Hosted automation tools cost you every month and hold your data on someone else's infrastructure. Self-hosting fixes both, but most people get it half done: n8n running, nothing else. Then an update breaks it at the weekend.I install n8n on your own server and harden it properly: Docker or systemd, persistence so workflows survive a restart, queue mode if you need it, credentials and secrets managed outside the editor, automated backups, TLS, and restricted access. Then I update it and you can update it later without fear.Step by step:You give me server access and tell me what it needs to connect to.I install, configure and harden, and prove the restart case actually works.Handover includes a backup/restore test and a written update runbook.Self-hosted projects pay more than hosted ones for a reason: you own the stack. This is that build, as a fixed scope rather than an open-ended retainer.
