n8n MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI assistants (Claude, Cursor, etc.) to your n8n workflow automation instance. Manage, execute, and monitor n8n workflows through natural language.

Features

• Workflow Management — List, create, update, delete, activate, and deactivate workflows
• Workflow Execution — Run workflows directly via the REST API or through webhook triggers
• Execution History — View, inspect, and manage past workflow executions
• Tags & Diagnostics — List tags and check n8n connectivity
• Type-safe — Fully written in TypeScript with proper error handling

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (20+ recommended)
• A running n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud)
• An n8n API key — generate one in n8n under Settings → API → Create API Key

Quick Start

1. Install dependencies

npm install

2. Configure

Copy the example env file and fill in your values:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

N8N_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5678
N8N_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

3. Build

npm run build

4. Configure your MCP client

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/n8n-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:5678",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/n8n-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:5678",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Usage Examples

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "List all my active n8n workflows"
• "Show me the details of workflow 42"
• "Create a new workflow called 'Daily Report' with a Schedule trigger and HTTP Request node"
• "Execute workflow 15 with this input data: { "email": "test@example.com" }"
• "Show me the last 10 failed executions"
• "Activate workflow 7"
• "Check if my n8n instance is reachable"

Development

# Run in development mode (no build needed)
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start production build
npm start

Architecture

n8n-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts         # MCP server entry point & tool definitions
│   └── n8n-client.ts    # n8n REST API client
├── build/               # Compiled output (generated)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── .env.example
└── README.md

Notes on Workflow Execution

n8n's public API (v1) does not include a direct "execute workflow" endpoint. This server provides two approaches:

1. execute_workflow — Uses the internal /rest/workflows/{id}/run endpoint. Works on self-hosted instances. May require additional authentication configuration depending on your n8n setup.

2. execute_workflow_via_webhook — Calls a workflow's webhook trigger URL. This is the officially recommended approach. Your workflow must have a Webhook node as its trigger and must be active.

Generating Your n8n API Key

1. Open your n8n instance
2. Go to Settings (bottom-left gear icon)
3. Click API
4. Click Create API Key
5. Copy the key and add it to your .env or MCP client config

License

MIT