My instance of n8n is running very, very slow. 20 Second return per keystroke

Anonymous
PRO

13 days ago

My instance of n8n is running very, very slow:

  • Started last Wednesday (7/16) or Thursday (7/17)

  • Upgraded my instance but that did not change the issue

  • Everything works it just takes forever ....

  • My workflow(s) are modest and they execute (for testing)

  • Editing and getting around inside the program that is painful

  • The response time is so slow that I'm getting browser "This page is slowing down firefox" warnings

  • I have tried using different browsers but they all run slow

  • It doesn't seem to be a file issue, I'm have same problem no matter what file I open up.

    Please help, this is very frustrating...

Thank you!

$10 Bounty

2 Replies

Railway
BOT

13 days ago

Hey there! We've found the following might help you get unblocked faster:

If you find the answer from one of these, please let us know by solving the thread!

loganbek
FREE

13 days ago

1. Check your RAM usage

Railway’s Hobby plan gives limited RAM (512MB).
n8n is Node.js-based, and the UI/editor is memory-heavy — especially with browser usage.

Fix:

  • Upgrade to a Pro plan (1GB+) if you haven’t already.

  • Or reduce memory use by disabling unneeded integrations and workflows during editing.

2. Use NODE_OPTIONS to limit memory pressure

In Railway → Variables, add:

NODE_OPTIONS=--max_old_space_size=256

This prevents n8n from trying to use more memory than available, which causes heavy swap and lag.

3. Turn off telemetry and production mode (for dev/testing)

Also in Railway Variables:

N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED=false 
N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED=false 
NODE_ENV=development

These reduce background tasks that can slow down your app.

4. Force Web UI to be faster (Optional)

In Railway Variables:

VUE_APP_LOG_LEVEL=error

This lowers console logging in the n8n editor UI.

5. If using SQLite, switch to Postgres

SQLite can slow down in cloud environments, especially with multiple workflows or large logs.

Fix: Set up Railway Postgres and configure:

DB_TYPE=postgresdb 
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=<your-railway-host> 
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432 
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=<your-db-name> 
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=<your-user> 
DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=<your-password>

6. Final Redeploy

After setting the above, hit Apply Changes → Redeploy.