NPM for N8N Nodes

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name: npm-n8n-nodes description: > Build, structure, and publish npm packages for n8n custom community nodes. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create a custom n8n node, publish a node to npm, add credentials or authentication to an n8n node, handle HTTP requests inside a node, define node UI properties, scaffold a new n8n node package, wire up OAuth2 / API key / header auth, handle request bodies and responses, work with binary files in n8n, create trigger or webhook nodes, handle errors, version nodes, or publish a community node to npm. Also trigger when user mentions "n8n node", "community node", "custom integration", "n8n-nodes-*", "IExecuteFunctions", "ICredentialType", "INodeType", "n8n workflow node", or "n8n trigger". This skill covers the FULL lifecycle: scaffold → code → credentials → test → publish.

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n8n Custom Node — NPM Package Skill

Core Mental Model

Every n8n node follows one pattern:

getInputData()  →  loop items  →  do stuff  →  push to returnData  →  return [returnData]

Two file types do all the work:

Node file (nodes/MyNode/MyNode.node.ts) — UI fields + execute logic

Credential file (credentials/MyApi.credentials.ts) — auth definition

Everything else is project plumbing.

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Project Structure

n8n-nodes-yourservice/
├── package.json              ← CRITICAL: must have n8n section + correct keyword
├── tsconfig.json
├── .eslintrc.js
├── gulpfile.js               ← copies SVG icons to dist/
├── index.js                  ← optional explicit entry point
├── nodes/
│   └── YourService/
│       ├── YourService.node.ts
│       ├── YourService.node.json   ← optional: codex metadata
│       └── yourservice.svg
├── credentials/
│   └── YourServiceApi.credentials.ts
└── dist/                     ← compiled output (never edit manually)

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What to Read and When

This skill has focused reference files. Load only what you need:

Node Types (pick one)

| If you need... | Read | |---|---| | Standard request/response node (most common) | references/examples/nodes/programmatic-node.md | | Simple REST API, no complex logic | references/examples/nodes/declarative-node.md | | Trigger that polls an API on a schedule | references/examples/nodes/trigger-node.md | | Webhook that receives HTTP calls | references/examples/nodes/webhook-node.md |

Credentials (pick what matches your auth)

| Auth type | Read | |---|---| | API key, Bearer token, custom header, query key | references/examples/credentials/api-key-patterns.md | | OAuth2 (user login or machine-to-machine) | references/examples/credentials/oauth2-patterns.md | | Basic auth, multi-field, manual inject | references/examples/credentials/other-patterns.md |

Concepts (load when the topic comes up)

| Topic | Read | |---|---| | UI field types, displayOptions, collections, fixedCollection | references/concepts/node-properties.md | | HTTP requests, bodies, headers, responses, binary | references/concepts/http-and-binary.md | | Error types, continueOnFail, NodeApiError vs NodeOperationError | references/concepts/error-handling.md | | pairedItem, data flow, why item tracking matters | references/concepts/data-and-pairing.md | | Node versioning, updating without breaking workflows | references/concepts/node-versioning.md |

Project Setup & Publishing

| Topic | Read | |---|---| | package.json, tsconfig, gulpfile, eslintrc, index.js | references/templates/project-files.md | | Local testing, npm link, n8n start | references/templates/local-testing.md | | npm publish, GitHub Actions, provenance | references/templates/publishing.md | | Common gotchas and silent failures | references/gotchas/common-gotchas.md |

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Quick-Start Pattern (copy this first)

// nodes/YourService/YourService.node.ts
import {
  IExecuteFunctions,
  INodeExecutionData,
  INodeType,
  INodeTypeDescription,
  NodeOperationError,
} from 'n8n-workflow';
export class YourService implements INodeType {
  description: INodeTypeDescription = {
    displayName: 'Your Service',
    name: 'yourService',
    icon: 'file:yourservice.svg',
    group: ['transform'],
    version: 1,
    description: 'Interact with Your Service API',
    defaults: { name: 'Your Service' },
    inputs: ['main'],
    outputs: ['main'],
    credentials: [{ name: 'yourServiceApi', required: true }],
    properties: [
      {
        displayName: 'Endpoint',
        name: 'endpoint',
        type: 'string',
        default: '/users',
        required: true,
      },
    ],
  };
  async execute(this: IExecuteFunctions): Promise {
    const items = this.getInputData();
    const returnData: INodeExecutionData[] = [];
    const credentials = await this.getCredentials('yourServiceApi');
    for (let i = 0; i < items.length; i++) {
      try {
        const endpoint = this.getNodeParameter('endpoint', i) as string;
        const response = await this.helpers.httpRequest({
          method: 'GET',
          url: https://api.yourservice.com${endpoint},
          headers: {
            Authorization: Bearer ${credentials.apiToken},
          },
        });
        returnData.push({ json: response, pairedItem: { item: i } });
      } catch (error) {
        if (this.continueOnFail()) {
          returnData.push({ json: { error: error.message }, pairedItem: { item: i } });
          continue;
        }
        throw new NodeOperationError(this.getNode(), error, { itemIndex: i });
      }
    }
    return [returnData];
  }
}

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Essential APIs Cheat Sheet

// Input
const items = this.getInputData();
// Parameters
this.getNodeParameter('name', i) as string
this.getNodeParameter('count', i, 0) as number
this.getNodeParameter('options', i, {}) as IDataObject
// Credentials
const creds = await this.getCredentials('myCredentialName');
// HTTP
await this.helpers.httpRequest({ method, url, headers, qs, body })
// Error handling
this.continueOnFail()
throw new NodeOperationError(this.getNode(), message, { itemIndex: i })
throw new NodeApiError(this.getNode(), error)   // for API-level HTTP errors
// Output
returnData.push({ json: data, pairedItem: { item: i } })
return [returnData];

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Pre-Publish Checklist

[ ] keywords in package.json includes "n8n-community-node-package"

[ ] n8n.nodes and n8n.credentials arrays point to dist/ .js paths

[ ] Node name is camelCase; displayName is human-readable

[ ] Credential name exactly matches string passed to getCredentials('...')

[ ] Every returnData.push() includes pairedItem: { item: i }

[ ] continueOnFail() is handled in all try/catch blocks

[ ] SVG icon exists in nodes/YourService/ and referenced as 'file:yourservice.svg'

[ ] npm run build succeeds (no TypeScript errors)

[ ] npm run lint passes (required for community submission)

[ ] Tested locally via npm link

[ ] Version bumped in package.json before publish