n8n MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants to interact with n8n workflows through natural language.

Overview

This MCP server provides tools and resources for AI assistants to manage n8n workflows and executions. It allows assistants to:

• List, create, update, and delete workflows
• Activate and deactivate workflows
• Execute workflows and monitor their status
• Access workflow information and execution statistics

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later
• n8n instance with API access enabled

Install from npm

npm install -g n8n-mcp-server

Install from source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/leonardsellem/n8n-mcp-server.git
cd n8n-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Optional: Install globally
npm install -g .

Docker Installation

You can also run the server using Docker:

# Pull the image
docker pull leonardsellem/n8n-mcp-server

# Run the container with your n8n API configuration
docker run -e N8N_API_URL=http://your-n8n:5678/api/v1 \
  -e N8N_API_KEY=your_n8n_api_key \
  -e N8N_WEBHOOK_USERNAME=username \
  -e N8N_WEBHOOK_PASSWORD=password \
  leonardsellem/n8n-mcp-server

Configuration

Create a .env file in the directory where you'll run the server, using .env.example as a template:

cp .env.example .env

Configure the following environment variables:

Variable	Description	Example
N8N_API_URL	Full URL of the n8n API, including /api/v1	http://localhost:5678/api/v1
N8N_API_KEY	API key for authenticating with n8n	n8n_api_...
N8N_WEBHOOK_USERNAME	Username for webhook authentication (if using webhooks)	username
N8N_WEBHOOK_PASSWORD	Password for webhook authentication	password
DEBUG	Enable debug logging (optional)	true or false

Generating an n8n API Key

1. Open your n8n instance in a browser
2. Go to Settings > API > API Keys
3. Create a new API key with appropriate permissions
4. Copy the key to your .env file

Usage

Running the Server

From the installation directory:

n8n-mcp-server

Or if installed globally:

n8n-mcp-server

Integrating with AI Assistants

After building the server (npm run build), you need to configure your AI assistant (like VS Code with the Claude extension or the Claude Desktop app) to run it. This typically involves editing a JSON configuration file.

Example Configuration (e.g., in VS Code settings.json or Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    // Give your server a unique name
    "n8n-local": {
      // Use 'node' to execute the built JavaScript file
      "command": "node",
      // Provide the *absolute path* to the built index.js file
      "args": [
        "/path/to/your/cloned/n8n-mcp-server/build/index.js"
        // On Windows, use double backslashes:
        // "C:\\path\\to\\your\\cloned\\n8n-mcp-server\\build\\index.js"
      ],
      // Environment variables needed by the server
      "env": {
        "N8N_API_URL": "http://your-n8n-instance:5678/api/v1", // Replace with your n8n URL
        "N8N_API_KEY": "YOUR_N8N_API_KEY", // Replace with your key
        // Add webhook credentials only if you plan to use webhook tools
        // "N8N_WEBHOOK_USERNAME": "your_webhook_user",
        // "N8N_WEBHOOK_PASSWORD": "your_webhook_password"
      },
      // Ensure the server is enabled
      "disabled": false,
      // Default autoApprove settings
      "autoApprove": []
    }
    // ... other servers might be configured here
  }
}

Key Points:

• Replace /path/to/your/cloned/n8n-mcp-server/ with the actual absolute path where you cloned and built the repository.
• Use the correct path separator for your operating system (forward slashes / for macOS/Linux, double backslashes \\ for Windows).
• Ensure you provide the correct N8N_API_URL (including /api/v1) and N8N_API_KEY.
• The server needs to be built (npm run build) before the assistant can run the build/index.js file.

Available Tools

The server provides the following tools:

Using Webhooks

This MCP server supports executing workflows through n8n webhooks. To use this functionality:

1. Create a webhook-triggered workflow in n8n.
2. Set up Basic Authentication on your webhook node.
3. Use the run_webhook tool to trigger the workflow, passing just the workflow name.

Example:

const result = await useRunWebhook({
  workflowName: "hello-world", // Will call <n8n-url>/webhook/hello-world
  data: {
    prompt: "Hello from AI assistant!"
  }
});

The webhook authentication is handled automatically using the N8N_WEBHOOK_USERNAME and N8N_WEBHOOK_PASSWORD environment variables.

Workflow Management

• workflow_list: List all workflows
• workflow_get: Get details of a specific workflow
• workflow_create: Create a new workflow
• workflow_update: Update an existing workflow
• workflow_delete: Delete a workflow
• workflow_activate: Activate a workflow
• workflow_deactivate: Deactivate a workflow

Execution Management

• execution_run: Execute a workflow via the API
• run_webhook: Execute a workflow via a webhook
• execution_get: Get details of a specific execution
• execution_list: List executions for a workflow
• execution_stop: Stop a running execution

Resources

The server provides the following resources:

• n8n://workflows/list: List of all workflows
• n8n://workflow/{id}: Details of a specific workflow
• n8n://executions/{workflowId}: List of executions for a workflow
• n8n://execution/{id}: Details of a specific execution

Development

Building

npm run build

Running in Development Mode

npm run dev

Testing

npm test

Linting

npm run lint

License

MIT