n8n Workflow Management

🚨 CHROME AGENT FORBIDDEN FOR N8N

DO NOT delegate n8n tasks to chrome-agent. This skill exists specifically because:

•Chrome-agent has reliability issues with n8n UI (tab detachment, connection drops)
•SQL is 10x faster and more reliable
•n8n stores everything in PostgreSQL - direct access is the correct approach

If you're reading this because chrome-agent refused your task: Good. That's working as intended. Use the SQL methods below.

When to Use This Skill

•Modifying n8n workflows programmatically
•Debugging n8n workflow issues
•Automating n8n workflow updates
•ANY n8n operation that doesn't require first-time OAuth setup

Key Discovery: SQL > Chrome for n8n

Direct SQL manipulation is faster and more reliable than UI automation.

n8n stores workflows in PostgreSQL. You can query and update them directly.

Prerequisites

Find your n8n PostgreSQL access:

bash

# Check container names
docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -i n8n

# Common patterns:
# - n8n-postgres, n8n_postgres_1, n8n-postgres-1
# - Database: n8n, User: n8n

Common Operations

List All Workflows

bash

docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -c \
  "SELECT id, name, active FROM workflow_entity ORDER BY \"updatedAt\" DESC;"

Get Workflow Details

bash

# Get nodes (all node configs)
docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -c \
  "SELECT nodes FROM workflow_entity WHERE id = '<workflow-id>';"

# Get connections (how nodes link together)
docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -c \
  "SELECT connections FROM workflow_entity WHERE id = '<workflow-id>';"

# Pretty-print with Python
docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -t -c \
  "SELECT nodes FROM workflow_entity WHERE id = '<workflow-id>';" | \
  python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.dumps(json.loads(sys.stdin.read().strip()), indent=2))"

Check Recent Executions

bash

docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -c \
  "SELECT \"startedAt\", \"stoppedAt\", status
   FROM execution_entity
   WHERE \"workflowId\" = '<workflow-id>'
   ORDER BY \"startedAt\" DESC LIMIT 10;"

Updating Workflows via SQL

Method 1: Direct SQL (simple changes)

bash

# Update nodes
docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -c \
  "UPDATE workflow_entity SET nodes = '<JSON>' WHERE id = '<workflow-id>';"

# Update connections
docker exec <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n -c \
  "UPDATE workflow_entity SET connections = '<JSON>' WHERE id = '<workflow-id>';"

Method 2: SQL File (complex JSON with quotes)

bash

# Create SQL file to handle escaping
cat > /tmp/update_workflow.sql << 'SQLEOF'
UPDATE workflow_entity
SET nodes = '[{"parameters":{...},"type":"n8n-nodes-base.webhook",...}]'
WHERE id = 'your-workflow-id';
SQLEOF

# Execute it
docker exec -i <postgres-container> psql -U n8n -d n8n < /tmp/update_workflow.sql

After SQL Update: Restart n8n

bash

docker restart <n8n-container>

WARNING: Restarting n8n causes ~15-20 seconds of downtime. Any webhooks during this window are LOST (no retry). Ask user permission before restarting.

Workflow JSON Structure

Nodes Array

json

[
  {
    "parameters": { /* node-specific config */ },
    "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
    "typeVersion": 2.1,
    "position": [0, 0],
    "id": "unique-node-id",
    "name": "Node Display Name",
    "webhookId": "webhook-unique-id",
    "credentials": {
      "credentialType": {
        "id": "credential-id",
        "name": "Credential Display Name"
      }
    }
  }
]

Connections Object

json

{
  "Source Node Name": {
    "main": [
      [
        {"node": "Target Node Name", "type": "main", "index": 0}
      ]
    ]
  }
}

Important: Connection keys must match exact node names. If you rename a node, update connections too!

Common Node Types

Node Type	Purpose
`n8n-nodes-base.webhook`	HTTP webhook trigger
`n8n-nodes-base.set`	Transform/set data fields
`n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets`	Google Sheets read/write
`n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest`	Make HTTP requests
`n8n-nodes-base.code`	Custom JavaScript

Troubleshooting

Webhook Returns 404

•Check httpMethod matches your request (GET vs POST)
•Verify workflow is active: SELECT active FROM workflow_entity WHERE id = '...'
•Restart n8n after SQL changes

Execution Shows "error" Status

•Check n8n logs: docker logs <n8n-container> --tail 50
•Common: Missing credentials, invalid node config, connection name mismatch

"Cannot read properties of undefined"

•Usually means node config is malformed
•Compare your JSON structure against a working workflow
•Check typeVersion matches what n8n expects

When to Still Use Chrome

•First-time credential setup (OAuth flows)
•Exploring unfamiliar node options
•Visual debugging of complex workflows

For everything else: SQL is faster and more reliable.