What AI can do for you · 1 Nov 2026 · Last updated 1 Nov 2026 · By Mayank Raj, Co-founder · About · 3 min read

n8n 3.0 Migration Guide: Beta Out, Stable in Early December

n8n 3.0 beta is out and stable follows in early December 2026. What breaks, how to use the Migration Report, and the order to upgrade in. 1.x support ends Dec 31.

Short version: n8n released 3.0.0 beta on October 27, 2026, and the stable release is planned for early December (n8n blog). The upgrade is one way, self-hosted installs must run on Docker, and a batch of old nodes is gone. Open the Migration Report this week. For a two-minute overview first, read what changes in n8n 3.

What changes

n8n says 3.0 is about reliability, stability and security. New features keep shipping on regular minor releases rather than waiting for a major version (n8n blog). The full per-change list, with what to do for each, is in the breaking changes docs. The ones most likely to hit an ops team:

Area	Change	Source
Self-hosting	Docker is required; npm and npx installs are no longer supported	n8n blog
Scheduling	Cron and Interval nodes are replaced by the Schedule Trigger	n8n blog
Code node	Default timeout drops from 5 minutes to 1 minute, and is configurable	n8n blog
Binary data	In-memory mode is removed; use filesystem, S3 or other external storage	n8n blog
Queue mode	Manual executions always run on workers	n8n blog
Nodes	Function, Function Item, Item Lists, legacy OpenAI node and older AI Agent modes removed	n8n blog
Slack	Credentials require a signing secret	n8n blog
Community packages	Unverified packages are off by default	n8n blog

Replacements n8n names: Function becomes the Code node, and Item Lists becomes Split Out, Aggregate, Sort, Limit, Remove Duplicates or Summarize. Many removed nodes migrate automatically (n8n blog).

The upgrade order

n8n recommends this path (n8n blog):

Update to the latest 2.x and open Settings > Migration Report (available from 2.39).
Fix, or mark “won’t fix”, everything it flags.
Take a full backup.
Upgrade a test or staging instance first, then production.

The report lists affected workflows and instance settings, fixes many issues automatically as new workflow versions you review and publish, and suggests an owner for each workflow. Your published workflows keep running on v2 while you work. It also exports a CSV summary (n8n blog). n8n’s own checklist is in its support article.

Timeline and deadlines

Oct 27, 2026: 3.0.0 beta released. On n8n Cloud, pick 3.0.0 Beta (early access) as your version (n8n blog).
Early December 2026: stable 3.x planned (n8n blog).
Dec 31, 2026: support for 1.x ends. Go 1.x to 2.x first, since there is no direct 1.x to 3.x path (n8n blog).
12 months after stable: 2.x receives security and critical fixes only (n8n blog).

Your week

Self-hosting on npm or npx? Plan the move to Docker first. It is the biggest change for you.
Using Cron, Interval or Function nodes? Run the Migration Report and see how many migrate automatically.
Unsure who owns which workflow? Use the report’s owner suggestions and CSV export to assign them.
Still on 1.x? Start the 2.x upgrade now. Dec 31 is the last day of support.

We have not tested the beta ourselves, and the sources do not give an exact stable date or any hosting costs, so we are not guessing at either.

Getting help

If you would rather not do this alone, n8n specialists and AI agent developers list migration and self-hosting work. Or describe your setup on the matcher. For the rest of this month’s news, see November trending; for earlier n8n news such as n8n Agents, see the October long read.

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Related guides

Quick answers

Questions

When is n8n 3.0 stable?

n8n says early December 2026. The 3.0.0 beta was released on October 27, 2026 (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/). No exact stable date is given.

Can I roll back from 3.x to 2.x?

No. Moving to 3.x is one way. Going back means restoring a backup, so take a full backup first (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/).

Where is the Migration Report?

Settings > Migration Report, on any instance running 2.39 or later. Update to the latest 2.x first because it has the newest version of the report (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/).

Does n8n 3.0 still support npm or npx installs?

No. Self-hosted n8n now runs on Docker. Kubernetes and Helm deployments are not affected (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/).

Which nodes were removed?

Function, Function Item, Item Lists, Cron, Interval, the legacy OpenAI node, older AI Agent modes and older versions of the Edit Image node, among others. Most have a replacement (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/).

I am on n8n 1.x. What do I do?

Upgrade to 2.x first. There is no direct path from 1.x to 3.x, and support for 1.x ends on December 31, 2026 (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/).

How long is 2.x supported after 3.x goes stable?

Security and critical bug fixes for 12 months. New features ship on 3.x only (blog.n8n.io/introducing-n8n-v3/).

Is there a shorter explainer?

Yes: /answers/what-changes-in-n8n-3/. This page goes deeper on the upgrade order.

Sources

We paraphrase public posts and link to the original. Cost and time figures marked "estimate" are rough guidance, not quotes.

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