Root Cause:
- N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY in /opt/n8n/.env contained literal shell command
string $(openssl rand -hex 32) instead of executed value
- .env files do not execute shell commands, only parse literal strings
- Caused n8n service crash loop preventing startup
Troubleshooting Process:
- Identified service crash loop via journalctl logs
- Backend-Builder diagnosed invalid encryption key issue
- Multiple heredoc script attempts failed due to Windows/Linux line
ending issues in WSL environment
- Created simple fix script using echo statements (no heredoc)
Solution:
- Fix script created at /tmp/fix_n8n_simple.sh
- Generates proper encryption key using openssl rand -hex 32
- Recreates .env with corrected configuration including missing
N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0 and NODE_ENV=production
- Backs up existing .env before changes
- Sets proper permissions (600, n8n:n8n)
Reviews:
- Backend-Builder: APPROVED (95% confidence, technically sound)
- Lab-Operator: APPROVED with safeguards (ZFS snapshot, DB backup)
Status: Ready for deployment by user on CT 113 tomorrow
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Added Proxmox VE configuration collection scripts
- Included documentation and quick-start guides
- First infrastructure snapshot from serviceslab (2025-11-29)
- All VM configs (10 VMs) and LXC configs (3 containers)
- Git setup complete with .gitignore protecting sensitive data
