AgentSkillsCN

n8n

通过 REST API（创作端）与 MCP（运行时）实现 n8n 自动化。REST 用于工作流的 CRUD 操作；MCP 则用于列出或触发已启用的工作流。

SKILL.md
--- frontmatter
name: n8n
description: "n8n automation via REST API (authoring) and MCP (runtime). Use REST for workflow CRUD; use MCP for listing/triggering enabled workflows."

n8n

Use REST API to create/update/activate workflows. Use MCP to list and run enabled workflows.

When to use

  • •Authoring (no UI): REST API
  • •Running/triggering workflows: MCP
  • •Use n8nctl (uv script) for REST without curl/jq

Preconditions

  • •n8n instance URL (cloud, self-hosted, or local)
  • •REST API key (X-N8N-API-KEY)
  • •MCP URL + access token (instance-level MCP)
  • •Workflows marked availableInMCP

Node discovery (tested)

  • •Exa: built-in node library docs (https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/node-types/)
  • •Context7: /n8n-io/n8n-docs for node docs + examples
  • •DeepWiki: repo Q&A over n8n-io/n8n-docs; pair with gh or workflow export to confirm type strings
  • •gh: list node folders, then search by keyword and open the *.node.json file to read the node field
  • •Export workflows to confirm exact type strings in your instance

Quick start (REST)

bash
# list workflows
curl -sS -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: <N8N_API_KEY>" \
  "<N8N_BASE_URL>/api/v1/workflows?active=true"

# create workflow (body from template)
curl -sS -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: <N8N_API_KEY>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @workflow.json \
  "<N8N_BASE_URL>/api/v1/workflows"

MCP (runtime)

Use the MCP URL for your instance (example: N8N_MCP_URL).

bash
# stdio proxy for MCP clients that need headers
bun x supergateway --streamableHttp "<N8N_MCP_URL>" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <N8N_MCP_TOKEN>"

Notes

  • •Workflows include a trigger node for MCP execution
  • •Keep --header "Authorization: Bearer <...>" as a single, quoted argument
  • •n8nctl uses REST endpoints and requires N8N_BASE_URL + N8N_API_KEY
  • •Replace <N8N_CONTAINER> with your Docker container name

CLI (self-hosted)

For Docker installs, run inside the container:

bash
docker exec -it "<N8N_CONTAINER>" n8n export:workflow --all
docker exec -it "<N8N_CONTAINER>" n8n import:workflow --input=/path/to/workflow.json

Scripts

Minimal REST CLI (no curl):

bash
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py list --limit 5
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py get <WORKFLOW_ID>
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py create <WORKFLOW.json>
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py update <WORKFLOW_ID> <WORKFLOW.json>
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py activate <WORKFLOW_ID>
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py mcp-enable <WORKFLOW_ID>
uv run scripts/n8nctl.py validate <WORKFLOW.json>

Query templates

See assets/query-templates.json.

Reference

See reference.md.

Cookbook

See cookbook/basics.md and cookbook/blueprints.md.