N8n CLI Operations

n8n-cli Operations Skill

A skill to assist with workflow management using n8n-cli (TypeScript/Bun).

Session Initialization (Important)

For new sessions, always run the following first to ensure n8n-cli is up to date.

Priority 1: Build from Local Source (Development)

If the n8n-cli source repository is available via add-dir (e.g., /path/to/n8n-cli/Makefile exists), build from local source instead of using a release. This ensures the latest development changes are reflected immediately.

# If n8n-cli repo is visible via add-dir
N8N_CLI_REPO="/path/to/n8n-cli"  # Replace with add-dir path
if [ -f "$N8N_CLI_REPO/Makefile" ]; then
  echo "Building n8n-cli from local source: $N8N_CLI_REPO"
  cd "$N8N_CLI_REPO" && bun install && make build
  cp "$N8N_CLI_REPO/n8n-cli" /path/to/target/n8n-cli
  cd /path/to/target
  echo "Built from local source: $(./n8n-cli version 2>/dev/null | head -1)"
fi

Priority 2: Auto-Update from GitHub Releases (Preferred)

Pre-built binaries are available on GitHub Releases. This is faster than building from source and ensures you're running the official release.

# 1. Check the latest release version
LATEST_TAG=$(gh release view --repo ubie-oss/n8n-cli --json tagName -q '.tagName' 2>/dev/null)

# 2. Check current local version (if binary exists)
CURRENT_VERSION=""
if [ -x ./n8n-cli ]; then
  CURRENT_VERSION=$(./n8n-cli version 2>/dev/null | head -1 | grep -oE 'v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' || echo "")
fi

# 3. Compare and download if needed
if [ -z "$CURRENT_VERSION" ] || [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" != "$LATEST_TAG" ]; then
  echo "Updating n8n-cli: ${CURRENT_VERSION:-none} -> ${LATEST_TAG}"

  # Detect platform
  ARCH=$(uname -m)
  OS=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
  case "$ARCH" in
    arm64|aarch64) ASSET_NAME="n8n-cli-${OS}-arm64" ;;
    x86_64)        ASSET_NAME="n8n-cli-${OS}-x64" ;;
    *)             echo "Unsupported architecture: $ARCH"; exit 1 ;;
  esac

  # Download the binary
  gh release download "$LATEST_TAG" --repo ubie-oss/n8n-cli --pattern "$ASSET_NAME" --output n8n-cli --clobber
  chmod +x ./n8n-cli
  echo "Updated to $(./n8n-cli version 2>/dev/null | head -1)"
else
  echo "n8n-cli is up to date: $CURRENT_VERSION"
fi

Fallback: Build from Source

If gh CLI is not available or you need a development build:

# Install dependencies + build CLI
bun install && make build

Build verification:

./n8n-cli version

Environment Setup

Checking the .env File

If .env exists at the project root, n8n-cli can be used without specifying parameters. Do not read the contents.

# Only check for .env existence (do not read contents)
test -f .env && echo ".env exists - n8n-cli can be used without parameters"

If .env exists:

• N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY are already configured
• ./n8n-cli can be run without parameters

If .env does not exist:

• Prompt the user to create a .env file
• Or use --api-url and --api-key flags

Creating .env (Only If Needed)

cp .env.example .env
# Ask the user to edit

Common Commands

1. Checking Remote Workflow Status

Check a specific workflow:

# Get workflow info by ID
./n8n-cli workflow get <workflow-id>

# Display in table format for readability
./n8n-cli -o table workflow get <workflow-id>

# Save to file (useful for diff comparison)
./n8n-cli workflow get <workflow-id> > /tmp/remote-workflow.json

List workflows:

# All workflows
./n8n-cli workflow list

# Table format
./n8n-cli -o table workflow list

# Active only
./n8n-cli workflow list --active

2. Import Workflows (Remote -> Local)

Check Local Format Before Importing

When pulling remote content to local, always follow these steps:

1. Check local file format

   # Check if file exists and its format
   ls -la definitions/*<workflow-id>* definitions/**/*<workflow-id>*
   

2. Use appropriate import options based on format

   • .json files: use --ids only
   • .yaml/.yml files: use both --ids and --yaml

Import a specific workflow:

# JSON format workflow
./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id>

# YAML format workflow
./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id> --yaml

# To a custom directory
./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id> -d ./my-dir

Import multiple workflows:

# Comma-separated list
./n8n-cli import --ids=abc123,def456,ghi789

Import all workflows:

./n8n-cli import

Additional options:

3. Dry-run (Change Preview)

Always verify with dry-run before applying:

# Preview changes for all workflows
./n8n-cli apply --dry-run

# Specific workflow only (by ID)
./n8n-cli apply --dry-run --ids=<workflow-id>

# Specific file only
./n8n-cli apply --dry-run -d definitions/path/to/workflow.json

Example output:

=== CREATE (1 workflow) ===
  + new-workflow.json (name: "New Automation")

=== UPDATE (2 workflows) ===
  ~ existing.json (id: R2cTI0LDzCJSnvNG)
    - name: "Old Name" -> "New Name"
    - nodes: 3 -> 5 nodes

=== SKIP (1 workflow) ===
  = unchanged.json (no changes)

Summary (dry-run): 1 to create, 2 to update, 1 unchanged

4. Apply (Deploy)

AI assistants must always use --ids

# Apply specific workflow only (recommended)
./n8n-cli apply --ids=<workflow-id>

# Apply a specific file only
./n8n-cli apply -d definitions/path/to/workflow.json

# Force apply (overwrite remote changes)
./n8n-cli apply --ids=<workflow-id> --force

Prohibited: Applying to an entire directory

# These must NOT be run by AI
./n8n-cli apply -d definitions/
./n8n-cli apply

Additional options:

Environment variables:

• APPLY_FILTER_BY_TAGS - Filter by comma-separated tag names (AND condition)

Git diff mode:

# Apply only changes from a feature branch
./n8n-cli apply --from-git-changes origin/main..HEAD

# Preview
./n8n-cli apply --from-git-changes origin/main..HEAD --dry-run

# Changes from last 3 commits
./n8n-cli apply --from-git-changes HEAD~3..HEAD

3-way conflict detection: When --from-git-changes is specified, conflicts are detected by comparing Base (reference point), Local (current), and Remote (server) to identify only true conflicts.

5. Linter (Quality Checks)

The linter is integrated into the CLI. No separate build needed.

Note: Positional arguments are not supported. Always specify files/directories with -f or -d.

# Check a specific file (-f required)
./n8n-cli lint -f definitions/<filename>

# Check a specific directory
./n8n-cli lint -d ./definitions/example-project

# Check all workflows
./n8n-cli lint -d ./definitions

# JSON output (for CI/CD)
./n8n-cli lint -d ./definitions -o json

Options:

Rules (11 rules):

Config file (.n8nlintrc.json):

{
  "rules": {
    "json-syntax": "error",
    "required-fields": "error",
    "orphaned-node": "warning",
    "implicit-json-ref": "off"
  }
}

Config file search order:

1. Path specified with --config flag
2. .n8nlintrc.json / .n8nlintrc in the target directory
3. .n8nlintrc.json / .n8nlintrc in the current directory

6. Formatter (Auto-format)

Note: fmt takes positional arguments for files (no -f option).

# Format a specific file (positional argument)
./n8n-cli fmt definitions/<filename>

# Multiple files
./n8n-cli fmt definitions/file1.yaml definitions/file2.yaml

# Format an entire directory
./n8n-cli fmt -d ./definitions

# Preview only
./n8n-cli fmt -d ./definitions --dry-run

7. Test (Execution)

Test workflows via test webhooks:

# Basic test
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id>

# With test data
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id> -d '{"email": "test@example.com"}'

# Wait for execution to complete (recommended)
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id> --wait-execution

# Auto-activate inactive workflows
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id> --activate

# Check webhook URL only
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id> --dry-run

# Check input parameters
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id> --show-inputs

Options:

Test from a local file:

# Specify a local JSON/YAML file
./n8n-cli test ./definitions/my-workflow.json

8. Execution (Logs & Errors)

List recent executions:

# List all recent executions
./n8n-cli execution list

# Table format for readability
./n8n-cli -o table execution list

# Filter by status
./n8n-cli execution list --status error
./n8n-cli execution list --status success

# Filter by workflow
./n8n-cli execution list --workflow <workflow-id>

# Limit results
./n8n-cli execution list --limit 5

# Combined filters
./n8n-cli execution list --workflow <workflow-id> --status error --limit 10

Get execution details:

# Get execution by ID
./n8n-cli execution get <execution-id>

# Table format with error details
./n8n-cli -o table execution get <execution-id>

# Include node execution summary
./n8n-cli -o table execution get <execution-id> --show-data

Options for execution list:

Options for execution get:

Error information displayed:

Typical debugging workflow:

# 1. List recent errors
./n8n-cli -o table execution list --status error --limit 5

# 2. Get details of a specific failed execution
./n8n-cli -o table execution get <execution-id> --show-data

# 3. Review error details and fix the workflow

9. Convert (Format Conversion)

Convert workflow files between JSON and YAML formats (local-only, no API needed):

# Convert all JSON workflows to YAML
./n8n-cli convert -d ./definitions --format yaml

# Convert specific workflows by ID
./n8n-cli convert -d ./definitions --format json --ids <workflow-id>

# Preview without writing
./n8n-cli convert -d ./definitions --format yaml --dry-run

# Keep original files
./n8n-cli convert -d ./definitions --format yaml --keep

# Convert a single file
./n8n-cli convert --format yaml definitions/<filename>.json

Options:

Behavior:

• JSON→YAML: generates YAML + _subfiles/ with externalized code
• YAML→JSON: resolves !include refs and removes _subfiles/
• Files already in target format are skipped
• Original files removed after conversion unless --keep

10. Data Tables

Manage data tables and rows:

# List all data tables
./n8n-cli data-tables list
./n8n-cli -o table data-tables list

# Get a data table by ID (includes column definitions)
./n8n-cli data-tables get <data-table-id>

# Create a data table
./n8n-cli data-tables create --name "My Table" --columns '[{"name":"col1","type":"string"},{"name":"col2","type":"number"}]'

# Update a data table name
./n8n-cli data-tables update <data-table-id> --name "New Name"

# Delete data tables
./n8n-cli data-tables delete <data-table-id> --force

Row operations:

# List rows
./n8n-cli data-tables rows list <data-table-id>
./n8n-cli data-tables rows list <data-table-id> --limit 10 --search "keyword"

# Insert rows
./n8n-cli data-tables rows insert <data-table-id> --data '[{"col1":"hello","col2":42}]'
./n8n-cli data-tables rows insert <data-table-id> --data '[{"col1":"value"}]' --return-type all

# Update rows matching a filter
./n8n-cli data-tables rows update <data-table-id> \
  --filter '{"type":"and","filters":[{"columnName":"col1","condition":"eq","value":"hello"}]}' \
  --data '{"col2":99}' --dry-run

# Upsert rows
./n8n-cli data-tables rows upsert <data-table-id> \
  --filter '{"type":"and","filters":[{"columnName":"col1","condition":"eq","value":"hello"}]}' \
  --data '{"col1":"hello","col2":100}'

# Delete rows matching a filter
./n8n-cli data-tables rows delete <data-table-id> \
  --filter '{"type":"and","filters":[{"columnName":"col1","condition":"eq","value":"hello"}]}' \
  --force

Options:

Supported column types: string, number, boolean, date, json.

11. Trace (Data Flow Analysis)

Analyze data flow and cardinality through a workflow:

# Trace a workflow file
./n8n-cli trace -f definitions/<filename>

# JSON output
./n8n-cli trace -f definitions/<filename> -o json

Output columns:

Cardinality meanings:

Interpreting ? in estimated items:

When a node shows ? for estimated items, it means cardinality could not be statically determined. AI assistants should:

1. Check the node's operation parameter — many nodes (Notion, GoogleSheets, BigQuery) have operation-dependent cardinality that the trace already resolves
2. Check limit parameters or SQL LIMIT clauses that may constrain output
3. For Code nodes, read the code to determine if it produces 1 or N items
4. For HTTP Request, check if the response is an array or single object
5. Do not assume ? means "many" — it simply means "unknown at static analysis time"

12. Credential (Credential Management)

Check available credentials:

# List all credentials
./n8n-cli credential list

# Get a specific credential's details
./n8n-cli credential get <id>

# Check credential type schema
./n8n-cli credential schema <typeName>

When designing workflows:

• If a node uses an external service, verify the corresponding credential exists
• If a credential is missing, ask the user to create it in the n8n UI

13. Node Schema (Node Schema Reference)

Check node parameter definitions:

# List all nodes
./n8n-cli node-schema list

# JSON output
./n8n-cli node-schema list --output json

# Dump a specific node's schema
./n8n-cli node-schema dump --type n8n-nodes-base.slack

# Dump all nodes to a directory (individual JSON + _index.json)
./n8n-cli node-schema dump -o ./schemas

Prerequisites: n8n-nodes-base and @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain must be installed in node_modules.

Options (list):

Options (dump):

Typical Workflow Operations

Editing Workflows

# 1. Update CLI (auto-update from GitHub Releases, fallback: bun install && make build)
LATEST_TAG=$(gh release view --repo ubie-oss/n8n-cli --json tagName -q '.tagName' 2>/dev/null)
CURRENT_VERSION=$(./n8n-cli version 2>/dev/null | head -1 | grep -oE 'v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' || echo "")
if [ -z "$CURRENT_VERSION" ] || [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" != "$LATEST_TAG" ]; then
  ARCH=$(uname -m); OS=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
  case "$ARCH" in arm64|aarch64) A="n8n-cli-${OS}-arm64";; x86_64) A="n8n-cli-${OS}-x64";; esac
  gh release download "$LATEST_TAG" --repo ubie-oss/n8n-cli --pattern "$A" --output n8n-cli --clobber && chmod +x ./n8n-cli
fi

# 2. Check .env
test -f .env && echo "OK"

# 3. Edit local file (using n8n-workflow skill)

# 4. Lint check
./n8n-cli lint -f definitions/<filename>

# 5. Dry-run to verify
./n8n-cli apply --dry-run --ids=<workflow-id>

# 6. Apply
./n8n-cli apply --ids=<workflow-id>

# 7. Post-apply dry-run to confirm results
./n8n-cli apply --dry-run --ids=<workflow-id>

# 8. Test (optional)
./n8n-cli test <workflow-id> --wait-execution

Pulling Remote Changes

# 1. Check local file format (important!)
ls -la definitions/*<workflow-id>* definitions/**/*<workflow-id>*

# 2. Check remote state
./n8n-cli workflow get <workflow-id> > /tmp/remote.json

# 3. Compare with local (if needed)
diff definitions/path/to/workflow.json /tmp/remote.json

# 4. Import preserving format
# For JSON format:
./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id>

# For YAML format:
./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id> --yaml

Exit Codes

Troubleshooting

Authentication Error

Error: authentication failed

-> Check N8N_API_KEY in .env

Network Error

Error: network error

-> Check N8N_API_URL in .env

Conflict Error

Error: conflict: remote workflow has been modified since your local file

-> Check remote changes and either overwrite with --force or import and re-edit

Guidelines for AI Assistants

At Session Start

1. Auto-update n8n-cli from GitHub Releases

   # Check latest release and download if newer
   LATEST_TAG=$(gh release view --repo ubie-oss/n8n-cli --json tagName -q '.tagName' 2>/dev/null)
   CURRENT_VERSION=""
   if [ -x ./n8n-cli ]; then
     CURRENT_VERSION=$(./n8n-cli version 2>/dev/null | head -1 | grep -oE 'v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' || echo "")
   fi
   if [ -z "$CURRENT_VERSION" ] || [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" != "$LATEST_TAG" ]; then
     ARCH=$(uname -m); OS=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
     case "$ARCH" in
       arm64|aarch64) ASSET="n8n-cli-${OS}-arm64" ;;
       x86_64)        ASSET="n8n-cli-${OS}-x64" ;;
     esac
     gh release download "$LATEST_TAG" --repo ubie-oss/n8n-cli --pattern "$ASSET" --output n8n-cli --clobber && chmod +x ./n8n-cli
   fi
   ./n8n-cli version
   

   • gh CLI が使えない場合のフォールバック: bun install && make build

2. Check .env existence (do not read contents)

   test -f .env && echo ".env exists"
   

After Editing Workflows (Development Feedback Loop)

1. Lint check - ./n8n-cli lint -f definitions/<filename>
2. Dry-run to verify changes - ./n8n-cli apply --dry-run --ids=<workflow-id>
3. Proactively apply for testing (always specify a single workflow)
   • Unless the user explicitly declines, apply even during development
   • After apply, share the n8n UI URL
   • If issues are found, repeat the fix -> apply cycle
4. Post-apply dry-run - Confirm no conflicts

When Importing from Remote

Important: Preserve the local format

1. Check local file format

   ls -la definitions/*<workflow-id>* definitions/**/*<workflow-id>*
   

2. Determine format

   • .json -> JSON format
   • .yaml/.yml -> YAML format

3. Import with format-appropriate options

   # JSON format
   ./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id>
   
   # YAML format
   ./n8n-cli import --ids=<workflow-id> --yaml
   

Prohibited Actions

• Reading the contents of .env files
• Applying to an entire directory (always use --ids)
• Using --force carelessly
• Importing without checking the local format first

Source: ubie-oss/n8n-cli — distributed by TomeVault.