n8n Integration with Claude Code CLI¶

Automate complex workflows by connecting Claude Code CLI to n8n, the powerful workflow automation platform.

What You'll Learn¶

What n8n is and why integrate it with Claude Code CLI
Setting up the n8n MCP server for terminal use
Executing workflows from your terminal
Building AI-powered automation pipelines
Real-world CLI integration patterns

What is n8n?¶

n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that connects apps and services. Think of it as a visual programming environment where you can:

Connect 400+ services (Slack, GitHub, databases, APIs)
Build complex automation workflows
Trigger actions based on events
Process and transform data

Why Integrate with Claude Code CLI?¶

Combining Claude Code CLI with n8n gives you terminal-based access to hundreds of services:

Claude Code CLI	n8n	Together
Terminal AI reasoning	Service connections	CLI-triggered automation
Code generation	Visual workflows	Smart pipelines
Natural language in terminal	Event triggers	Conversational automation
File operations	Data transformation	End-to-end processing

Example: In your terminal, ask Claude to "notify the team about this bug" and it triggers an n8n workflow that creates a Jira ticket, posts to Slack, and sends an email - all without leaving your terminal.

Architecture Overview¶

When you type commands in your terminal, here's what happens:

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│ Your        │     │  n8n MCP    │     │ n8n Server  │
│ Terminal    │────▶│  Server     │────▶│ (Workflows) │
│ (Claude CLI)│◀────│             │◀────│             │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘
                                              │
                                              ▼
                                    ┌─────────────────┐
                                    │ External Services│
                                    │ Slack, GitHub,   │
                                    │ Databases, APIs  │
                                    └─────────────────┘

All interaction happens through your terminal - you never need to leave the command line.

Setting Up n8n Integration¶

Prerequisites¶

n8n instance - Self-hosted or n8n.cloud
n8n API key - From your n8n settings
Claude Code - Installed and configured

Step 1: Install n8n (if self-hosting)¶

# Using Docker
docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n

# Or using npm
npm install -g n8n
n8n start

Access n8n at http://localhost:5678

Step 2: Get Your n8n API Key¶

Open n8n web interface
Go to Settings → API
Create a new API key
Copy the key securely

Step 3: Install n8n MCP Server¶

npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-n8n

Or use npx (no installation needed):

npx @anthropic/mcp-server-n8n

Step 4: Configure Claude Code¶

Add to your Claude Code settings (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-n8n"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_API_URL": "http://localhost:5678/api/v1",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For n8n.cloud:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-n8n"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_API_URL": "https://your-instance.app.n8n.cloud/api/v1",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 5: Restart Claude Code CLI¶

Close any existing Claude Code session and start fresh in your terminal:

# Exit if you're in a session
> /exit

# Start a new terminal session
claude

Verify the connection by typing in your terminal session:

> List my n8n workflows

Claude CLI will use the n8n MCP tools to query your workflows.

Available MCP Tools¶

Once configured, Claude has access to these n8n tools:

Tool	Purpose
`mcp__n8n__search_workflows`	Find workflows by name or description
`mcp__n8n__get_workflow_details`	Get full workflow configuration
`mcp__n8n__execute_workflow`	Run a workflow with inputs

Using n8n from Your Terminal¶

All n8n interaction happens through natural language in your Claude Code CLI session.

Listing Workflows¶

Type in your terminal session:

> What n8n workflows do I have?

Claude CLI searches and lists your workflows with descriptions - no need to open the n8n web UI.

Understanding a Workflow¶

> Explain what the "Deploy Notification" workflow does

Claude CLI fetches the workflow details and explains: - Trigger type (webhook, schedule, etc.) - Nodes and their connections - Expected inputs and outputs

Executing Workflows¶

> Run the "Send Slack Alert" workflow with message "Deployment complete"

Claude CLI: 1. Finds the workflow 2. Checks required inputs 3. Executes with your parameters 4. Returns the result right in your terminal

Workflow Types and Triggers¶

n8n workflows have different trigger types. Claude handles each appropriately:

Webhook Workflows¶

Triggered by HTTP requests:

> Execute the webhook workflow "Process Order" with this data:
  - customerId: 123
  - items: ["widget", "gadget"]
  - total: 99.99

Claude sends a POST request to the webhook with your data.

Chat/AI Workflows¶

Workflows designed for conversational input:

> Ask my "Customer Support Bot" workflow: "What's the status of order #456?"

Claude sends the chat input and returns the response.

Form Workflows¶

Workflows expecting structured form data:

> Submit to the "New Employee" workflow:
  - name: John Doe
  - department: Engineering
  - startDate: 2025-01-15

Manual Execution¶

Workflows without automatic triggers:

> Manually run the "Weekly Report" workflow

Real-World Integration Patterns¶

Pattern 1: Deployment Notifications¶

Create a workflow in n8n that: 1. Receives deployment info (webhook) 2. Posts to Slack 3. Updates status page 4. Sends email to stakeholders

Use from Claude Code:

> I just deployed version 2.3.1 to production. Run the deployment
  notification workflow with:
  - version: 2.3.1
  - environment: production
  - changes: "Bug fixes and performance improvements"

Pattern 2: Issue Triage¶

n8n workflow that: 1. Creates Jira/GitHub issue 2. Assigns based on labels 3. Notifies relevant team 4. Adds to sprint board

Use from Claude Code:

> Found a critical bug in the payment module. Create an issue:
  - title: Payment fails for international cards
  - severity: critical
  - component: payments
  - description: [Claude generates from context]

Pattern 3: Documentation Sync¶

n8n workflow that: 1. Receives documentation updates 2. Publishes to Notion/Confluence 3. Updates search index 4. Notifies documentation team

Use from Claude Code:

> I updated the API documentation. Sync it using the docs workflow.

Pattern 4: Code Review Automation¶

n8n workflow that: 1. Receives PR information 2. Runs static analysis 3. Posts review comments 4. Updates review dashboard

Use from Claude Code:

> Trigger code review automation for PR #234

Pattern 5: AI-Powered Data Processing¶

n8n workflow with AI nodes that: 1. Receives raw data 2. Uses Claude for analysis 3. Transforms results 4. Stores in database

Use from Claude Code:

> Process the customer feedback CSV through the sentiment analysis workflow

Building n8n Workflows for Claude¶

Best Practices¶

1. Clear Input Schemas¶

Define what your workflow expects:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "message": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The message to send"
    },
    "channel": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Slack channel name"
    },
    "urgent": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Whether to use @here mention"
    }
  },
  "required": ["message", "channel"]
}

2. Descriptive Names¶

Name workflows clearly: - ✅ "Send Slack Notification to Team" - ❌ "Workflow 1"

3. Add Descriptions¶

Include descriptions explaining: - What the workflow does - Required inputs - Expected outputs - Example usage

4. Return Useful Responses¶

End workflows with meaningful output:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Notification sent to #engineering",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Example: Slack Notification Workflow¶

Create this workflow in n8n:

Webhook Trigger
Method: POST
Path: /slack-notify
Set Node (prepare message)
Format the incoming data
Slack Node
Send message to channel
Respond to Webhook
Return success/failure

Now use it:

> Send a Slack notification to #deployments saying
  "Backend API v2.0 deployed successfully"

CLI-Specific Automation¶

One of the biggest advantages of Claude Code CLI is integration with shell scripts and terminal workflows.

Non-Interactive n8n Commands¶

Use claude -p for scripted automation:

# Trigger deployment notification from a shell script
claude -p "Run the 'Deploy Notification' workflow with version=2.3.1 env=production"

# Use in CI/CD pipelines
claude -p "Execute 'Test Results' workflow with status=passed build=$BUILD_NUMBER"

# Combine with other CLI tools
git log -1 --format="%s" | xargs -I {} claude -p "Run 'Commit Alert' with message='{}'"

Shell Script Integration¶

Create a deployment script that uses Claude + n8n:

#!/bin/bash
# deploy.sh - Deploy and notify via n8n

VERSION=$1
ENV=$2

# Run deployment
./deploy-app.sh $VERSION $ENV

# Notify via Claude + n8n (non-interactive)
claude -p "Run the deployment notification workflow with:
  - version: $VERSION
  - environment: $ENV
  - timestamp: $(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
  - deployer: $USER"

echo "Deployment complete and team notified"

Cron Jobs with n8n¶

Schedule n8n executions via cron:

# Daily report at 9am
0 9 * * * claude -p "Run the 'Daily Metrics Report' workflow" >> /var/log/claude-n8n.log 2>&1

# Hourly health check
0 * * * * claude -p "Execute 'System Health Check' workflow" >> /var/log/health.log 2>&1

Chaining Claude Code CLI and n8n¶

Sequential Operations¶

> 1. Analyze the test results in test-output.json
  2. If there are failures, run the "Test Failure Alert" workflow
  3. Create a summary of what failed and why

Claude: 1. Reads and analyzes the file 2. Conditionally triggers n8n 3. Generates a summary

Conditional Workflows¶

> Check if the build passed. If yes, run the "Deploy to Staging" workflow.
  If no, run the "Build Failure Notification" workflow with the error details.

Data Transformation¶

> Read the sales data from sales.csv, summarize it, and send the summary
  through the "Weekly Sales Report" workflow

Claude: 1. Reads and processes the CSV 2. Creates a summary 3. Sends to n8n for distribution

Troubleshooting¶

"Workflow not found"¶

> Run the "Deploy" workflow

Error: Workflow not found

Solutions: - Check exact workflow name: > List all workflows - Verify workflow is active in n8n - Check API permissions

"Invalid input"¶

> Execute "Send Email" with recipient "test@example.com"

Error: Missing required field: subject

Solution: Check workflow requirements:

> What inputs does the "Send Email" workflow need?

"Authentication failed"¶

Solutions: - Verify API key is correct - Check API key permissions in n8n - Ensure n8n URL is accessible

"Webhook timeout"¶

Solutions: - Check n8n server is running - Verify network connectivity - Check workflow execution logs in n8n

Security Considerations¶

API Key Protection¶

Never commit API keys:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "env": {
        "N8N_API_KEY": "${N8N_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Set via environment:

export N8N_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Workflow Permissions¶

Use n8n's role-based access control
Create dedicated API keys per environment
Limit workflow execution permissions

Input Validation¶

Validate inputs in your n8n workflows:

// In n8n Function node
if (!$input.item.json.email.includes('@')) {
  throw new Error('Invalid email format');
}

Try It Yourself¶

Exercise 1: Basic Integration¶

Set up n8n locally or use n8n.cloud
Create a simple webhook workflow that returns a greeting
Configure the MCP server
Execute the workflow from Claude Code

Exercise 2: Notification System¶

Create an n8n workflow that:
Accepts a message and urgency level
Sends to Slack (or logs if no Slack)
Returns confirmation
Use Claude Code to:
List the workflow
Understand its inputs
Execute with different parameters

Exercise 3: Development Automation¶

Create workflows for:
PR notifications
Deployment alerts
Test failure reports
Integrate with your actual development process

Exercise 4: AI Pipeline¶

Create an n8n workflow with an AI node
Send data from Claude Code
Receive AI-processed results back
Take action based on results

What's Next?¶

You've learned how to integrate n8n with Claude Code for powerful automation. Consider:

Building a library of reusable workflows
Creating team-specific automation commands
Integrating with your CI/CD pipeline
Building AI-powered data processing pipelines

Return to Enterprise Patterns to see how this fits into team workflows.

Summary: - n8n extends Claude Code CLI with 400+ service integrations - All interaction stays in your terminal - no context switching - Configure via MCP server with API key authentication - Execute workflows using natural language in your terminal session - Build AI-powered automation pipelines triggered from the CLI - Use non-interactive mode (claude -p) for scripted n8n automation - Secure your integration with environment variables and RBAC

Learning Resources¶

Featured Video¶

freeCodeCamp: n8n Workflow Automation (10M+ subscribers)

Comprehensive n8n + AI integration - build automated workflows with 400+ service connections.

Additional Resources¶

Type	Resource	Description
🎬 Video	Claude Code + MCP Workflows	All About AI - Automation patterns
📚 Official Docs	n8n AI Tutorial	Official n8n AI documentation
📖 Tutorial	freeCodeCamp Guide	Complete n8n tutorial
🎓 Free Course	n8n AI Templates	4780+ free workflow templates
💼 Commercial	n8n Complete Course	Comprehensive automation training