Source Code

n8n Hub

This skill merges two tracks:

Design: plan dependable workflows and optionally emit workflow.json.
Operate: handle workflows/executions via the public REST API.

Availability

Public API access is disabled on free trial plans.
An upgraded plan is required to use the API.

Configuration

Suggested environment variables (or store in .n8n-api-config):

export N8N_API_BASE_URL="https://your-instance.app.n8n.cloud/api/v1"  # or http://localhost:5678/api/v1
export N8N_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Create an API key at: n8n Settings → n8n API → Create an API key.

Use this skill when

You want a workflow built for idempotency, retries, logging, and review queues.
You need importable workflow.json plus a runbook template.
You want to list, publish, deactivate, or debug workflows/executions via API.

Do not use when

You need pure code automation without n8n.
You want to bypass security controls or conceal audit trails.

Inputs

Required

Trigger type + schedule/timezone
Success criteria and destinations (email/Drive/DB)

Optional

Existing workflow JSON
Sample payloads/records
Dedup keys

Outputs

Default: design spec (nodes, data contracts, failure modes)
On request: workflow.json + workflow-lab.md (from assets/workflow-lab.md)

Auth header

All requests must include:

X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY

Quick actions (API)

Workflows: list

curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows" \
  | jq '.data[] | {id, name, active}'

Workflows: details

curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows/{id}"

Workflows: activate or deactivate

# Activate (publish)
curl -s -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"versionId":"","name":"","description":""}' \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows/{id}/activate"

# Deactivate
curl -s -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows/{id}/deactivate"

Webhook trigger

curl -s -X POST "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/../webhook/{webhook-path}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"key":"value"}'

Executions: list

curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?limit=10" \
  | jq '.data[] | {id, workflowId, status, startedAt}'

Executions: retry

curl -s -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"loadWorkflow":true}' \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions/{id}/retry"

Design workflow checklist

Confirm trigger type and schedule/timezone.
Define inputs, outputs, and validation rules.
Choose dedup keys to keep runs idempotent.
Add observability (run_id, logs, status row).
Add retry policy and error branches.
Send failures to a review queue.
Add guardrails to prevent silent failure.

Endpoint index

See assets/endpoints-api.md for the complete endpoint list.

Notes and tips

The API playground is available only on self-hosted n8n and uses real data.
The n8n API node can call the public API from within workflows.
Webhook URLs do not require the API key header.
Execution data can be pruned by retention settings.

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