This is Part 2 of a two‑part series on deploying n8n on Azure AppService. In this post we cover creating your login account, using Templates, and building two tiny APIs you can call from Postman or curl.

Refer Part 1 for AppService creation, environment variables, and persistence.

Create your account (and first login)​

Self‑hosted (your Azure AppService)​

When your container first starts, n8n shows the Owner setup screen. Create the owner account (email + password) and you’re in. This initializes user management for your instance.

n8n Cloud (hosted by n8n)​

If you prefer not to self‑host, sign up for n8n Cloud and pick a plan. All paid plans allow unlimited workflows/steps/users; features like Projects, advanced roles, and concurrency vary by tier.

Personal vs Enterprise (what changes)​

• Personal (Community/Self‑hosted, single space): great for solo use and lightweight teams. You get the owner + members flow, but RBAC Projects aren’t available on Community Edition. If you need project‑level access control, upgrade to Pro/Enterprise (Cloud) or Self‑hosted Enterprise.
• Enterprise (Cloud or Self‑hosted Enterprise): adds Projects (group workflows + credentials), RBAC roles (Admin/Editor/Viewer), higher concurrency, extended insights/retention, log streaming, and org‑level governance on Cloud Enterprise.

Create Projects (Enterprise/Pro)​

Who can create projects? Instance Owners/Admins.

Steps (UI):

1. In the left sidebar, select ➕ Add project.
2. Name it (e.g., marketing-automation, data-pipeline-prod) and choose settings.
3. Save. You’ll see the project in the sidebar; new workflows created inside it belong to that project.

Assign roles to teammates:

• Invite users, then set their project role: Admin, Editor, or Viewer. A user can be Admin on one project and Viewer on another—access is per project. (Viewer availability depends on plan.)

Good patterns:

• Separate projects by team (Marketing, Ops) or environment (Dev/Stage/Prod).
• Keep credentials scoped to the project that needs them (least‑privilege).

Using Templates (fastest way to start)​

n8n Templates are pre‑built workflow blueprints you can import and run in minutes—great for learning or bootstrapping common automations.

A) Import from the in‑product Templates catalog​

1. Open your n8n editor at https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/ and sign in.
2. Click Templates in the top bar (or use the search box in the node panel and switch to the Templates tab).
3. Search for a use case (e.g., “Slack message”, “HTTP to Google Sheets”, “Webhook to Notion”).
4. Click Use template → Create workflow.
5. When prompted, create credentials for any nodes that need them (Slack, Notion, Google, etc.). Credentials are encrypted at rest using your N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY and stored at /home/node/.n8n (Azure Files), so they persist across restarts.
6. Click Test workflow to validate; then Activate to go live.

B) Import from a JSON export (community or your own)​

1. In the editor, click Import (top bar).
2. Choose Paste JSON or From file and provide a valid n8n workflow JSON.
3. Review the nodes, set any missing credentials, Save, then Activate.

Build two tiny APIs in under 5 minutes

We’ll create two workflows you can call from Postman or curl.

A) Echo API (Webhook → Respond to Webhook)​

Create

1. New workflow → name: Echo API
2. Add Webhook node
   • Method: POST
   • Path: echo (no leading slash)
   • Click Save
3. Add Respond to Webhook and connect Webhook → Respond to Webhook
   • Response Code: 200
   • Response Body (switch to Expression):

     ={{
       ok: true,
       receivedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
       youSent: $json
     }}
     

Test mode

curl -X POST "https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/webhook-test/echo"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"name":"Arina","email":"arina@example.com","message":"Hi from Azure"}'

Go live (Activate the workflow)

curl -X POST "https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/webhook/echo"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"status":"prod test"}'

Test URLs use /webhook-test/* and only work while Test workflow is active.
Production URLs use /webhook/* and work only when the workflow is Activated.

B) Joke API (Webhook → HTTP Request → Respond to Webhook)​

Create

1. New workflow → name: Joke API
2. Webhook: Method GET, Path joke
3. HTTP Request (connect Webhook → HTTP Request):
   • Method: GET
   • URL: https://icanhazdadjoke.com/
   • Headers: Accept: application/json
4. Respond to Webhook (connect HTTP Request → Respond to Webhook):
   • Response Code: 200
   • Response Body (Expression):

     ={{
       ok: true,
       joke: $json.joke || 'No joke returned',
       source: 'icanhazdadjoke'
     }}
     

Test mode

curl "https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/webhook-test/joke"

Go live

curl "https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/webhook/joke"

Troubleshooting checklist

• Blank site / Kudu shows .NET logs → your container didn’t front the app. Confirm:
  • Linux + Docker Container web app kind
  • WEBSITES_PORT=5678
  • No custom Startup Command
  • Container pulled & started (check Container Settings → Logs/Events)
• Webhook URLs wrong → set N8N_HOST, N8N_PROTOCOL=https, WEBHOOK_URL to your public URL and restart.
• Persistence not working → mount /home/node/.n8n to Azure Files, ensure status is Connected.
• Time‑outs in test mode → send the request within ~2 minutes of pressing Test workflow.
• Security → prefer N8N_BLOCK_ENV_ACCESS_IN_NODE=true unless you must read env vars in a Code node.

Call to Action​

Choosing the right platform depends on your team’s goals and guardrails. For weekly tips and deep dives on Azure, n8n, and automation patterns, subscribe to our newsletter.

Ready to deploy n8n on Azure—or stand up a secure, scalable automation backbone? Contact us and we’ll help you architect, harden, and launch with confidence.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to transform a basic spreadsheet into a beautiful analytical user interface using Oracle APEX — all without writing a single line of code.

🎯 What You'll Learn​

1. How to import a spreadsheet into Oracle APEX
2. Automatically generate an app with dashboards, reports, and search
3. Explore and extend the app visually with no-code tools
4. Compare with alternatives like PowerApps and AppSheet

🧰 Prerequisites​

1. An Oracle APEX workspace (free-tier OK)
2. Sample customer sales CSV (Download and use as sample data)

🔧 Step 1: Load Your Spreadsheet​

1. Login to your Oracle APEX workspace
2. Go to App Builder → Create a New App
3. Choose "Create App from a File"
4. Upload customer_sales_workbook.csv or drag & drop
5. Set table name to: CUSTOMER_SALES_DATA
6. Click Load Data and verify 427 rows were imported

💡 APEX supports CSV, XLSX, JSON, XML — or direct copy/paste!

🚀 Step 2: Generate the App​

After loading the spreadsheet:

1. Click View Table
2. In Object Browser → click More → Create App
3. Enter App Name: CUSTOMER_SALES
4. Upload a custom app icon (optional)
5. Rename pages like:
   1. Customer Sales Report
   2. Customer Sales Search
6. Enable Progressive Web App (PWA) support
7. Click Create Application

🌐 Step 3: Run & Explore the App​

Click Run Application, login with your workspace credentials.

Then try:

1. 📊 Dashboard: View charts from your spreadsheet data
2. 🔍 Faceted Search: Interactively filter your high school data
3. 📑 Interactive Report: Click Edit to see form-based views

🎨 The app uses Dark Mode (from APEX 24.2) by default

🧪 Bonus: What's Happening Behind the Scenes?​

1. A new table CUSTOMER_SALES_DATA was created in Oracle DB
2. APEX auto-generated reports, dashboards, forms, and filters
3. You can enhance it further with REST APIs, plugins, and maps

✅ Pros & ❌ Cons of Using Oracle APEX on OCI​

🤖 How Does This Compare?​

Below diagram shows the pictorial comparison

Comparison Dimensions

This radar chart shows a visual comparison of Oracle APEX and other popular low-code platforms across the following categories:

1. Web UI Builder: Ability to create modern user interfaces with little to no code.
2. SQL Integration: Strength of database integration and native SQL support.
3. Enterprise Ready: Capability to support large-scale, production-ready applications.
4. Auth/Security: Built-in support for authentication, authorization, and access controls.
5. Mobile Support: Native or responsive support for mobile form factors.

🧠 Key Takeaways​

1. 🏆 Oracle APEX leads in SQL integration and enterprise readiness, thanks to its deep database roots and mature security architecture.
2. ⚖️ Azure Power Apps offers solid enterprise and UI capabilities, but limited SQL depth.
3. 📊 Google AppSheet is great for mobile and sheet-based apps, but lacks SQL-first design.
4. 🧩 AWS Honeycode and Mendix vary in feature sets, but trail in native SQL and enterprise scalability.

📝 Why It Matters​

Choosing the right low-code platform depends on your goals:

1. For data-heavy internal apps, APEX stands out.
2. For simple workflows or quick prototypes, AppSheet and Power Apps may suffice.
3. For cross-cloud flexibility or open standards, Mendix is worth exploring.

❤️ Why Developers & Teams Love APEX​

1. Rapid app delivery
2. Native database performance
3. Secure, extensible, free to try
4. Works in-browser — no install required

🙌 Wrap-up​

From spreadsheet to dashboard — all in under 5 minutes.

🧡 Try it yourself at [apex.oracle.com](https://apex.oracle.com/ or from [cloud.oracle.com] --> Developer Services --> APEX)

📎 Resources​

1. Oracle APEX Free Tier
2. Download customer sales workbook CSV
3. Oracle APEX Documentation

🔚 Call to Action​

Choosing the right platform depends on your organizations needs. For more insights, subscribe to our newsletter for insights on cloud computing, tips, and the latest trends in technology. or follow our video series on cloud comparisons.

Need help launching your app on AWS? Visit arinatechnologies.com for expert help in cloud architecture.

Interested in having your organization setup on cloud? If yes, please contact us and we'll be more than glad to help you embark on cloud journey.

💬 Drop a comment below if you'd like to see part 2 (add maps, filters, and REST APIs!)