop File Sharing to include C:\Users\YourUsername (the parent directory of ~/.n8n).

Stopped and removed all existing n8n Docker containers (docker stop n8n, docker rm n8n).

Removed the n8nio/n8n:latest Docker image to force fresh downloads (docker rmi).

Attempted running with different command arguments and their associated errors:

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest

Error: Error: Command "start" not found (from previous attempts)

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest n8n

Error: Error: Command "n8n" not found (from previous attempts)

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest n8n start

Error: EACCES: permission denied, open '/home/node/.n8n/config' (from previous attempts, prior to current "command not found")

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest /usr/local/bin/n8n start (current attempt)

Error: Error: Command "/usr/local/bin/n8n" not found

This issue is highly unusual given the steps taken. Any assistance in diagnosing why the n8n executable itself is not found within the container would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Reproduce

Here are the docker run commands we attempted, along with their associated error messages, as listed in the GitHub issue details:

Command:
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest
Associated Error: Error: Command "start" not found

Command:
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest n8n
Associated Error: Error: Command "n8n" not found

Command:
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest n8n start
Associated Error: Persistent EACCES: permission denied, open '/home/node/.n8n/config' warnings followed by Error: command n8n not found

Command:
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest /usr/local/bin/n8n start
Associated Error: Error: Command "/usr/local/bin/n8n" not found

Expected behavior

Expected Behavior:
The n8n application should start successfully inside the container, and the terminal should display n8n is now listening on: http://localhost:5678.

Actual Behavior (Full Output from last attempt):

Unable to find image 'n8nio/n8n:latest' locally
latest: Pulling from n8nio/n8n
8b57f3d7e53b: Pull complete
c1ab3b052759: Pull complete
4f4fb700ef54: Pull complete
845179b1d451: Pull complete
ad03744990d9: Pull complete
adf64ed32ed4: Pull complete
6ca4b11b1e63: Pull complete
ae1238b52768: Pull complete
49b2f1c128a2: Pull complete
674b494db888: Pull complete
7775731060ac: Pull complete
fe07684b16b8: Pull complete
49b72e7e39fe: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:ee9bcd832eee4221d4944003bbf651be4866e7e33dd54308850b3eda5fd96a48
Status: Downloaded newer image for n8nio/n8n:latest
Error: Command "/usr/local/bin/n8n" not found

(Previous Error Context - if relevant):
Prior to this "command not found" error, I was consistently encountering EACCES: permission denied, open '/home/node/.n8n/config' errors, which were resolved by confirming Docker Desktop's File Sharing settings. However, now the error has shifted to the executable itself.

System Information:

OS Edition: Windows 11 Home

Device: Surface Pro 8

Windows Version & OS Build: (Please insert your specific version and build here, e.g., Version 22H2 (OS Build 22621.1992))

Docker Desktop Version: (Please insert your Docker Desktop version here, e.g., 4.29.0) - You can find this by clicking the whale icon in the system tray -> About Docker Desktop.

WSL Status (wsl -l -v output):

(Paste the full output from 'wsl -l -v' here. Ensure all distros show Version 2)

Virtualization Status (from Task Manager > Performance > CPU): "Enabled"

Windows Features Enabled (from "Turn Windows features on or off"):

Windows Subsystem for Linux (Checked)

Virtual Machine Platform (Checked)

Windows Hypervisor Platform (Checked)

Antivirus/Security Software: (e.g., "Windows Defender only," or list any third-party software)

Troubleshooting Steps Already Taken:

Confirmed all required Windows Features are enabled and WSL 2 is updated and set as default.

Verified hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x) is enabled in BIOS/UEFI.

Ensured Docker Desktop is running stably.

Configured Docker Desktop File Sharing to include C:\Users\YourUsername (the parent directory of ~/.n8n).

Stopped and removed all existing n8n Docker containers (docker stop n8n, docker rm n8n).

Removed the n8nio/n8n:latest Docker image to force fresh downloads (docker rmi).

Attempted running with different command arguments and their associated errors:

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest

Error: Error: Command "start" not found (from previous attempts)

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest n8n

Error: Error: Command "n8n" not found (from previous attempts)

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest n8n start

Error: EACCES: permission denied, open '/home/node/.n8n/config' (from previous attempts, prior to current "command not found")

docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n:latest /usr/local/bin/n8n start (current attempt)

Error: Error: Command "/usr/local/bin/n8n" not found

This issue is highly unusual given the steps taken. Any assistance in diagnosing why the n8n executable itself is not found within the container would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

docker version

C:\Users\joshu>docker version
Client:
 Version:           28.3.2
 API version:       1.51
 Go version:        go1.24.5
 Git commit:        578ccf6
 Built:             Wed Jul  9 16:12:31 2025
 OS/Arch:           windows/amd64
 Context:           desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.43.2 (199162)
 Engine:
  Version:          28.3.2
  API version:      1.51 (minimum version 1.24)
  Go version:       go1.24.5
  Git commit:       e77ff99
  Built:            Wed Jul  9 16:13:55 2025
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.7.27
  GitCommit:        05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc:
  Version:          1.2.5
  GitCommit:        v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

docker info

C:\Users\joshu>docker info
Client:
 Version:    28.3.2
 Context:    desktop-linux
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  ai: Docker AI Agent - Ask Gordon (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.9.9
    Path:     C:\Users\joshu\.docker\cli-plugins\docker-ai.exe
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.25.0-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-buildx.exe
  cloud: Docker Cloud (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.4.2
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-cloud.exe
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v2.38.2-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-compose.exe
  debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  0.0.41
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-debug.exe
  desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.1.11
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-desktop.exe
  extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.29
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-extension.exe
  init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.4.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-init.exe
  mcp: Docker MCP Plugin (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.9.9
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-mcp.exe
  model: Docker Model Runner (EXPERIMENTAL) (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.1.33
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-model.exe
  sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.)
    Version:  0.6.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-sbom.exe
  scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.18.2
    Path:     C:\Users\joshu\.docker\cli-plugins\docker-scout.exe

Server:
 Containers: 0
  Running: 0
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 0
 Images: 2
 Server Version: 28.3.2
 Storage Driver: overlayfs
  driver-type: io.containerd.snapshotter.v1
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Discovered Devices:
  cdi: docker.com/gpu=webgpu
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: runc io.containerd.runc.v2 nvidia
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: 05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc version: v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  seccomp
   Profile: builtin
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2
 Operating System: Docker Desktop
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 8
 Total Memory: 7.674GiB
 Name: docker-desktop
 ID: f0d780da-3fb0-414f-864b-c1766ff429d7
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal
 Labels:
  com.docker.desktop.address=npipe://\\.\pipe\docker_cli
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  hubproxy.docker.internal:5555
  ::1/128
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false

WARNING: DOCKER_INSECURE_NO_IPTABLES_RAW is set

Diagnostics ID

n/a

Additional Info

No response