feat: add Railway deployment support with CI/CD integration

- Add Railway-specific Docker image build to CI/CD workflow - Builds n8n-mcp-railway image alongside standard image - Railway image optimized for AMD64 architecture - Automatically published to ghcr.io on main branch pushes - Create comprehensive Railway deployment documentation - Step-by-step deployment guide with security best practices - Claude Desktop connection instructions via mcp-remote - Troubleshooting guide for common issues - Architecture details and single-instance design explanation - Update README with Railway documentation link - Removed inline Railway content to keep README focused - Added link to dedicated Railway deployment guide This enables zero-configuration cloud deployment of n8n-mcp with automatic HTTPS, global access, and built-in monitoring. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
2025-07-17 00:46:14 +02:00
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+# Railway Deployment Guide for n8n-MCP
+
+Deploy n8n-MCP to Railway's cloud platform with zero configuration and connect it to Claude Desktop from anywhere.
+
+## 🚀 Quick Deploy
+
+Deploy n8n-MCP with one click:
+
+[![Deploy on Railway](https://railway.com/button.svg)](https://railway.com/deploy/Ep_b-Y?referralCode=n8n-mcp)
+
+## 📋 Overview
+
+Railway deployment provides:
+- ☁️ **Instant cloud hosting** - No server setup required
+- 🔒 **Secure by default** - HTTPS included, auth token warnings
+- 🌐 **Global access** - Connect from any Claude Desktop
+- ⚡ **Auto-scaling** - Railway handles the infrastructure
+- 📊 **Built-in monitoring** - Logs and metrics included
+
+## 🎯 Step-by-Step Deployment
+
+### 1. Deploy to Railway
+
+1. **Click the Deploy button** above
+2. **Sign in to Railway** (or create account)
+3. **Configure your deployment**:
+   - Project name (optional)
+   - Environment (leave as "production")
+   - Region (choose closest to you)
+4. **Click "Deploy"** and wait ~2-3 minutes
+
+### 2. Configure Security
+
+**IMPORTANT**: The deployment includes a default AUTH_TOKEN for instant functionality, but you MUST change it:
+
+1. **Go to your Railway dashboard**
+2. **Click on your n8n-mcp service**
+3. **Navigate to "Variables" tab**
+4. **Find `AUTH_TOKEN`** 
+5. **Replace with secure token**:
+   ```bash
+   # Generate secure token locally:
+   openssl rand -base64 32
+   ```
+6. **Railway will automatically redeploy** with the new token
+
+> ⚠️ **Security Warning**: The server displays warnings every 5 minutes until you change the default token!
+
+### 3. Get Your Service URL
+
+1. In Railway dashboard, click on your service
+2. Go to **"Settings"** tab
+3. Under **"Domains"**, you'll see your URL:
+   ```
+   https://your-app-name.up.railway.app
+   ```
+4. Copy this URL for Claude Desktop configuration
+
+### 4. Connect Claude Desktop
+
+Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:
+
+```json
+{
+  "mcpServers": {
+    "n8n-railway": {
+      "command": "npx",
+      "args": [
+        "-y",
+        "mcp-remote",
+        "https://your-app-name.up.railway.app/mcp",
+        "--header",
+        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECURE_TOKEN_HERE"
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Configuration file locations:**
+- **macOS**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
+- **Windows**: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
+- **Linux**: `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
+
+**Restart Claude Desktop** after saving the configuration.
+
+## 🔧 Environment Variables
+
+### Default Variables (Pre-configured)
+
+These are automatically set by the Railway template:
+
+| Variable | Default Value | Description |
+|----------|--------------|-------------|
+| `AUTH_TOKEN` | `REPLACE_THIS...` | **⚠️ CHANGE IMMEDIATELY** |
+| `MCP_MODE` | `http` | Required for cloud deployment |
+| `USE_FIXED_HTTP` | `true` | Stable HTTP implementation |
+| `NODE_ENV` | `production` | Production optimizations |
+| `LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Balanced logging |
+| `TRUST_PROXY` | `1` | Railway runs behind proxy |
+| `CORS_ORIGIN` | `*` | Allow any origin |
+| `HOST` | `0.0.0.0` | Listen on all interfaces |
+| `PORT` | (Railway provides) | Don't set manually |
+
+### Optional: n8n API Integration
+
+To enable workflow management features:
+
+1. **Go to Railway dashboard** → Your service → **Variables**
+2. **Add these variables**:
+   - `N8N_API_URL`: Your n8n instance URL (e.g., `https://n8n.example.com`)
+   - `N8N_API_KEY`: API key from n8n Settings → API
+3. **Save changes** - Railway will redeploy automatically
+
+## 🏗️ Architecture Details
+
+### How It Works
+
+```
+Claude Desktop → mcp-remote → Railway (HTTPS) → n8n-MCP Server
+```
+
+1. **Claude Desktop** uses `mcp-remote` as a bridge
+2. **mcp-remote** converts stdio to HTTP requests
+3. **Railway** provides HTTPS endpoint and infrastructure
+4. **n8n-MCP** runs in HTTP mode on Railway
+
+### Single-Instance Design
+
+**Important**: The n8n-MCP HTTP server is designed for single n8n instance deployment:
+- n8n API credentials are configured server-side via environment variables
+- All clients connecting to the server share the same n8n instance
+- For multi-tenant usage, deploy separate Railway instances
+
+### Security Model
+
+- **Bearer Token Authentication**: All requests require the AUTH_TOKEN
+- **HTTPS by Default**: Railway provides SSL certificates
+- **Environment Isolation**: Each deployment is isolated
+- **No State Storage**: Server is stateless (database is read-only)
+
+## 🚨 Troubleshooting
+
+### Connection Issues
+
+**"Invalid URL" error in Claude Desktop:**
+- Ensure you're using the exact configuration format shown above
+- Don't add "connect" or other arguments before the URL
+- The URL should end with `/mcp`
+
+**"Unauthorized" error:**
+- Check that your AUTH_TOKEN matches exactly (no extra spaces)
+- Ensure the Authorization header format is correct: `Authorization: Bearer TOKEN`
+
+**"Cannot connect to server":**
+- Verify your Railway deployment is running (check Railway dashboard)
+- Ensure the URL is correct and includes `https://`
+- Check Railway logs for any errors
+
+### Railway-Specific Issues
+
+**Build failures:**
+- Railway uses AMD64 architecture - the template is configured for this
+- Check build logs in Railway dashboard for specific errors
+
+**Environment variable issues:**
+- Variables are case-sensitive
+- Don't include quotes in the Railway dashboard (only in JSON config)
+- Railway automatically restarts when you change variables
+
+**Domain not working:**
+- It may take 1-2 minutes for the domain to become active
+- Check the "Deployments" tab to ensure the latest deployment succeeded
+
+## 📊 Monitoring & Logs
+
+### View Logs
+
+1. Go to Railway dashboard
+2. Click on your n8n-mcp service
+3. Click on **"Logs"** tab
+4. You'll see real-time logs including:
+   - Server startup messages
+   - Authentication attempts
+   - API requests (without sensitive data)
+   - Any errors or warnings
+
+### Monitor Usage
+
+Railway provides metrics for:
+- **Memory usage** (typically ~100-200MB)
+- **CPU usage** (minimal when idle)
+- **Network traffic**
+- **Response times**
+
+## 💰 Pricing & Limits
+
+### Railway Free Tier
+- **$5 free credit** monthly
+- **500 hours** of runtime
+- **Sufficient for personal use** of n8n-MCP
+
+### Estimated Costs
+- **n8n-MCP typically uses**: ~0.1 GB RAM
+- **Monthly cost**: ~$2-3 for 24/7 operation
+- **Well within free tier** for most users
+
+## 🔄 Updates & Maintenance
+
+### Manual Updates
+
+Since the Railway template uses a specific Docker image tag, updates are manual:
+
+1. **Check for updates** on [GitHub](https://github.com/czlonkowski/n8n-mcp)
+2. **Update image tag** in Railway:
+   - Go to Settings → Deploy → Docker Image
+   - Change tag from current to new version
+   - Click "Redeploy"
+
+### Automatic Updates (Not Recommended)
+
+You could use the `latest` tag, but this may cause unexpected breaking changes.
+
+## 📝 Best Practices
+
+1. **Always change the default AUTH_TOKEN immediately**
+2. **Use strong, unique tokens** (32+ characters)
+3. **Monitor logs** for unauthorized access attempts
+4. **Keep credentials secure** - never commit them to git
+5. **Use environment variables** for all sensitive data
+6. **Regular updates** - check for new versions monthly
+
+## 🆘 Getting Help
+
+- **Railway Documentation**: [docs.railway.app](https://docs.railway.app)
+- **n8n-MCP Issues**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/czlonkowski/n8n-mcp/issues)
+- **Railway Community**: [Discord](https://discord.gg/railway)
+
+## 🎉 Success!
+
+Once connected, you can use all n8n-MCP features from Claude Desktop:
+- Search and explore 500+ n8n nodes
+- Get node configurations and examples
+- Validate workflows before deployment
+- Manage n8n workflows (if API configured)
+
+The cloud deployment means you can access your n8n knowledge base from any computer with Claude Desktop installed!