n8n MCP server
Community MCP server that gives an AI agent complete knowledge of n8n's 800+ nodes so it can design, validate, and deploy working workflows.
n8n-mcp is a popular community MCP server that turns a coding agent into an expert n8n workflow builder. n8n is a fair-code workflow automation platform, and its biggest friction for AI assistants is that they don't know the exact node types, properties, and connection rules required to produce a valid workflow. This server fixes that by exposing a pre-indexed database of n8n's nodes — covering node properties at ~99% coverage, operations, and documentation scraped from the official n8n docs — through a small set of discovery, validation, and template tools. The agent can search nodes, read their exact configuration schema, validate a draft workflow before it is ever deployed, and pull from thousands of community workflow templates.
With just the documentation tools the server runs entirely offline over stdio (npx n8n-mcp) and needs no n8n instance. When you additionally provide N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY, it unlocks a full management surface: the agent can create, retrieve, update (full or incremental diff), delete, list, and validate workflows directly on your n8n instance, trigger test executions, inspect execution history, autofix common errors, manage credentials and data tables, run a security audit, and deploy n8n.io templates. The combination lets an agent go from a natural-language request to a validated, deployed, running workflow without you hand-editing JSON.
Quick install
Copy-paste configs are provided for all 8 supported clients. Pick your client below.
Add to ~/.claude.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"n8n": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"n8n-mcp"
],
"env": {
"MCP_MODE": "<MCP_MODE>",
"LOG_LEVEL": "<LOG_LEVEL>",
"DISABLE_CONSOLE_OUTPUT": "<DISABLE_CONSOLE_OUTPUT>",
"N8N_API_URL": "<N8N_API_URL>",
"N8N_API_KEY": "<N8N_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}claude mcp add n8n -- npx n8n-mcpAvailable tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| tools_documentation | Get documentation for the n8n MCP tools; call without parameters for a quick-start guide or with a topic for tool-specific docs. |
| search_nodes | Full-text search across all n8n nodes by keyword, with optional real-world examples and community-node filtering. |
| get_node | Unified node information with progressive detail (minimal/standard/full) and modes for info, docs, property search, and versions. |
| validate_node | Validate a node's configuration; minimal mode checks required fields, full mode returns errors, warnings, and suggestions. |
| get_template | Retrieve a workflow template by ID, with modes to control response size (nodes only, structure, or full workflow). |
| search_templates | Discover workflow templates by keyword, by nodes used, by task, or by metadata. |
| validate_workflow | Full workflow validation of structure, connections, expressions, and AI tools, returning errors, warnings, and fixes before deploy. |
| n8n_create_workflow | Create a new workflow from nodes and connections; the workflow is created inactive and the new ID is returned. |
| n8n_get_workflow | Retrieve a workflow by ID at different detail levels, including the draft body and the active/published graph. |
| n8n_update_full_workflow | Replace an entire workflow with a complete set of nodes and connections. |
| n8n_update_partial_workflow | Update a workflow incrementally with diff operations (add/remove/update/move nodes, patch fields, add/remove connections) for token-efficient edits. |
| n8n_delete_workflow | Permanently delete a workflow; the action cannot be undone. |
| n8n_list_workflows | List workflows with minimal metadata (id, name, active state, dates, tags) and cursor-based pagination. |
| n8n_validate_workflow | Validate an existing workflow on the n8n instance by ID, checking nodes, connections, and expressions. |
| n8n_autofix_workflow | Automatically fix common workflow validation errors such as expression format, typeVersion, error-output config, and webhook paths; preview or apply. |
| n8n_test_workflow | Test or trigger a workflow execution, auto-detecting webhook, form, or chat trigger types. |
| n8n_executions | Manage workflow executions: get details, list with filtering, or delete execution records. |
| n8n_health_check | Check n8n instance health and API connectivity, with a diagnostic mode for environment and tool-status troubleshooting. |
| n8n_workflow_versions | Manage workflow version history with modes to list, get, rollback, and clean up versions. |
| n8n_deploy_template | Deploy a workflow template from n8n.io directly to your instance, then auto-fix common issues and report required credentials. |
| n8n_manage_datatable | Manage n8n data tables and their rows (create, list, get, update, delete tables; get, insert, update, upsert, and delete rows). |
| n8n_manage_credentials | Manage n8n credentials (list, get, create, update, delete, and fetch credential type schemas). |
| n8n_generate_workflow | Generate workflows from a natural-language description, returning proposals that can then be deployed. |
| n8n_audit_instance | Run a security audit of the n8n instance, combining n8n's built-in audit API with deep workflow scanning for hardcoded secrets and risks. |
Required configuration
- MCP_MODERequired
Transport mode; set to 'stdio' for MCP clients.
- LOG_LEVELOptional
Logging verbosity; 'error' recommended for stdio.
- DISABLE_CONSOLE_OUTPUTOptional
Set 'true' to keep the stdio stream clean.
- N8N_API_URLOptional
Base URL of your n8n instance; required only for the management tools.
- N8N_API_KEYOptional
API key for your n8n instance; required only for the management tools.
What you can do with it
Build a valid n8n workflow from a prompt
The agent searches for the right nodes, reads their exact property schemas, validates the assembled workflow, and only then deploys it — eliminating the trial-and-error of guessing node types and connection rules.
Maintain and audit an existing n8n instance
With API credentials configured, the agent can list and update live workflows with incremental diffs, trigger test runs, inspect execution history, autofix errors, and run a security audit for hardcoded secrets across all workflows.
FAQ
- Is it free?
- Yes. n8n-mcp is open source under the MIT license and free to run via npx or Docker. n8n itself is fair-code and self-hostable for free; you only pay if you use n8n Cloud or paid tiers.
- Does it support remote/OAuth?
- It runs locally over stdio (npx n8n-mcp) and has no OAuth flow. The documentation tools work fully offline; the management tools authenticate to your n8n instance with an N8N_API_KEY. The server can also be self-hosted in HTTP/streamable mode if you want to run it remotely.