FileRelay — The Public URL Bridge That 1,061 n8n Users Already Need
You built a file processor in n8n, then the next node asks for a public URL and you want to throw your laptop out the window. FileRelay is a hosted n8n-native node that accepts any binary file, uploads it to temporary storage, and returns a clean public URL in under 2 seconds.
Difficulty
intermediate
Category
Developer Tools
Market Demand
High
Revenue Score
6/10
Platform
Web App
Vibe Code Friendly
No
Hackathon Score
5/10
Validated by Real Pain
— sourced from real community discussions
n8n users regularly hit a dead end when a workflow produces a binary file but the next node requires a public URL — over a thousand users installed a community-built workaround node to solve this gap manually.
What is it?
Over a thousand n8n community users installed a handbuilt workaround node for this exact problem, proving the demand is undeniable. FileRelay formalizes that into a polished, maintained n8n community node with tiered pricing: free for 50 uploads/month, $9/month for teams needing 1,000 uploads, $29/month for agencies running high-volume document workflows. Files are stored on Cloudflare R2 with auto-expiry at 24h or 7 days depending on plan. The node appears in the n8n community node registry and installs in one click. Buildable immediately because n8n's community node SDK is stable, Cloudflare R2 has a generous free tier, and the install base is proven.
Why now?
The n8n community node SDK reached stable v1 in 2024, Cloudflare R2 has zero egress fees, and 1,061 existing installs of a rough workaround prove the demand is real and unserved by any maintained product.
- ▸One-click n8n community node install that accepts any binary input and returns a public URL with configurable expiry.
- ▸Cloudflare R2 backend with automatic file deletion at 24h, 3-day, or 7-day TTL based on plan tier.
- ▸Usage dashboard at billing portal showing upload count, storage used, and current plan limit.
- ▸Webhook-style signed URLs so files are not publicly guessable without the exact link.
Target Audience
n8n self-hosted and cloud users building document workflows — roughly 50,000 active community members with 1,000+ already seeking this exact fix.
Example Use Case
A freelance n8n developer building a client invoice parser workflow uploads PDFs from email attachments and gets a public URL to pass to an OCR API — zero manual workaround, workflow ships in an afternoon.
User Stories
- ▸As an n8n workflow builder, I want to convert any binary file to a public URL in one node, so that downstream API nodes can access the file without manual cloud storage setup.
- ▸As an n8n agency developer, I want file URLs to auto-expire after 24 hours, so that client documents do not accumulate indefinitely in storage.
- ▸As a team lead running 20+ n8n workflows, I want a dashboard showing monthly upload usage, so that I can decide when to upgrade my plan before hitting limits.
Done When
- ✓Node install: done when FileRelay appears in the n8n community node search and can be dragged into a canvas without errors.
- ✓File upload: done when a PDF binary fed into the node produces a valid HTTPS URL that returns the file when opened in a browser.
- ✓Auto-expiry: done when a file uploaded with 24h TTL returns a 404 after 24 hours.
- ✓Billing gate: done when a free-tier user hitting 51 uploads receives a 402 response from the node with an upgrade link in the error message.
Is it worth building?
$9/month x 200 teams = $1,800 MRR. $29/month x 80 agencies = $2,320 MRR. Total $4,120 MRR at month 6. Assumes 4% of 1,000 existing workaround users convert to paid within 60 days of launch.
Unit Economics
CAC: $0 via warm forum outreach. LTV: $348 (12 months at $29/month Pro). Payback: immediate. Gross margin: 94%.
Business Model
Freemium + SaaS subscription
Monetization Path
Free tier up to 50 uploads/month. Paid plans unlock higher volume, longer file expiry, and custom domain URLs.
Revenue Timeline
First dollar: week 2 via early adopter upgrade. $1k MRR: month 3. $4k MRR: month 7.
Estimated Monthly Cost
Cloudflare R2: $5 (free tier covers launch volume), Cloudflare Workers: $5, Supabase: $25, Vercel: $20, Stripe fees: $15. Total: ~$70/month at launch.
Profit Potential
Solid lifestyle income at $3k-$6k MRR with near-zero infrastructure cost thanks to R2 free egress.
Scalability
Medium — can expand to support Make.com and Zapier as separate connectors after n8n validation.
Success Metrics
Week 2: node published to npm. Week 3: 200 installs. Month 2: 40 paid users. Month 5: $2k MRR.
Launch & Validation Plan
Reply directly to the n8n community forum thread where the 1,061-install workaround node lives, announce FileRelay as the maintained paid version, and collect 20 email signups before publishing to npm.
Customer Acquisition Strategy
First customer: reply to the exact n8n forum thread with the 1,061 installs and offer the first 50 users a free Pro month. Ongoing: n8n community node registry SEO, monthly posts in r/n8n, and targeting n8n Discord server announcements channel.
What's the competition?
Competition Level
Low
Similar Products
tmpfiles.org is a generic file host with no n8n integration. file.io is similar but has no node SDK. n8n's built-in HTTP Request node requires manual R2 config that defeats the purpose.
Competitive Advantage
The only maintained, paid, production-ready solution to a problem 1,061 n8n users already searched for and installed a rough workaround to solve.
Regulatory Risks
GDPR: uploaded files may contain personal data — privacy policy must specify auto-deletion schedule and EU data handling. No HIPAA concern if medical files are excluded in ToS.
What's the roadmap?
Feature Roadmap
V1 (launch): n8n node, R2 storage, auto-expiry, Stripe billing, usage dashboard. V2 (month 2-3): Make.com module, custom expiry per upload, team seat billing. V3 (month 4+): custom vanity domain URLs, webhook on file expiry, Zapier action.
Milestone Plan
Phase 1 (Week 1-2): n8n node published to npm, R2 Worker live, basic upload working. Phase 2 (Week 3-4): Stripe billing, usage dashboard, expiry cron live. Phase 3 (Month 2): 40 paid users, forum announcement, Make.com module scoped.
How do you build it?
Tech Stack
TypeScript, n8n Community Node SDK, Cloudflare R2, Cloudflare Workers, Stripe — build with Cursor for node logic and Lovable for the billing dashboard
Suggested Frameworks
-
Time to Ship
2 weeks
Required Skills
n8n node SDK in TypeScript, Cloudflare R2 API, Stripe billing, small Next.js billing dashboard.
Resources
n8n community node creation docs, Cloudflare R2 SDK, Stripe API docs.
MVP Scope
packages/n8n-nodes-filerelay/FileRelay.node.ts (n8n node logic), packages/n8n-nodes-filerelay/package.json (npm package config), workers/upload.ts (Cloudflare Worker for R2 upload), workers/expire.ts (Cloudflare Worker cron for TTL cleanup), app/dashboard/page.tsx (billing and usage UI), app/api/usage/route.ts (usage stats endpoint), lib/db/schema.ts (Drizzle schema for users and upload logs), .env.example (R2 keys, Stripe keys).
Core User Journey
Install node from n8n community registry -> drag into workflow -> connect binary input -> run -> public URL appears in output -> upgrade when free limit hit.
Architecture Pattern
n8n node receives binary -> POST to Cloudflare Worker -> Worker uploads to R2 -> returns signed URL -> n8n passes URL to next node. Cron Worker deletes expired files every hour.
Data Model
User has many UploadLogs. UploadLog has fileKey, expiresAt, sizeBytes, planTier. User has one Subscription with planTier and monthlyUploadsUsed.
Integration Points
Cloudflare R2 for file storage, Cloudflare Workers for upload and expiry logic, Stripe for billing, Supabase for user and usage tracking, n8n npm registry for node distribution.
V1 Scope Boundaries
V1 excludes: Make.com connector, custom domain URLs, team billing, file preview UI, webhook callbacks on file expiry.
Success Definition
A paying n8n developer installs the node from npm, processes their first real workflow file, and upgrades to paid without any founder interaction.
Challenges
n8n's community node marketplace has low discoverability outside the forum — the only fast channel is posting directly in the existing GitHub issue or forum thread where the 1,061 installs are discussed. Churn risk is high if n8n ships a native file-hosting node, so a Make.com connector is the hedge.
Avoid These Pitfalls
Do not build a custom file storage backend — R2 is free, reliable, and ships in hours. Do not price above $29/month for a utility node or churn skyrockets. Finding first 10 paying users via cold outreach is unnecessary — the forum thread is a warm audience, use it immediately.
Security Requirements
Signed R2 URLs with HMAC so files are not guessable, Supabase RLS on UploadLog rows scoped to userId, rate limiting 20 uploads/min per API key via Cloudflare Worker.
Infrastructure Plan
Cloudflare Workers for upload and cron, Cloudflare R2 for storage, Supabase for Postgres, Vercel for Next.js billing dashboard, Sentry for Worker error tracking, GitHub Actions for npm publish CI.
Performance Targets
R2 upload response under 800ms for files under 10MB. Dashboard load under 2s. Expected 500 uploads/day at launch peak.
Go-Live Checklist
- ☐Security audit complete.
- ☐Stripe payment flow tested end-to-end.
- ☐Sentry error tracking live in Worker.
- ☐Cloudflare dashboard monitoring configured.
- ☐Custom domain set up with SSL.
- ☐Privacy policy and ToS published with file deletion schedule.
- ☐10 beta n8n users tested and signed off.
- ☐Rollback plan: unpublish npm package if critical bug found.
- ☐Forum announcement post drafted and ready.
First Run Experience
On first run of the billing dashboard: user sees their API key pre-generated, upload counter at 0 of 50, and a sample curl command to test the upload endpoint immediately. No configuration required — API key works out of the box with the free tier.
How to build it, step by step
1. Define Drizzle schema for User, UploadLog, Subscription in lib/db/schema.ts. 2. Scaffold Cloudflare Worker that accepts multipart POST, uploads to R2, and returns signed URL. 3. Write FileRelay.node.ts using n8n community node SDK with binary input and URL output. 4. Publish node to npm as n8n-nodes-filerelay and verify it installs in n8n community node UI. 5. Build Cloudflare cron Worker that deletes R2 objects where expiresAt is past. 6. Scaffold Next.js billing dashboard showing upload count vs plan limit and Stripe upgrade button. 7. Wire Stripe webhook to update Subscription planTier in Supabase on payment event. 8. Add usage check middleware in Worker that returns 402 when monthlyUploadsUsed exceeds plan limit. 9. Write README with one-paragraph n8n install guide and post to n8n forum thread. 10. Verify: install node in local n8n, run a PDF through the workflow, confirm public URL appears and file deletes after TTL.
Generated
June 5, 2026
Model
claude-sonnet-4-6
Disclaimer: Ideas on this site are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies. Revenue estimates, market demand figures, and financial projections are illustrative assumptions only — not financial advice. Do your own research before making any business or investment decisions. Technology availability, pricing, and market conditions change rapidly; always verify details independently.