n8n API

Operate n8n via its public REST API from OpenClaw. Use for workflow management, executions, and automation tasks such as listing, creating, publishing, triggering, or troubleshooting. Works with both self-hosted n8n and n8n Cloud.

n8n Public REST API

Use this skill when you need to drive n8n programmatically. It covers the same core actions you use in the UI: workflows, executions, tags, credentials, projects, and more.

Availability

• The public API is unavailable during the free trial.
• Upgrade your plan to enable API access.

Configuration

Recommended environment variables (or store in .n8n-api-config):

bash

export N8N_API_BASE_URL="https://your-instance.app.n8n.cloud/api/v1"  # or http://localhost:5678/api/v1
export N8N_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Create the API key in: n8n Settings → n8n API → Create an API key.

Auth header

All requests require this header:

text

X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY

Playground

The API playground is only available on self-hosted n8n and operates on real data. For safe experiments, use a test workflow or a separate test instance.

Quick actions

Workflows: list

bash

curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows" \
  | jq '.data[] | {id, name, active}'

Workflows: details

bash

curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows/{id}"

Workflows: activate or deactivate

bash

# Activate (publish)
curl -s -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"versionId":"","name":"","description":""}' \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows/{id}/activate"

# Deactivate
curl -s -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows/{id}/deactivate"

Webhook trigger

bash

# Production webhook
curl -s -X POST "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/../webhook/{webhook-path}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"key":"value"}'

# Test webhook
curl -s -X POST "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/../webhook-test/{webhook-path}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"key":"value"}'

Executions: list

bash

# Recent executions
curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?limit=10" \
  | jq '.data[] | {id, workflowId, status, startedAt}'

# Failed only
curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?status=error&limit=5"

Executions: retry

bash

curl -s -X POST -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"loadWorkflow":true}' \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions/{id}/retry"

Common flows

Health check summary

Count active workflows and recent failures:

bash

ACTIVE=$(curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/workflows?active=true" | jq '.data | length')

FAILED=$(curl -s -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  "$N8N_API_BASE_URL/executions?status=error&limit=100" \
  | jq '[.data[] | select(.startedAt > (now - 86400 | todate))] | length')

echo "Active workflows: $ACTIVE | Failed (24h): $FAILED"

Debug a failed run

1. List failed executions to get the execution ID.
2. Fetch execution details and identify the failing node.
3. Review node parameters and input data.
4. Suggest a fix based on the error message.

Endpoint index

See assets/n8n-api.endpoints.md for the full list of endpoints.

REST basics (optional)

If you want a refresher, these are commonly recommended:

• KnowledgeOwl: working with APIs (intro)
• IBM Cloud Learn Hub: what is an API / REST API
• MDN: overview of HTTP

Notes and tips

• The n8n API node can call the public API from inside workflows.
• Webhook URLs are not the same as API URLs and do not use the API key header.
• Execution records may be pruned based on instance retention settings.