n8n MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for managing n8n workflows. This server enables AI assistants to interact with your n8n instance to create, update, delete, monitor, and control workflows and executions.

Features

Workflow Management

• List workflows - Get all workflows with optional filtering by active status
• Get workflow - Retrieve detailed information about a specific workflow
• Create workflow - Create new workflows programmatically
• Update workflow - Modify existing workflow configurations
• Delete workflow - Remove workflows from your n8n instance

Workflow Control

• Activate workflow - Enable a workflow to run on triggers
• Deactivate workflow - Disable a workflow

Workflow Execution

• Execute workflow - Manually trigger a workflow execution
• List executions - View execution history with optional workflow filtering
• Get execution - Retrieve detailed execution information including results
• Delete execution - Remove execution records

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud)
• n8n API key

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd n8n-mcp

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the server:

npm run build

Configuration

Generate n8n API Key

1. Log in to your n8n instance
2. Go to Settings > n8n API
3. Click Create an API Key
4. Copy the generated API key

Environment Variables

Set the following environment variables:

export N8N_BASE_URL="https://your-n8n-instance.com"
export N8N_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

For n8n cloud:

export N8N_BASE_URL="https://your-instance.app.n8n.cloud"

For self-hosted:

export N8N_BASE_URL="http://localhost:5678"

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add this server to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/n8n-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_BASE_URL": "https://your-n8n-instance.com",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Workflow Management

list_workflows

List all workflows with optional active status filter.

Parameters:

• active (boolean, optional): Filter by active status

Example:

List all active workflows

get_workflow

Get detailed information about a specific workflow.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Workflow ID

Example:

Get workflow with ID "123"

create_workflow

Create a new workflow.

Parameters:

• name (string, required): Workflow name
• nodes (array, required): Workflow nodes configuration
• connections (object, optional): Node connections
• settings (object, optional): Workflow settings

Example:

Create a simple workflow named "Test Workflow"

update_workflow

Update an existing workflow.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Workflow ID
• name (string, optional): New workflow name
• nodes (array, optional): Updated nodes
• connections (object, optional): Updated connections
• settings (object, optional): Updated settings

delete_workflow

Delete a workflow.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Workflow ID

Workflow Control

activate_workflow

Activate a workflow to enable trigger-based execution.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Workflow ID

deactivate_workflow

Deactivate a workflow.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Workflow ID

Execution Management

execute_workflow

Manually execute a workflow.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Workflow ID

list_executions

List workflow executions.

Parameters:

• workflowId (string, optional): Filter by workflow ID

get_execution

Get detailed execution information.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Execution ID

delete_execution

Delete an execution record.

Parameters:

• id (string, required): Execution ID

Development

Watch mode

npm run watch

Build

npm run build

Troubleshooting

API Key Issues

• Ensure your API key is valid and has the necessary permissions
• For n8n Cloud, you need a paid plan to use the API

Connection Issues

• Verify the N8N_BASE_URL is correct and accessible
• Check that your n8n instance is running
• Ensure there are no firewall issues blocking the connection

MCP Server Not Showing

• Restart Claude Desktop after configuration changes
• Check the Claude Desktop logs for errors
• Verify the path to index.js is absolute and correct

License

MIT