Run appointment texts on your own server with n8n

Point a name at the server

At your DNS host, add an A record for n8n.fadestreet.example (use your own domain) pointing at the server’s public IP address. Caddy, below, gets a certificate for that name on its own, which BlueBot needs: it only posts webhooks to public https addresses with a real certificate.

Write the three files

On the server, make a folder called barbers and put these in it.

services:
  caddy:
    image: caddy:2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config

  n8n:
    image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n # pin the version you tested, such as :1.x.y
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - N8N_HOST=n8n.fadestreet.example
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - N8N_PORT=5678
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.fadestreet.example/
      - N8N_PROXY_HOPS=1
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n # credentials, workflows and community nodes live here

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=barbers
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      - POSTGRES_DB=bookings
    volumes:
      - pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql:ro

volumes:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:
  n8n_data:
  pg_data:

n8n.fadestreet.example {
    reverse_proxy n8n:5678
}

CREATE TABLE appointments (
    id serial PRIMARY KEY,
    first_name text NOT NULL,
    phone text NOT NULL,                 -- any format; replies are matched on the last 10 digits
    barber text NOT NULL,
    starts_at timestamptz NOT NULL,
    reminder_message_id text,            -- the BlueBot msg_ id of the reminder, once it's sent
    confirmed_at timestamptz,
    canceled_at timestamptz
);

A few things in those files matter:

• WEBHOOK_URL is the address n8n gives BlueBot for its trigger. Without it, n8n registers http://localhost:5678/…, which BlueBot refuses.
• GENERIC_TIMEZONE is the zone the 5 PM schedule runs in. Use the shop’s.
• Postgres has no ports: line, so only n8n can reach it, over Docker’s own network.
• N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY encrypts the credentials n8n stores, your BlueBot key among them. Keep it with your backups; without it, a restored n8n can’t read them.

Put the two secrets in a .env file next to docker-compose.yml, which Compose reads on its own:

printf 'N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=%s\nPOSTGRES_PASSWORD=%s\n' "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" "$(openssl rand -hex 24)" > .env
chmod 600 .env

Start it

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f caddy n8n   # Ctrl+C once n8n says it's ready

Open https://n8n.fadestreet.example and set up the owner account n8n asks for. The address shows a padlock, which means Caddy got its certificate.

Install the BlueBot node

In n8n, go to Settings → Community Nodes, press Install a community node, type n8n-nodes-bluebot, tick the box about the risks of community nodes and press Install. It’s stored in the n8n_data volume, so it survives restarts and new images. n8n

Connect n8n to BlueBot and to the database

In the BlueBot dashboard, open Developers → API keys and make a key named “n8n” with the scopes messages:send (to text), webhooks:manage (the trigger makes its own webhook) and account:read (n8n tests the credential with it).

In n8n, open Credentials and make two:

Build the reminder workflow

Make a workflow called “Tomorrow’s reminders” with four nodes in a row.

1. Schedule Trigger: Trigger Interval Days, Days Between Triggers 1, Trigger at Hour 5pm, Trigger at Minute 0.

2. Postgres, renamed “Tomorrow’s appointments”: Operation Execute Query, with this query. It finds tomorrow’s appointments in the shop’s zone that haven’t had a reminder, and formats the time for the text:

   sqlCopy

   SELECT id, first_name, phone, barber,
          to_char(starts_at AT TIME ZONE 'America/New_York', 'FMHH12:MI AM') AS time
   FROM appointments
   WHERE canceled_at IS NULL
     AND reminder_message_id IS NULL
     AND (starts_at AT TIME ZONE 'America/New_York')::date
         = (now() AT TIME ZONE 'America/New_York')::date + 1
   ORDER BY starts_at;

3. BlueBot: Resource Message, Operation Send Text, Send To Person, To {{ $json.phone }}, and this Text:

   TextCopy

   Hi {{ $json.first_name }}, this is Fade Street Barbers. You're booked with {{ $json.barber }} tomorrow at {{ $json.time }}. Reply C to confirm or R to pick a new time.

   Under Add Field, add Metadata with the key appointment_id set to {{ $json.id }}, and Idempotency Key set to reminder-{{ $json.id }}.

4. Postgres, renamed “Remember the reminder”: Operation Execute Query, query UPDATE appointments SET reminder_message_id = $1 WHERE id = $2;, and under Options → Query Parameters, {{ $json.id }},{{ $json.metadata.appointment_id }}. The BlueBot node outputs the text it accepted, so $json.id is its msg_ id and its metadata carries the appointment back.

The node sends one text per row, and your sending rules space them out, one every 20 seconds by default. The idempotency key means that if the workflow runs twice in a day, BlueBot answers the second send with the first text rather than texting the client again, and reminder_message_id IS NULL keeps the query from picking them up a second time at all. Idempotency

Build the reply workflow

Make a second workflow called “Replies to reminders”.

1. BlueBot Trigger: Events Message Received, Output Record. Its output is the text that came in, with from, text and id.

2. Postgres, renamed “Their next appointment”: Operation Execute Query, Query Parameters {{ $json.from }}, and this query, which finds the client’s next reminded appointment by the last ten digits of their number:

   sqlCopy

   SELECT id, first_name
   FROM appointments
   WHERE right(regexp_replace(phone, '\D', '', 'g'), 10) = right(regexp_replace($1, '\D', '', 'g'), 10)
     AND reminder_message_id IS NOT NULL
     AND canceled_at IS NULL
     AND starts_at > now()
   ORDER BY starts_at
   LIMIT 1;

   A text from somebody with no upcoming appointment finds no row, and the workflow stops there for that text.

3. Switch: Mode Rules, two routing rules on the value {{ ($('BlueBot Trigger').item.json.text ?? '').trim().toUpperCase() }}: is equal to C for output 0, and is equal to R for output 1. Any other text goes nowhere and waits for you on your phone.

4. On output 0, Postgres: Execute Query UPDATE appointments SET confirmed_at = now() WHERE id = $1 RETURNING id, first_name; with Query Parameters {{ $json.id }}. Then BlueBot, Send Text: To {{ $('BlueBot Trigger').item.json.from }}, Text Thanks {{ $json.first_name }}, you're confirmed. See you tomorrow., Idempotency Key confirm-{{ $('BlueBot Trigger').item.json.id }}.

5. On output 1, BlueBot, Send Text: To {{ $('BlueBot Trigger').item.json.from }}, Text No problem, {{ $json.first_name }}. Pick a new time at https://fadestreet.example/book and we'll free up your old one., Idempotency Key reschedule-{{ $('BlueBot Trigger').item.json.id }}.

The idempotency keys come from the incoming text’s id, so a client who gets a webhook delivered twice still gets one answer.

Activate the workflow with the toggle at the top. The trigger makes its webhook in your BlueBot account then, at https://n8n.fadestreet.example/webhook/…, and you’ll see it in Developers → Webhooks. Deactivating the workflow deletes it.

Test it with your own number

Add an appointment for yourself tomorrow, with your own mobile number:

docker compose exec postgres psql -U barbers -d bookings -c \
  "INSERT INTO appointments (first_name, phone, barber, starts_at)
   VALUES ('Tom', '+15555550123', 'Luis',
           ((now() AT TIME ZONE 'America/New_York')::date + 1 + time '15:00') AT TIME ZONE 'America/New_York');"

Open “Tomorrow’s reminders” and run it once by hand with Execute workflow at the bottom of the canvas (some n8n versions call it Test workflow). Then reply C from your phone.