Stage 2 · Lesson 4 of 8
Credentials
n8n stores , OAuth connections and passwords as . They are encrypted, scrambled with an encryption key, inside n8n's database. Nodes then refer to a credential by its name.
This keeps secrets out of the workflow's JSON, so you can export or share a workflow without leaking keys. On a , meaning n8n running on your own , the encryption key lives in the n8n data folder. It can also be set in an , a setting passed to the server when it starts.
Lose that key and you lose every stored credential. For client work, create credentials from the client's own accounts, with the smallest scopes that work.
Common trappasting a key straight into an HTTP node header field, where it is exported with the workflow and visible to anyone who opens it.
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n8n · Beginner
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