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BytesAgain β€Ί Skills β€Ί n8n API
πŸ¦€ ClawHub

n8n API

by @codedao12

Operate n8n via its public REST API from OpenClaw. Use for workflow management, executions, and automation tasks such as listing, creating, publishing, triggering, or troubleshooting. Works with both self-hosted n8n and n8n Cloud.

Versionv1.0.1
Downloads4,124
Installs13
Stars⭐ 3
#devops#api#legal#real-estate#automation
TERMINAL
clawhub install n8n-api

πŸ“– About This Skill

name: n8n-api description: Operate n8n via its public REST API from OpenClaw. Use for workflow management, executions, and automation tasks such as listing, creating, publishing, triggering, or troubleshooting. Works with both self-hosted n8n and n8n Cloud.

n8n Public REST API

Use this skill when you need to drive n8n programmatically. It covers the same core actions you use in the UI: workflows, executions, tags, credentials, projects, and more.

Availability

  • The public API is unavailable during the free trial.
  • Upgrade your plan to enable API access.

    • Configuration

    Recommended 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 the API key in: n8n Settings β†’ n8n API β†’ Create an API key.

    Auth header

    All requests require this header:

    X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY

    Playground

    The API playground is only available on self-hosted n8n and operates on real data. For safe experiments, use a test workflow or a separate test instance.

    Quick actions

    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

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

    Executions: list

    # Recent executions
curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?limit=10" \
  | jq '.data[] | {id, workflowId, status, startedAt}'
    Failed only
    
curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?status=error&limit=5"

    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"

    Common flows

    Health check summary

    Count active workflows and recent failures: 
    ACTIVE=$(curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows?active=true" | jq '.data | length')
    FAILED=$(curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?status=error&limit=100" \
  | jq '[.data[] | select(.startedAt > (now - 86400 | todate))] | length')
    echo "Active workflows: $ACTIVE | Failed (24h): $FAILED"

    Debug a failed run

    1. List failed executions to get the execution ID. 2. Fetch execution details and identify the failing node. 3. Review node parameters and input data. 4. Suggest a fix based on the error message.

    Endpoint index

    See assets/n8n-api.endpoints.md for the full list of endpoints.

    REST basics (optional)

    If you want a refresher, these are commonly recommended:
  • KnowledgeOwl: working with APIs (intro)
  • IBM Cloud Learn Hub: what is an API / REST API
  • MDN: overview of HTTP

    • Notes and tips

  • The n8n API node can call the public API from inside workflows.
  • Webhook URLs are not the same as API URLs and do not use the API key header.
  • Execution records may be pruned based on instance retention settings.

    • βš™οΈ Configuration

    Recommended 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 the API key in: n8n Settings β†’ n8n API β†’ Create an API key.