n8n-skills

Proven workflow architectural patterns from real n8n workflows. Use when building new workflows, designing workflow structure, choosing workflow patterns, planning workflow architecture, or asking about webhook processing, HTTP API integration, database operations, AI agent workflows, batch processing, or scheduled tasks. Always consult this skill when the user asks to create, build, or design an n8n workflow, automate a process, or connect services — even if they don't explicitly mention 'patterns'. Covers webhook, API, database, AI, batch processing, and scheduled automation architectures. Also use when optimizing a slow workflow or speeding up large-item-count processing (node count, batchSize, all-items vs per-item).

Expert guide for using n8n-mcp MCP tools effectively. Use when searching for nodes, validating configurations, accessing templates, managing workflows, organizing workflows into folders, managing credentials, auditing instance security, or using any n8n-mcp tool. Provides tool selection guidance, parameter formats, and common patterns. IMPORTANT — Always consult this skill before calling any n8n-mcp tool — it prevents common mistakes like wrong nodeType formats, incorrect parameter structures, and inefficient tool usage. If the user mentions n8n, workflows, nodes, or automation and you have n8n MCP tools available, use this skill first.

Operation-aware node configuration guidance. Use when configuring nodes, understanding property dependencies, determining required fields, choosing between getnode detail levels, or learning common configuration patterns by node type — including the native nodes that replace Code (Summarize, Aggregate, Split Out, Merge, Compare Datasets, Remove Duplicates, Sort, Limit, Date & Time, HTTP Request pagination, Crypto). Always use this skill when setting up node parameters — it explains which fields are required for each operation, how displayOptions control field visibility, and when to use patchNodeField for surgical edits vs full node updates.

Write, review, or debug JavaScript in an n8n Code node. Use when a Code node is already in the workflow (editing it, fixing an error, choosing its mode, making it faster), or when a new one is justified: no native node fits (check the job-to-node table in using-n8n-mcp-skills first) and the job is on the closed list — loops or recursion no node expresses, state across runs, parsing no node handles, an allowlisted library, heavy all-items work, or one short node replacing 4+ glue nodes. Covers $input/$json/$node in code, this.helpers, Luxon, SplitInBatches loops, cross-iteration data, pairedItem, per-item performance, and the "Why Code:" note. Filtering, totals, dedupe, sorting, joins, file formats and API paging have native nodes (Filter, Summarize, Remove Duplicates, Sort, Merge, Extract From File, HTTP Request): see n8n-node-configuration. EXCEPTION — for the AI-agent-callable Custom Code Tool (@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolCode), use n8n-code-tool; it has a different runtime contract

Interpret validation errors and guide fixing them. Use when encountering validation errors, validation warnings, false positives, operator structure issues, or need help understanding validation results. Also use when asking about validation profiles, error types, the validation loop process, or auto-fix capabilities. Consult this skill whenever a validatenode or validateworkflow call returns errors or warnings — it knows which warnings are false positives and which errors need real fixes.

Validate n8n expression syntax and fix common errors. Use when writing n8n expressions, using {{}} syntax, accessing $json/$node variables, troubleshooting expression errors, mapping data between nodes, or referencing webhook data in workflows. Use this skill whenever configuring node fields that reference data from previous nodes — expressions are how n8n passes data between nodes, and getting the syntax wrong is the most common source of workflow errors. Also use when asked whether a complex expression hurts performance.

Write Python in n8n Code nodes (native Python, language pythonNative, n8n 2.x). Use when the user explicitly wants Python in a Code node, when migrating old Pyodide/"Python (Beta)" code that used input/json/node/now, or when a Python Code node fails with NameError, "Security violations detected", "Import of standard library module … is disallowed", "buildclass not found", "A 'json' property isn't a dictionary", or "Python runner unavailable". Covers the only two variables (items/item), dict-only access, imports blocked by default, the sandbox's denied builtins, accepted return shapes, and how errors interact with onError. JavaScript is the default for Code nodes — native Python has no n8n helpers and, by default, no imports. EXCEPTION — for Python in the AI-agent-callable Custom Code Tool (@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolCode), use the n8n-code-tool skill instead (input is query, return must be a string).

Wire n8n error handling so failures are loud, structured, and recoverable. Use when building any webhook/API workflow, a scheduled or unattended workflow, or any path where a silent failure would drop user-visible work — and whenever the user mentions error handling, onError, continueErrorOutput, error branches/outputs, retries, retryOnFail, Respond to Webhook status codes, 4xx/5xx, Error Trigger, or "my workflow fails silently". Covers per-node error outputs and wiring, retry/self-healing, error-trigger workflows, and 4xx/5xx response shapes.

Design n8n AI agents the right way. Use when building or editing any @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain. AI node — an AI Agent, LLM chain, Text Classifier, or Information Extractor — and whenever the user mentions AI agents, LLM with tools, tool calling, $fromAI, system prompts, agent memory, sessionId, structured/JSON output, output parser, RAG, vector store, a chat assistant/bot, or human-in-the-loop review. Covers Agent-vs-chain-vs-classifier choice, the model/memory/tools/outputParser slots, tool names/descriptions as prompt, structured output with autoFix, memory, RAG, human review, and chat topologies.

Deploy a production self-hosted n8n end-to-end to a fresh Linux VM over SSH, using Docker Compose behind a Caddy reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS. Use whenever the user wants to self-host, install, provision, or deploy n8n on their own server/VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS EC2, bare metal) — single/regular mode or queue mode with workers — or to update, back up, restore, or harden such an instance, or make Python Code nodes run on it (task runners). For SELF-HOSTED n8n (Docker), not n8n Cloud and not building workflows. The skill makes the agent ask single-vs-queue first, collect domain/SSH/timezone inputs, generate fresh secrets on the box, and bring the stack up with TLS. Trigger on "deploy n8n", "self-host n8n", "n8n docker compose", "n8n queue mode / workers", "n8n reverse proxy / SSL", "back up / update my n8n", "Python runner unavailable" / "n8nio/runners sidecar", or "we don't want to give every user the OAuth client secret" / "enable Sign in with Google" (credential overwrit

Build reusable, composable n8n sub-workflows. Use when extracting shared logic, building anything multi-step or reused across workflows, or any workflow over 10 nodes — and whenever the user mentions sub-workflows, Execute Workflow, reuse, shared/common logic, modular workflows, "Define Below" inputs, waitForSubWorkflow, mode each vs all, or exposing a workflow as an agent tool. Covers typed sub-workflow inputs, all-vs-each execution, verb-first naming for discovery, stateless vs stateful design, and splitting by input shape.

Handle files and binary data in n8n correctly. Use when working with files, images, PDFs, attachments, uploads or downloads, base64, vision/multimodal input, or when an AI agent needs a file as tool input or output — and whenever the user mentions $binary, binaryPropertyName, "read the PDF", "attach the file", "send the image", Merge losing binary, or a CDN for chat images. Covers the $binary vs $json split, reading/writing binary, keeping binary alive across transforms with Merge, the agent-tool binary boundary, and the CDN/URL requirement for chat surfaces.

Use when an n8n-mcp account targets more than one n8n instance — i.e. the n8ninstances tool is available, the user mentions multiple n8n instances or environments (prod vs staging, several teams or clients), several agents or chats work on one account in parallel, a workflow / datatable / credential / execution call returns an unexpected NOTFOUND or reads data you don't recognize, or a call is refused with INSTANCEAMBIGUOUS or INSTANCENOTFOUND. Covers naming the target instance on each call with the instance argument, setting the default with switch, verifying the target before high-stakes work — credential writes above all — and recovering from misroutes and fail-closes. Always consult this skill before operating on a specific instance, before any credential create/update/delete on a multi-instance account, or when a call hits the wrong/empty data or an instance error.

Use when building, editing, validating, testing, or debugging an n8n workflow through the n8n-mcp MCP server — designing a flow, configuring a node, writing an expression or Code node, wiring credentials, or fixing one that misbehaves. The entry-point skill for the n8n-mcp-skills pack: it routes you to the right specialist skill, gives working knowledge of every n8n-mcp tool from turn one, and states the rules that keep workflows from breaking in production. Always consult it first on any n8n, workflow, node, or automation task — even a quick one-off, and even when the user names no skill — because n8n's surface drifts between versions and the specialist skills prevent silent failures.

Write JavaScript or Python for the n8n Custom Code Tool (@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolCode) — the AI-agent-callable tool, NOT the workflow Code node. Use when building a Code Tool attached to an AI Agent, writing code that an LLM will invoke, parsing the query input, returning a string result, defining an input schema for structured arguments (specifyInputSchema, jsonSchemaExample, DynamicStructuredTool), or troubleshooting errors like "Wrong output type returned", "No execution data available", "The response property should be a string, but it is an object", "Cannot assign to read only property 'name'", or an AI agent that refuses to call the tool. Covers the critical differences between Code node and Code Tool: return format (string vs [{json:{...}}]), unavailability of $fromAI/$input/$helpers in the Code Tool sandbox, naming rules for AI invocation, and when to use toolWorkflow/HTTP Request Tool instead.