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n8n: "Credentials could not be decrypted" after a move - how to get them back

You moved n8n to Docker or to a new server, and every credential now fails with:

Credentials could not be decrypted. The likely reason is that a different "encryptionKey" was used to encrypt the data.

Your credentials are most likely not lost. n8n encrypts them with an encryption key. The database you copied still holds the encrypted credentials - but the new n8n started with a new key, so it cannot read them.

Where the key lives

  • In n8n's user folder, in the file .n8n/config (a small JSON file with "encryptionKey"). For an npm install that is ~/.n8n/config of the user that runs n8n; in the official Docker image it is /home/node/.n8n/config.
  • Or in the environment variable N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY, if you set one - it takes the place of the key in the file.

Fix it (old key still available)

  1. Do not create new credentials yet, and keep the old machine or its backup untouched.
  2. Find the old key: on the old machine, cat ~/.n8n/config as the user that ran n8n (or check its old N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY).
  3. Give the new n8n exactly that key: set N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=<old key> in the container's environment (compose file or .env) - or put the old config file into the folder mounted at /home/node/.n8n.
  4. Restart n8n and open one credential to test it.

"Mismatching encryption keys"

If n8n now refuses to start with this message:

Mismatching encryption keys. The encryption key in the settings file /home/node/.n8n/config does not match the N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY env var. Please make sure both keys match.

the key in the config file and N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY differ. Both must hold the old key: fix the variable or the file so they match, then start again. n8n's documentation on configuration: docs.n8n.io - configuration methods.

The old key is gone

Then the stored credentials cannot be decrypted - by anyone. You have to enter them again (workflows themselves are not encrypted and keep working once their credentials are set again).

Avoid it next time

FREE

Check before you move

The free check shows where your key is and what else the move involves (n8n 3.0 drops npm installs).
n8n 3.0 Move Kit

Move with the key, checked

Moves an npm n8n to Docker on the same version and only says DONE when every credential decrypts in the container.

LAUNCH40 40 % off at checkout until 13 Oct 23:59 (Athens)

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Error texts quoted from n8n 2.41.5. Not an official n8n page; not affiliated with n8n GmbH. Made with AI assistance, checked against n8n's code.