107 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
107 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "n8n"
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linkTitle: "n8n"
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category: "Development and automation"
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tagline: "Connect your apps and automate repetitive work with visual workflows."
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replaces: ["Zapier", "Make", "Microsoft Power Automate", "IFTTT"]
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address: "n8n.example.com"
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website: "https://n8n.io/"
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upstreamDocs: "https://docs.n8n.io/"
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links:
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- name: "n8n documentation"
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url: "https://docs.n8n.io/"
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- name: "Integrations (nodes) directory"
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url: "https://n8n.io/integrations/"
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- name: "Workflow templates"
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url: "https://n8n.io/workflows/"
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- name: "Expressions"
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url: "https://docs.n8n.io/code/expressions/"
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- name: "n8n community forum"
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url: "https://community.n8n.io/"
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---
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## Overview
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n8n is a workflow automation tool. You connect **nodes** on a canvas: a **trigger** that starts the workflow (a schedule, a webhook, a new email, a new form entry) followed by steps that fetch, transform, and send data between services.
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Main capabilities:
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- Hundreds of built-in **integrations**, plus a generic **HTTP Request** node for any API.
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- **Triggers**: schedules, webhooks, app events, form submissions, and manual runs.
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- **Logic**: IF, Switch, Merge, Loop, Wait, and error handling.
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- **Data transformation** with expressions, and **Code** nodes for JavaScript or Python.
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- **AI nodes** for working with language models, if you provide an API key.
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- **Executions log** to inspect every run, step by step.
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- **Credentials** stored encrypted and reused across workflows.
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- **Templates** to start from common automations.
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### What it replaces
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n8n replaces Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), Microsoft Power Automate, and IFTTT, without per-task pricing.
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## Signing in
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Open your n8n address and sign in with the account created for you. The first account on a new instance becomes the **owner**.
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## Build your first workflow
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Example: post a message in [Element](/apps/element/) whenever someone submits a [Baserow](/apps/baserow/) form.
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1. Choose **Create workflow**.
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2. Add a **trigger**: search for the app (or use **Webhook** or **Schedule Trigger**).
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{{< screenshot src="n8n/add-trigger.png" alt="The n8n trigger picker listing manual, app event, schedule, webhook, and form triggers" caption="Choosing a trigger for a new workflow." >}}
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3. Select **+** after the trigger to add the next step, and choose an action node.
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{{< screenshot src="n8n/add-action.png" alt="Adding a step after a Schedule Trigger in n8n, with HTTP Request in the search results" caption="Adding the next step after the trigger." >}}
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4. In each node, create or pick **credentials** for the service.
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{{< screenshot src="n8n/trigger-settings.png" alt="The settings panel of an n8n Schedule Trigger node" caption="A node's settings, here for the Schedule Trigger." >}}
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5. Use **expressions** to map data from earlier steps. Drag a field from the input panel into a parameter, or type `{{ $json.fieldName }}`.
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6. Choose **Test workflow** (or **Execute step**) to run it with sample data and check each node's output.
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{{< screenshot src="n8n/canvas.png" alt="An n8n workflow canvas with an Execute workflow button and a Publish button" caption="Run the workflow with **Execute workflow**. Turn it on with **Publish** at the top right." >}}
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7. Save, then switch the workflow to **Active** so it runs on its own.
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## Webhooks
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The **Webhook** node gives you two URLs:
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- A **test URL**, which works only while you're listening in the editor.
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- A **production URL**, which works once the workflow is active.
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Use the production URL in other services, such as [DocuSeal](/apps/docuseal/), [Gitea](/apps/gitea/), or [Cal.com](/apps/calcom/) webhooks.
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## Monitor and fix workflows
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- **Executions** lists every run with its status. Open one to see the data at each step.
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- Create an **error workflow** (with the **Error Trigger** node) that notifies you when another workflow fails, and select it in each workflow's **Settings**.
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- Pin data on a node during development to avoid calling external services repeatedly.
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## Credentials
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Credentials (API keys, passwords, OAuth connections) are stored encrypted on your server. Share a credential with colleagues from its **Sharing** tab rather than copying secrets around. Use dedicated service accounts or API tokens with the minimum permissions needed.
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## Administer n8n
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The owner and admins can open **Settings**:
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- **Users**: invite colleagues and set roles.
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- **Community nodes**: install extra nodes published by the community, if enabled on your instance.
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- **Variables** and **external secrets** are part of n8n's paid features and may not be available.
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## Superpanel settings
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{{< review "confirm Superpanel option names for n8n and whether community nodes are allowed." >}}
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- **Access**: choose which groups are given the n8n address.
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- **Owner account**: Federated Computer sets up the initial owner account; contact support to transfer ownership.
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{{< warning title="Workflows run with real access" >}}
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A workflow can read and change data in every service it has credentials for. Review workflows before activating them, and limit who can edit them.
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{{< /warning >}}
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