Exposing n8n Workflows

n8n is a powerful open-source workflow automation tool. Many workflows start with a webhook trigger—but exposing your local n8n instance to receive those webhooks can be tricky.

With Inspectr, you can expose your local n8n webhook endpoints securely to the public and monitor all incoming traffic in real time.

Data Flow

Why Use Inspectr with n8n?

Securely expose local n8n webhooks (no tunnel config needed)
Debug and replay webhook requests
View incoming headers and payloads in the UI
Share your webhook URL with third-party systems instantly

Prerequisites

n8n installed and running locally (e.g. via Docker or NPM)
Inspectr installed (Install guide →)

Step 1: Start n8n Locally

Run n8n locally with webhook endpoints enabled. For example:

npx n8n

or via Docker

docker run -it --rm \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -e N8N_HOST=localhost \
  -e N8N_PORT=5678 \
  -e N8N_PROTOCOL=http \
  -e WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL=http://localhost:8080 \
  n8nio/n8n

Add a Webhook trigger to a n8n workflow.

Make sure your workflow includes a Webhook Trigger node with an appropriate path (e.g. /inspectr).

Step 2: Start Inspectr to Forward Requests to n8n

Now launch Inspectr to forward incoming requests to your local n8n server:

inspectr --backend=http://localhost:5678 --expose --channel=n8n-demo --channel-code=n8ndemo123

Inspectr will expose your service on:

https://n8n-demo.in-spectr.dev

Any request to that domain will be forwarded to your local n8n instance
You’ll see real-time logs in both the terminal and Inspectr App UI

Step 3: Configure Third-Party Webhook or Trigger Event

Use your public Inspectr URL when setting up webhook integrations:

https://n8n-demo.in-spectr.dev/webhook-test/inspectr

This replaces http://localhost:5678/webhook-test/inspectr and allows services like Stripe, GitHub, or Zapier to reach your local workflow.

For this demo, you can trigger the n8n workflow by opening the trigger URL in your browser.

https://n8n-demo.in-spectr.dev/webhook-test/inspectr

The n8n webhook workflow running on your local machine, was succesfully triggered remotely

Step 4: Inspect and Replay

Watch incoming events in http://localhost:4004
Use the Inspectr UI to inspect payloads, status codes, and headers
Replay captured requests into your workflow with one click

Tips

Add request validation logic in your n8n workflow if needed
Use Inspectr even in production-like environments to log webhook traffic