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n8n

n8n

MCP molecule that provides AI agents with tools to interact with n8n workflows.

The n8n molecule provides these tools to AI agents:

  • n8n_list_workflows - List all workflows with metadata

  • n8n_search_workflows - Search workflows by name/tag/keyword

  • n8n_get_workflow_schema - Get workflow input schema and capabilities

  • n8n_get_workflow - Get detailed workflow configuration

  • n8n_execute_workflow - Trigger a workflow with input data

  • n8n_get_execution - Get execution status and results

  • n8n_list_executions - List recent workflow executions

  • n8n_activate_workflow - Enable a workflow

  • n8n_deactivate_workflow - Disable a workflow

AI discovers workflows without knowing IDs:

User: "What automation workflows do I have for Slack?"

AI: [Calls n8n_search_workflows("slack")]
    "Found 3 Slack-related workflows:
     • Slack Daily Standup (active) - Posts daily standup reminder
     • Slack Incident Alert (active) - Sends incident notifications
     • Slack Deploy Notification (inactive) - Announces deployments"

User: "What does the incident alert workflow need as input?"

AI: [Calls n8n_get_workflow_schema("slack-incident-alert")]
    "The Slack Incident Alert workflow accepts:
     • severity (string): 'P0', 'P1', 'P2'
     • message (string): Alert message
     • channel (string): Slack channel name
     Trigger type: webhook"
User: "Send a P0 alert to #engineering about the database being down"

AI: [Searches for alert workflow, gets schema, then executes]
    [n8n_search_workflows("alert") → finds "Slack Incident Alert"]
    [n8n_get_workflow_schema("id") → learns input format]
    [n8n_execute_workflow("id", {
      severity: "P0",
      message: "Database is down",
      channel: "#engineering"
    })]

    "✅ P0 alert sent to #engineering. Execution ID: abc-123"
User: "We just deployed v2.4 to production"

AI: [Searches for deploy workflows]
    [n8n_search_workflows("deploy") → finds notification workflow]
    [n8n_execute_workflow with version info]

    "✅ I've:
     • Sent deployment notification to #releases
     • Updated the status dashboard
     • Created changelog entry"
  1. n8n instance with API access enabled
  2. n8n API key - Generate in n8n: Settings → API
cd molecules/n8n
docker build -t n8n-molecule:latest .

Edit k8s-deployment.yaml and update the Secret:

stringData:
  url: "https://your-n8n-instance.com"
  api-key: "n8n_api_YOUR_API_KEY"
kubectl apply -f k8s-deployment.yaml

The molecule will be auto-discovered by the SixDegree controller if:

  • Deployed in sixdegree-system namespace
  • Has label molecule.sixdegree.ai/type: mcp
  • Service is named n8n-molecule

Or register manually:

INSERT INTO sixdegree.molecules (
  environment_id,
  fully_qualified_path,
  deployment_status,
  external_http_url
) VALUES (
  'your-env-id',
  'n8n.sixdegree.ai/v1/automation',
  'deployed',
  'http://n8n-molecule.sixdegree-system.svc.cluster.local'
);

export N8N_URL="http://localhost:5678"
export N8N_API_KEY="your-api-key"


go run main.go
curl http://localhost:8080/mcp

The molecule uses the n8n REST API:

  • n8n API Documentation

  • Requires n8n version 0.190.0+ for full API support

  • API keys are stored in Kubernetes Secrets

  • All communication with n8n should use HTTPS in production

  • Consider using network policies to restrict access to n8n

Here are some n8n workflows the AI could help manage:

  1. Data Sync - Sync data between systems on schedule
  2. Alert Notifications - Send Slack/email alerts on events
  3. Report Generation - Generate and distribute reports
  4. Data Processing - Transform and load data pipelines
  5. Incident Response - Automated incident workflows

Molecule not showing up in tools:

  • Check pod logs: kubectl logs -n sixdegree-system -l app=n8n-molecule
  • Verify service is accessible: kubectl get svc -n sixdegree-system n8n-molecule
  • Check molecule registration in database

401 Authentication errors:

  • Verify n8n API key is correct
  • Check n8n API is enabled in settings

Workflow execution fails:

  • Check workflow is active: n8n_list_workflows
  • Verify input data format matches workflow expectations
  • Check n8n execution logs in n8n UI