n8n Integration Troubleshooting

n8n Integration Troubleshooting

Issue: Seeing old model names in logs after reconnecting

Root Cause

n8n caches the node instance. When you disconnect/reconnect models, the old CascadeChatModel instance may still have references to previous models.

Solution

1. Stop the workflow in n8n

2. Restart the workflow (or restart n8n if that doesn't work)

3. Look for initialization log:

   🚀 CascadeFlow initialized
      PORT MAPPING:
      ├─ TOP port (labeled "Verifier") → VERIFIER model: lazy-loaded (will fetch only if needed)
      └─ BOTTOM port (labeled "Drafter") → DRAFTER model: [type] ([name])
   

   This shows which models are ACTUALLY connected.

Verifying Correct Operation

Expected logs when drafter is accepted:

🎯 CascadeFlow: Trying drafter model (from BOTTOM port): ollama (gemma3:1b)
   📊 Simple quality check: confidence=0.75

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ✅ FLOW: DRAFTER ACCEPTED (FAST PATH) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
   Model used: ollama (gemma3:1b)
   Confidence: 0.75 (threshold: 0.64)

Expected logs when verifier is triggered:

🎯 CascadeFlow: Trying drafter model (from BOTTOM port): ollama (gemma3:1b)
   📊 Simple quality check: confidence=0.50

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ⚠️  FLOW: ESCALATED TO VERIFIER (SLOW PATH)  │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
   🔄 Loading verifier model from TOP port (labeled "Verifier")...
   ✓ Verifier model loaded: ollama (mistral:7b-instruct)
   ✅ Verifier completed successfully
   Model used: ollama (mistral:7b-instruct)

Issue: "Only drafts getting accepted"

Is this a problem?

NO - This is correct behavior!

With quality threshold 0.64:

• If drafter produces good responses → Quality check passes → Use cheap model (SAVE MONEY ✅)
• If drafter produces poor responses → Quality check fails → Escalate to verifier

When to adjust threshold

See 100% drafter acceptance?

• Your drafter is doing well for these queries
• Consider lowering threshold to 0.50-0.55 if you want stricter quality

See 100% verifier escalation?

• Drafter quality too low for these queries
• Increase threshold to 0.70-0.80 to accept more drafts
• Or use a better drafter model

Testing Verifier Triggering

To force verifier usage, try:

1. Lower quality threshold to 0.90 (very strict)
2. Ask complex questions that drafter struggles with
3. Use a weaker drafter model

Checking Model Connections

Initialization log location:

• n8n workflow logs (when workflow starts)
• Server console logs (if running n8n manually)

Per-request logs:

• Show in n8n execution logs
• Show actual model used: Model used: [type] ([name])

Common Mistakes

❌ Connecting models to wrong ports

• TOP port = Verifier (expensive, high quality)
• BOTTOM port = Drafter (cheap, tried first)

❌ Not restarting workflow after changing connections

• Must restart for new models to be loaded

❌ Expecting verifier to be called every time

• Verifier is ONLY called when drafter quality < threshold
• This is the cost-saving feature!