n8n Automation

Trigger and manage n8n workflows programmatically.

When to Use

• •Need to trigger automated workflows from scripts/agents
• •Want to integrate multiple services (Slack, Email, Database, etc.)
• •Building complex automation pipelines
• •Need visual workflow builder with code capabilities

Prerequisites

Self-hosted n8n (Free):

# Docker (recommended)
docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n

# Or npm
npm install n8n -g
n8n start

Access at: http://localhost:5678

Quick Start

1. Create a Webhook Workflow in n8n

1. •Open n8n UI
2. •Add "Webhook" trigger node
3. •Set HTTP Method to POST
4. •Copy the webhook URL (e.g., http://localhost:5678/webhook/xxx)
5. •Add your automation nodes
6. •Activate the workflow

2. Trigger from Command Line

# Simple trigger
curl -X POST http://localhost:5678/webhook/your-webhook-id

# With JSON data
curl -X POST http://localhost:5678/webhook/your-webhook-id \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Hello", "user": "agent"}'

3. Trigger from Script

node skills/n8n-automation/scripts/trigger-webhook.js \
  --url "http://localhost:5678/webhook/xxx" \
  --data '{"key": "value"}'

Available Scripts

scripts/trigger-webhook.js

Trigger any n8n webhook with optional JSON payload.

scripts/n8n-api.js

Full n8n API client for managing workflows programmatically.

scripts/workflow-templates/

Ready-to-import workflow templates for common tasks.

API Usage (Advanced)

n8n has a REST API for workflow management:

# List all workflows
curl http://localhost:5678/api/v1/workflows \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: your-api-key"

# Execute a workflow
curl -X POST http://localhost:5678/api/v1/workflows/{id}/execute \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: your-api-key"

Common Workflow Patterns

1. Notification Pipeline

Webhook → IF (condition) → Slack/Email/Telegram

2. Data Processing

Webhook → HTTP Request → Transform → Database

3. Scheduled + Manual Trigger

Schedule/Webhook → Merge → Process → Output

4. Error Handling

Webhook → Try/Catch → On Error: Send Alert

Tips

1. •Test webhooks: Use "Test workflow" before activating
2. •Secure webhooks: Add authentication header checks
3. •Use environment variables: Store API keys in n8n settings
4. •Monitor executions: Check execution history for debugging

Self-Hosted vs Cloud

Limitations

• •Webhook URLs change if workflow is recreated
• •Self-hosted requires always-on server
• •Complex workflows need learning curve