Bug Description

The environment variable N8N_BINARY_DATA_DATABASE_MAX_FILE_SIZE cannot be set because it is trying to read a number from the environment. Environment variables are always strings so that makes no sense.

I am 100% sure the variable is set correctly, I've verified it like this:

$kubectl get pod n8n-767d767dff-t6zzs -o json | jq '.spec.containers[0].env[2]'
{
  "name": "N8N_BINARY_DATA_DATABASE_MAX_FILE_SIZE",
  "value": "1024"
}

I believe this is where the issue lies, the type should be changed to a string:

https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/core/src/binary-data/binary-data.config.ts#L42

To Reproduce

1. Set environment N8N_BINARY_DATA_DATABASE_MAX_FILE_SIZE=1024
2. Observe the following error in the logs: Invalid value for N8N_BINARY_DATA_DATABASE_MAX_FILE_SIZE - Expected number, received string. Falling back to default value.

Expected behavior

I expect to be able to change the value to 1024.

Debug Info

Debug info

core

• n8nVersion: 2.1.2
• platform: docker (self-hosted)
• nodeJsVersion: 22.21.1
• nodeEnv: production
• database: postgres
• executionMode: scaling (single-main)
• concurrency: -1
• license: enterprise (production)
• consumerId: [REDACTED]

storage

• success: all
• error: all
• progress: false
• manual: true
• binaryMode: database

pruning

• enabled: true
• maxAge: 336 hours
• maxCount: 10000 executions

client

• userAgent: mozilla/5.0 (x11; linux x86_64; rv:146.0) gecko/20100101 firefox/146.0
• isTouchDevice: false

Generated at: 2026-01-06T13:06:51.643Z

Operating System

Kubernetes 1.27.1

n8n Version

2.1.2

Node.js Version

22.21.1

Database

PostgreSQL

Execution mode

main (default)

Hosting

self hosted