$devvkit learn --librarie n8n-guide

N8N Guide

[automation][low-code][workflow][integration]

Automation & CI/CD

Install

# Docker (easiest):
docker run -d --name n8n -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n
# npm:
npx n8n
# Open: http://localhost:5678

N8N is the open-source alternative to Zapier/Make. Build workflows visually by connecting nodes — triggers (webhook, schedule, email) → actions (HTTP request, database query, Slack message, AI generation). Each node has a GUI for configuration with zero code.

N8N supports 400+ integrations: Slack, email (SMTP), Google Sheets, Notion, GitHub, Jira, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, OpenAI, Pinecone, and more. The HTTP Request node can call any REST/gRPC API. The Code node lets you write JavaScript/Python for custom logic.

Self-host N8N for sensitive data workflows. It supports queues with Redis for scaling, worker separation, and multi-user with roles. The execution log shows every step with input/output data for debugging. GUI is the primary interface — perfect for ops teams.

Setup

Start with Docker— Launch N8N server.

docker run -d --restart=always \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  -e N8N_SECURE_COOKIE=false \
  n8nio/n8n

# With basic auth:
  -e N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true \
  -e N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin \
  -e N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=secret

# Open: http://localhost:5678

Install via npm— Direct install.

npm install n8n -g
n8n start
# Or:
npx n8n

# Configuration:
export N8N_PORT=5678
export DB_TYPE=postgresdb
export DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
export DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
export DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=secret
n8n start

Core Nodes

HTTP Request node— Call any API.

# Node: HTTP Request
# Method: GET/POST/PUT/DELETE
# URL: https://api.example.com/users
# Authentication: Basic / OAuth2 / API Key / Header

# Parse JSON response:
# Response data is available in subsequent nodes as:
# {{ $json.body }}
# {{ $json.headers }}

# Pagination:
# Headers.Link parsing or loop over pages

Triggers

Webhook trigger— Start workflow from HTTP call.

# Add "Webhook" node
# Method: POST
# Path: my-webhook

# Then any service POSTs to:
# POST http://your-n8n:5678/webhook/my-webhook

# Example: GitHub webhook → save issue to Notion
# or: Stripe webhook → send Slack alert

# The webhook URL is auto-generated:
echo "Your URL: http://localhost:5678/webhook/$(openssl rand -hex 8)"

Schedule trigger— Run on a cron schedule.

# Add "Schedule Trigger" node
# Mode: Every Day / Every Hour / Custom
# Custom cron: */15 * * * * (every 15 min)
# Or: 0 6 * * 1-5 (weekdays at 6am)

# Common patterns:
# - Every hour: 0 * * * *
# - Every Monday 9am: 0 9 * * 1
# - First of month: 0 0 1 * *

AI Nodes

AI / LLM nodes— Integrate OpenAI, Claude, etc.

# Nodes:
# - OpenAI (Chat, Completion, Embedding, Image)
# - Anthropic Claude
# - Hugging Face Inference
# - LangChain (advanced chains)

# Example: Email → AI summarize → Slack
# 1. Email (IMAP) trigger
# 2. OpenAI node: summarize body text
# 3. Slack node: post summary to channel

Advanced

Error handling— Retry and error workflows.

# Each node has:
# - "Continue on Fail" toggle
# - "Error Workflow" (separate workflow that runs on error)
# - Retry on Fail (with backoff)

# Error workflow receives:
# { error: "...", workflow: { ... }, execution: { ... } }
# Use: send notification, log to database, create ticket

N8N CLI — import/export— Backup workflows.

# Export all workflows as JSON:
n8n export:workflow --all --output=./backups/

# Import:
n8n import:workflow --input=./backups/my-workflow.json

# Export credentials:
n8n export:credentials --all --output=./secrets/

# List workflows:
n8n list:workflow

# Start with specific workflows:
n8n start --tunnel  # Expose to internet via n8n tunnel