diff --git a/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/runForN8nSetup.mjs b/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/runForN8nSetup.mjs
index 2c674d3872..f640b76b06 100755
--- a/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/runForN8nSetup.mjs
+++ b/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/runForN8nSetup.mjs
@@ -36,6 +36,14 @@ async function main() {
 	const vus = argv.vus;
 	const duration = argv.duration;
 
+	const hasN8nLicense = !!n8nLicenseCert || !!n8nLicenseActivationKey;
+	if (n8nSetupToUse === 'scaling' && !hasN8nLicense) {
+		console.error(
+			'n8n license is required to run the scaling setup. Please provide N8N_LICENSE_CERT or N8N_LICENSE_ACTIVATION_KEY',
+		);
+		process.exit(1);
+	}
+
 	if (!fs.existsSync(baseRunDir)) {
 		console.error(
 			`The run directory "${baseRunDir}" does not exist. Please specify a valid directory using --runDir`,
diff --git a/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/utils/flags.mjs b/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/utils/flags.mjs
index 23ab57c29c..1c7842d0f4 100644
--- a/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/utils/flags.mjs
+++ b/packages/@n8n/benchmark/scripts/utils/flags.mjs
@@ -10,5 +10,11 @@
 export function flagsObjectToCliArgs(flags) {
 	return Object.entries(flags)
 		.filter(([, value]) => value !== undefined)
-		.map(([key, value]) => `--${key}=${value}`);
+		.map(([key, value]) => {
+			if (typeof value === 'string' && value.includes(' ')) {
+				return `--${key}="${value}"`;
+			} else {
+				return `--${key}=${value}`;
+			}
+		});
 }