n8n Workflow Automation

n8n is a fair-code workflow automation platform that connects apps, services, and APIs. This skill enables you to create, manage, and trigger n8n workflows programmatically through REST API calls and webhook triggers.

Direct Control (CLI / API / Scripting)

REST API Authentication

All n8n API requests require an API key in the X-N8N-API-KEY header:

bash

# Set your n8n instance URL and API key
export N8N_API_URL="https://your-n8n-instance.com/api/v1"
export N8N_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Test connection
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"

Workflow Management

bash

# List all workflows
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"

# Get specific workflow
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows/{workflowId}"

# Create new workflow
curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My Workflow",
    "nodes": [
      {
        "name": "Start",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.start",
        "position": [250, 300],
        "parameters": {}
      },
      {
        "name": "HTTP Request",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
        "position": [450, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
          "method": "GET"
        }
      }
    ],
    "connections": {
      "Start": {
        "main": [[{"node": "HTTP Request", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      }
    },
    "active": true,
    "settings": {}
  }' \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"

# Update workflow
curl -X PATCH \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"active": true}' \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows/{workflowId}"

# Delete workflow
curl -X DELETE \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows/{workflowId}"

Workflow Execution

bash

# Execute workflow manually
curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows/{workflowId}/activate"

# Trigger webhook workflow
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"data": "your-payload"}' \
  "https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/{webhook-path}"

# Trigger workflow with test webhook
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"userId": 123, "action": "test"}' \
  "https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook-test/{webhook-path}"

# Get workflow execution history
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions?workflowId={workflowId}&limit=10"

# Get specific execution details
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions/{executionId}"

# Delete execution
curl -X DELETE \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions/{executionId}"

Credentials Management

bash

# List credentials
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/credentials"

# Create credential
curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My API Key",
    "type": "httpHeaderAuth",
    "data": {
      "name": "Authorization",
      "value": "Bearer token-here"
    }
  }' \
  "$N8N_API_URL/credentials"

# Delete credential
curl -X DELETE \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/credentials/{credentialId}"

Node.js/TypeScript Integration

typescript

import axios from 'axios';

const n8nClient = axios.create({
  baseURL: process.env.N8N_API_URL,
  headers: {
    'X-N8N-API-KEY': process.env.N8N_API_KEY,
  },
});

// List workflows
async function listWorkflows() {
  const response = await n8nClient.get('/workflows');
  return response.data;
}

// Trigger workflow via webhook
async function triggerWorkflow(webhookPath: string, payload: any) {
  const response = await axios.post(
    `https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/${webhookPath}`,
    payload
  );
  return response.data;
}

// Get execution status
async function getExecution(executionId: string) {
  const response = await n8nClient.get(`/executions/${executionId}`);
  return response.data;
}

// Create and activate workflow
async function createWorkflow(workflow: any) {
  const response = await n8nClient.post('/workflows', workflow);
  const workflowId = response.data.id;

  // Activate it
  await n8nClient.post(`/workflows/${workflowId}/activate`);

  return response.data;
}

MCP Server Integration

Add this to .codebuddy/mcp.json:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@czlonkowski/n8n-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_API_URL": "https://your-n8n-instance.com/api/v1",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available MCP Tools

The n8n MCP server provides:

•list_workflows - List all workflows with their IDs and active status
•get_workflow - Get detailed workflow definition including nodes and connections
•create_workflow - Create a new workflow from JSON definition
•update_workflow - Update existing workflow (activate/deactivate, modify nodes)
•delete_workflow - Delete a workflow by ID
•execute_workflow - Manually trigger workflow execution
•list_executions - Get execution history for a workflow
•get_execution - Get detailed execution data including input/output for each node
•trigger_webhook - Send data to a webhook trigger
•list_credentials - List available credentials (names only, no secrets)
•create_credential - Create new API credentials for nodes to use

MCP Usage Examples

typescript

// List all workflows
const workflows = await mcp.callTool('n8n', 'list_workflows', {});

// Get workflow details
const workflow = await mcp.callTool('n8n', 'get_workflow', {
  workflowId: '123'
});

// Create ETL workflow
const newWorkflow = await mcp.callTool('n8n', 'create_workflow', {
  name: 'GitHub to Slack Pipeline',
  nodes: [
    {
      name: 'GitHub Webhook',
      type: 'n8n-nodes-base.githubTrigger',
      parameters: {
        events: ['push', 'pull_request']
      }
    },
    {
      name: 'Slack',
      type: 'n8n-nodes-base.slack',
      parameters: {
        channel: '#deployments',
        text: '={{$json["commits"][0]["message"]}}'
      }
    }
  ]
});

// Execute workflow and wait for result
const execution = await mcp.callTool('n8n', 'execute_workflow', {
  workflowId: '123',
  wait: true
});

// Check execution status
const status = await mcp.callTool('n8n', 'get_execution', {
  executionId: execution.id
});

Common Workflows

1. Create Data Sync Workflow (API → Database)

bash

# Step 1: Create workflow that polls API and writes to database
curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "API to Database Sync",
    "nodes": [
      {
        "name": "Schedule Trigger",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
        "position": [250, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "rule": {
            "interval": [{"field": "minutes", "minutesInterval": 15}]
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "HTTP Request",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
        "position": [450, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "url": "https://api.example.com/users",
          "method": "GET",
          "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
          "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "Postgres",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
        "position": [650, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "operation": "insert",
          "table": "users",
          "columns": "id,name,email,created_at"
        }
      }
    ],
    "connections": {
      "Schedule Trigger": {
        "main": [[{"node": "HTTP Request", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      },
      "HTTP Request": {
        "main": [[{"node": "Postgres", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      }
    },
    "active": true
  }' \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"

# Step 2: Verify workflow is running
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows" | grep "API to Database Sync"

# Step 3: Monitor executions
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions?limit=5"

2. Webhook-Triggered Notification Pipeline

bash

# Step 1: Create workflow with webhook trigger
WORKFLOW_ID=$(curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Alert Pipeline",
    "nodes": [
      {
        "name": "Webhook",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
        "position": [250, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "path": "alert",
          "httpMethod": "POST",
          "responseMode": "onReceived"
        },
        "webhookId": "alert-webhook"
      },
      {
        "name": "Filter Critical",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
        "position": [450, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "conditions": {
            "string": [
              {
                "value1": "={{$json[\"severity\"]}}",
                "operation": "equal",
                "value2": "critical"
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "Send Slack Alert",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.slack",
        "position": [650, 200],
        "parameters": {
          "channel": "#alerts",
          "text": "🚨 CRITICAL: {{$json[\"message\"]}}"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "Send Email",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.emailSend",
        "position": [650, 400],
        "parameters": {
          "toEmail": "oncall@company.com",
          "subject": "Critical Alert",
          "text": "={{$json[\"message\"]}}"
        }
      }
    ],
    "connections": {
      "Webhook": {
        "main": [[{"node": "Filter Critical", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      },
      "Filter Critical": {
        "main": [
          [{"node": "Send Slack Alert", "type": "main", "index": 0}],
          [{"node": "Send Email", "type": "main", "index": 0}]
        ]
      }
    },
    "active": true
  }' \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows" | jq -r '.id')

# Step 2: Get webhook URL
WEBHOOK_URL="https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/alert"

# Step 3: Test webhook trigger
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "severity": "critical",
    "message": "Database CPU at 95%",
    "service": "postgres-prod"
  }' \
  "$WEBHOOK_URL"

# Step 4: Verify execution
sleep 2
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions?workflowId=$WORKFLOW_ID&limit=1"

3. Multi-Step ETL with Error Handling

bash

# Create robust ETL workflow with error handling
curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "ETL with Error Handling",
    "nodes": [
      {
        "name": "Cron Trigger",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
        "position": [250, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "cronExpression": "0 2 * * *"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "Extract from API",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
        "position": [450, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
          "method": "GET"
        },
        "continueOnFail": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Transform Data",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
        "position": [650, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "language": "javascript",
          "code": "return items.map(item => ({\n  json: {\n    id: item.json.id,\n    name: item.json.name.toUpperCase(),\n    processed_at: new Date().toISOString()\n  }\n}));"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "Load to Database",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
        "position": [850, 300],
        "parameters": {
          "operation": "insert",
          "table": "etl_output"
        },
        "continueOnFail": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Error Handler",
        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger",
        "position": [650, 500],
        "parameters": {}
      }
    ],
    "connections": {
      "Cron Trigger": {
        "main": [[{"node": "Extract from API", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      },
      "Extract from API": {
        "main": [[{"node": "Transform Data", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      },
      "Transform Data": {
        "main": [[{"node": "Load to Database", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]
      }
    },
    "active": true,
    "settings": {
      "errorWorkflow": "error-handler-workflow-id"
    }
  }' \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"

4. Monitor and Manage Workflow Executions

bash

# Get recent executions with status
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions?limit=20" | \
  jq '.data[] | {id, workflowId, finished, mode, startedAt, stoppedAt}'

# Find failed executions
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions?limit=50" | \
  jq '.data[] | select(.finished == false or .data.resultData.error != null)'

# Get detailed error information
FAILED_EXECUTION_ID="execution-id-here"
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions/$FAILED_EXECUTION_ID" | \
  jq '.data.resultData.error'

# Retry failed workflow manually
WORKFLOW_ID=$(curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions/$FAILED_EXECUTION_ID" | \
  jq -r '.workflowId')

curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows/$WORKFLOW_ID/activate"

# Clean up old executions (keep last 100)
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/executions?limit=1000" | \
  jq -r '.data[100:] | .[].id' | \
  while read exec_id; do
    curl -X DELETE \
      -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
      "$N8N_API_URL/executions/$exec_id"
  done

5. Backup and Restore Workflows

bash

# Backup all workflows to JSON file
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows" | \
  jq '.data' > n8n_workflows_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).json

# Restore workflows from backup
cat n8n_workflows_backup_20260207.json | \
  jq -c '.[]' | \
  while read workflow; do
    # Remove ID to create as new workflow
    workflow_data=$(echo "$workflow" | jq 'del(.id)')

    curl -X POST \
      -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d "$workflow_data" \
      "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"
  done

# Export specific workflow
WORKFLOW_ID="123"
curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows/$WORKFLOW_ID" > workflow_${WORKFLOW_ID}.json

# Import workflow from file
curl -X POST \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @workflow_123.json \
  "$N8N_API_URL/workflows"