1. # Update-n8n-Safely.ps1
  2. # Comprehensive Windows automation for safely upgrading n8n and its Node.js runtime.
  3. # This script performs environment validation, PATH repair, Node.js requirement checks,
  4. # automated Node.js selection and installation, n8n installation, memory/heap diagnostics,
  5. # detection of conflicting tooling (such as nvm4w), and backup of existing n8n data.
  6. # Designed to provide a fully repeatable and fault-tolerant update process.
  7.  
  8. $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
  9.  
  10. # --- ELEVATE IF NOT RUNNING AS ADMIN ---
  11. $IsAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] `
  12.     [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()
  13. ).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator")
  14.  
  15. if (-not $IsAdmin) {
  16.     Write-Host "Re-launching with administrative privileges..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  17.     Start-Process powershell.exe -Verb RunAs -ArgumentList (
  18.         "-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File `"$PSCommandPath`""
  19.     )
  20.     exit
  21. }
  22. # --- END ELEVATION BLOCK ---
  23.  
  24. Write-Host "=== Future-Proof n8n Updater for Windows ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  25.  
  26. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  27. # SYSTEM MEMORY CHECK + OPTIONAL NODE HEAP DETECTION
  28. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  29.  
  30. Write-Host "Checking system memory..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  31.  
  32. $ramFree = (Get-Counter '\Memory\Available MBytes').CounterSamples[0].CookedValue
  33. $commitLimit = (Get-Counter '\Memory\Commit Limit').CounterSamples[0].CookedValue / 1MB
  34. $committed = (Get-Counter '\Memory\Committed Bytes').CounterSamples[0].CookedValue / 1MB
  35.  
  36. Write-Host "Free RAM: $([math]::Round($ramFree)) MB" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  37. Write-Host "Commit Used: $([math]::Round($committed)) MB / $([math]::Round($commitLimit)) MB" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  38.  
  39. $currentHeap = $null
  40. try {
  41.     $heapOutput = node -e "console.log(require('v8').getHeapStatistics().heap_size_limit / 1024 / 1024)"
  42.     if ($heapOutput) { $currentHeap = [math]::Round([double]$heapOutput) }
  43. } catch {}
  44.  
  45. if ($currentHeap) {
  46.     Write-Host "Current Node heap limit: $currentHeap MB" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  47. } else {
  48.     Write-Host "Current Node heap limit: (Node not installed yet)" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
  49. }
  50.  
  51. $minFreeRamMB = 800
  52. $heapSafeMB = 1536
  53.  
  54. if ($ramFree -lt $minFreeRamMB) {
  55.     Write-Host "`nWARNING: You have less than $minFreeRamMB MB free RAM." -ForegroundColor Red
  56.     Write-Host "n8n installation may fail due to insufficient memory." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  57.  
  58.     Write-Host "`nChoose an option:"
  59.     Write-Host "  [1] Continue anyway"
  60.     Write-Host "  [2] Apply safer heap limit (--max-old-space-size=$heapSafeMB)"
  61.     Write-Host "  [3] Abort installation"
  62.     $choice = Read-Host "Enter 1, 2, or 3"
  63.  
  64.     switch ($choice) {
  65.         "1" { Write-Host "Continuing despite low RAM..." -ForegroundColor Yellow }
  66.         "2" {
  67.             $env:NODE_OPTIONS = "--max-old-space-size=$heapSafeMB"
  68.             Write-Host "Applied safe heap setting: $env:NODE_OPTIONS" -ForegroundColor Green
  69.         }
  70.         "3" {
  71.             Write-Host "Aborting installation." -ForegroundColor Red
  72.             exit 1
  73.         }
  74.         default {
  75.             Write-Host "Invalid choice. Aborting." -ForegroundColor Red
  76.             exit 1
  77.         }
  78.     }
  79. }
  80.  
  81. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  82. # SAFETY CHECK: BLOCK nvm4w
  83. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  84.  
  85. if (Test-Path "C:\nvm4w") {
  86.     Write-Host "ERROR: Detected 'C:\nvm4w' residual folder." -ForegroundColor Red
  87.     Write-Host "This folder hijacks Node MSI installs." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  88.     Write-Host "Remove it:  Remove-Item -Recurse -Force 'C:\nvm4w'" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  89.     exit 1
  90. }
  91.  
  92. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  93. # BACKUP n8n DATA
  94. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  95.  
  96. Write-Host "Backing up n8n data..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  97. $date = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd"
  98. Write-Host "Backup complete." -ForegroundColor Green
  99.  
  100. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  101. # FETCH LATEST n8n METADATA
  102. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  103.  
  104. Write-Host "Fetching latest n8n version and Node requirements..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  105. $n8nUrl = "https://registry.npmjs.org/n8n/latest";
  106.  
  107. try {
  108.     $n8nData = (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $n8nUrl -UseBasicParsing).Content | ConvertFrom-Json
  109.     $latestN8nVersion = $n8nData.version
  110.     $nodeEngineRange  = $n8nData.engines.node
  111. } catch {
  112.     Write-Host "Failed to fetch n8n metadata: $_" -ForegroundColor Red
  113.     exit 1
  114. }
  115.  
  116. Write-Host "Latest n8n: $latestN8nVersion" -ForegroundColor Green
  117. Write-Host "Required Node: $nodeEngineRange" -ForegroundColor Green
  118.  
  119. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  120. # PARSE NODE ENGINE RANGE
  121. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  122.  
  123. $min = [regex]::Match($nodeEngineRange, '(>=|>)\s*(\d+(\.\d+)*)')
  124. $minOp   = $min.Groups[1].Value
  125. $minNode = $min.Groups[2].Value
  126.  
  127. $max = [regex]::Match($nodeEngineRange, '(<=|<)\s*(\d+(\.\d+){0,2}(?:\.x)?)(?=$|\s)')
  128. $maxOp   = $max.Groups[1].Value
  129. $maxNode = $max.Groups[2].Value
  130.  
  131. if ($maxNode -match '\.x$') {
  132.     $maxNode = $maxNode -replace '\.x$', '.99.99'
  133. }
  134.  
  135. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  136. # FETCH NODE INDEX
  137. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  138.  
  139. Write-Host "Fetching Node.js versions list..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  140. $nodeIndexUrl = "https://nodejs.org/dist/index.json";
  141.  
  142. try {
  143.     $nodeIndex = (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $nodeIndexUrl -UseBasicParsing).Content | ConvertFrom-Json
  144. } catch {
  145.     Write-Host "Failed to fetch Node versions: $_" -ForegroundColor Red
  146.     exit 1
  147. }
  148.  
  149. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  150. # FILTER VALID NODE VERSIONS
  151. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  152.  
  153. $candidates = $nodeIndex | Where-Object {
  154.     $v = $_.version.TrimStart('v')
  155.     if ($v -match '-') { return $false }
  156.     if (-not ($_.files -contains "win-x64-msi")) { return $false }
  157.     try {
  158.         $ver = [version]$v
  159.         $minOK = if ($minOp -eq '>=') { $ver -ge [version]$minNode } else { $ver -gt [version]$minNode }
  160.         $maxOK = if ($maxOp -eq '<=') { $ver -le [version]$maxNode } else { $ver -lt [version]$maxNode }
  161.         $minOK -and $maxOK
  162.     } catch { $false }
  163. }
  164.  
  165. if ($candidates.Count -eq 0) {
  166.     Write-Host "No Node versions satisfy $nodeEngineRange" -ForegroundColor Red
  167.     exit 1
  168. }
  169.  
  170. $ltsCandidates = $candidates | Where-Object { $_.lts -and $_.lts -ne $false }
  171.  
  172. if ($ltsCandidates.Count -gt 0) {
  173.     $chosen = $ltsCandidates |
  174.         Sort-Object { [version]($_.version.TrimStart('v')) } -Descending |
  175.         Select-Object -First 1
  176.     Write-Host "Selected LTS Node: $($chosen.version) (LTS: $($chosen.lts))" -ForegroundColor Green
  177. } else {
  178.     $chosen = $candidates |
  179.         Sort-Object { [version]($_.version.TrimStart('v')) } -Descending |
  180.         Select-Object -First 1
  181.     Write-Host "Selected latest stable Node: $($chosen.version)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  182. }
  183.  
  184. $realVer = $chosen.version.TrimStart('v')
  185. if ($realVer -like "24.1[1-9].*" -or $realVer -like "24.[2-9][0-9].*") {
  186.     Write-Host "WARNING: Bogus Node version detected: $realVer" -ForegroundColor Red
  187.     $chosen = $candidates | Where-Object { $_.version -like "v24.1.*" } | Select-Object -First 1
  188. }
  189.  
  190. $targetNodeVersion = $chosen.version
  191. Write-Host "Best Node version for n8n ${latestN8nVersion}: $targetNodeVersion" -ForegroundColor Green
  192.  
  193. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  194. # UNINSTALL OLD NODE
  195. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  196.  
  197. Write-Host "Uninstalling any existing Node.js..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  198.  
  199. $unKeys = @(
  200.     "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*",
  201.     "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*"
  202. )
  203.  
  204. $products = Get-ItemProperty -Path $unKeys -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
  205.     Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "*Node.js*" }
  206.  
  207. foreach ($p in $products) {
  208.     if ($p.UninstallString -match '{[0-9A-Fa-f\-]+}') {
  209.         $guid = $matches[0]
  210.         Start-Process -Wait msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/x $guid /quiet /norestart"
  211.     } elseif ($p.UninstallString) {
  212.         Start-Process -Wait cmd.exe -ArgumentList "/c `"$($p.UninstallString)`""
  213.     }
  214. }
  215.  
  216. Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
  217.  
  218. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  219. # DOWNLOAD + INSTALL NODE MSI
  220. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  221.  
  222. Write-Host "Downloading and installing Node $targetNodeVersion..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  223.  
  224. $base = $targetNodeVersion.TrimStart('v')
  225. $msiUrl  = "https://nodejs.org/dist/v$base/node-v$base-x64.msi";
  226. $msiPath = "$env:TEMP\node-v$base-x64.msi"
  227.  
  228. Write-Host "MSI URL: $msiUrl" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  229.  
  230. Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $msiUrl -OutFile $msiPath -UseBasicParsing
  231.  
  232. Write-Host "Downloaded: $msiPath" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  233.  
  234. $size = (Get-Item $msiPath).Length
  235. Write-Host "Size: $size bytes" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  236.  
  237. $bytes = Get-Content $msiPath -Encoding Byte -TotalCount 8
  238. $hex = ($bytes | ForEach-Object { $_.ToString("X2") }) -join " "
  239. Write-Host "Header: $hex" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  240.  
  241. Start-Process -Wait msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i `"$msiPath`" /quiet /norestart"
  242. Remove-Item $msiPath -Force
  243.  
  244. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  245. # DETECT NODE INSTALL LOCATION
  246. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  247.  
  248. $locations = @(
  249.     "C:\Program Files\nodejs",
  250.     "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\nodejs"
  251. )
  252.  
  253. $found = $null
  254. foreach ($loc in $locations) {
  255.     if (Test-Path (Join-Path $loc "node.exe")) {
  256.         $found = $loc
  257.         break
  258.     }
  259. }
  260.  
  261. if (-not $found) {
  262.     Write-Host "ERROR: Node did not install into expected directories." -ForegroundColor Red
  263.     exit 1
  264. }
  265.  
  266. Write-Host "Found Node at: $found" -ForegroundColor Green
  267. $env:PATH = "$found;$env:PATH"
  268.  
  269. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  270. # PATH REPAIR (NEW SECTION)
  271. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  272.  
  273. $npmGlobalRoot = npm root -g 2>$null
  274. $npmBinDir = Split-Path $npmGlobalRoot -Parent
  275.  
  276. $pathUser = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","User")
  277.  
  278. if (-not ($pathUser -split ";" | Where-Object { $_ -eq $npmBinDir })) {
  279.     $newUserPath = $pathUser + ";" + $npmBinDir
  280.     [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path",$newUserPath,"User")
  281.     Write-Host "Added npm global bin to PATH (User): $npmBinDir" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  282. }
  283.  
  284. $pathMachine = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","Machine")
  285.  
  286. if (-not ($pathMachine -split ";" | Where-Object { $_ -eq $found })) {
  287.     $newMachinePath = $pathMachine + ";" + $found
  288.     [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path",$newMachinePath,"Machine")
  289.     Write-Host "Added Node install dir to PATH (Machine): $found" -ForegroundColor Yellow
  290. }
  291.  
  292. $env:PATH = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","Machine") + ";" +
  293.             [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","User")
  294.  
  295. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  296. # VERIFY NODE + REPORT HEAP LIMIT
  297. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  298.  
  299. Write-Host "Verifying installation..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  300. $installedNode = (node -v 2>$null).Trim().Replace("v","")
  301. $installedNpm  = (npm -v 2>$null).Trim()
  302.  
  303. if (-not $installedNode) {
  304.     Write-Host "ERROR: Node not detected even after installation." -ForegroundColor Red
  305.     exit 1
  306. }
  307.  
  308. Write-Host "Node $installedNode and npm $installedNpm installed successfully." -ForegroundColor Green
  309.  
  310. $heapAfter = $null
  311. try {
  312.     $heapAfter = node -e "console.log(require('v8').getHeapStatistics().heap_size_limit / 1024 / 1024)"
  313. } catch {}
  314.  
  315. if ($heapAfter) {
  316.     Write-Host "Node heap limit now: $([math]::Round([double]$heapAfter)) MB" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  317. }
  318.  
  319. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  320. # INSTALL n8n
  321. # ---------------------------------------------------------------
  322.  
  323. Write-Host "Installing n8n@$latestN8nVersion..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
  324. npm install -g n8n@$latestN8nVersion
  325.  
  326. $n8nVersion = (n8n --version 2>$null).Trim()
  327.  
  328. if ($n8nVersion -ne $latestN8nVersion) {
  329.     Write-Host "ERROR: n8n installation mismatch (expected $latestN8nVersion, got $n8nVersion)." -ForegroundColor Red
  330.     exit 1
  331. }
  332.  
  333. Write-Host "`nSUCCESS: n8n $n8nVersion installed on Node $installedNode" -ForegroundColor Cyan
  334. Write-Host "Run launch-n8n.ps1 to start n8n." -ForegroundColor Green