n8n-cli

Name: n8n-cli
Author: n8n-io

Other Community

Repo stars 190,957
Author updated Live
Author repo n8n

Fluxly profile Facts only: domain, agents, trust score, runtime, permissions and network

Domain: Other
Compatible agents: Claude Code
Cursor
Cline
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Gemini CLI

+20
Trust score: 88 / 100 · community maintained
Author / version / license: @n8n-io · no license declared
Token usage: Lean
Setup complexity: Guided setup
External API key: Required · Vendor-specific
Operating systems: macOS · Linux · Windows
Runtime requirements: Node.js
Permissions: Read-only
Write / modify
Shell exec
Env read
Network behavior: External requests
Install commands: 26 variants

Profile is derived at build time from SKILL.md and install vectors. Subject to drift from author intent.

Heads up: 未限定 allowed-tools，默认拥有全部工具权限。

Output preview n8n-cli.preview

---
name: n8n-cli
description: Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use w…
category: other
runtime: Node.js
---

# n8n-cli output preview

## PART A: Task fit
- Use case: Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use when the user asks to interact with n8n, automate workflows, manage credentials, or operate their instance from the command line..
- Inputs: target material, constraints, expected output, and acceptance criteria.
- Evidence boundary: follow “Setup / Global Flags / Workflows” and do not present inference as author intent.

## PART B: Execution result
- **01** The card summarizes the use case; runtime output centers on “Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use when the user asks to interact with n8n, automate workflows, manage credentials, or operate their instance from the command line.”.
- **02** When the source has headings, the agent prioritizes “Setup / Global Flags / Workflows” so the result follows the author’s structure.
- **03** Typical output includes task judgment, concrete steps, required commands or file edits, validation, and follow-up options.
- **04** Risk context follows the fingerprint: read files, write/modify files, run shell commands, read environment variables; may access external network resources; requires Vendor-specific API keys.

## Running Rules
- read files, write/modify files, run shell commands, read environment variables; may access external network resources; requires Vendor-specific API keys.
- Validate with a small sample before expanding scope.
- Return the result, validation criteria, and next iteration options.

SKILL.md SKILL.md

---
name: n8n-cli
description: Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use w…
category: other
source: n8n-io/n8n
---

# n8n-cli

## When to use
- Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use when the user asks to i…
- Use it when the task has clear inputs, repeatable steps, and validation criteria.

## What to provide
- Target material, scope, expected result, and forbidden changes.
- Whether network, commands, file writes, or external services are allowed.

## Execution rules
- Organize steps around “Setup / Global Flags / Workflows” and keep inference separate from source facts.
- read files, write/modify files, run shell commands, read environment variables; may access external network resources; requires Vendor-specific API keys.
- Validate with a small sample before expanding the task.

## Output requirements
- Return the deliverable, key evidence, validation method, and next action.
- Mark missing information as unknown; do not invent commands, platforms, or dependencies.

Evidence boundary and execution chain

The author source anchors workflow facts; repository files anchor sources and commands; Fluxly only adds fit, limitations, and quality judgment.

skill "n8n-cli" {
  input      -> user goal + target files + boundaries + acceptance criteria
  context    -> Setup / Global Flags / Workflows
  rules      -> SKILL.md triggers / order / output contract
  runtime    -> Node.js | read files, write/modify files, run shell commands, read environment variables | may access external network resources
  guardrails -> requires Vendor-specific API keys + small-sample validation + diff/log review
  output     -> copyable result + checklist + next iteration
}

Interpretation is structured for decision-making; original keeps the upstream SKILL.md unchanged.

Decide Fit First

Core job: Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use when the user asks to interact wi…
Best fit: Use it when the task has reusable inputs, steps, and validation criteria rather than a one-off answer.
Avoid forcing it: If the source lacks commands, platform support, or external-service evidence, keep those fields unknown instead of guessing.

Design Intent

Structure: The skill is organized around “Setup”, “Global Flags”, “Workflows”, “Executions”, showing how the author expects the agent to judge fit, collect context, and produce verifiable output.
Trigger evidence: Prioritize the author’s wording around when to use it, what context to collect, and what output shape to produce.
Evidence boundary: Author text states facts, repository files prove commands and paths, and Fluxly only adds fit, limits, and usage judgment.

How To Use It

Inputs: Provide target material, scope, expected result, forbidden changes, and validation method.
Invocation: Name n8n-cli directly; if the source includes slash commands, start with the command and then add task context.
Validation: Start small and check whether the result follows “Setup / Global Flags / Workflows” before expanding.

Boundaries And Review

Dependencies: Prepare Vendor-specific API keys before running a full task.
Permissions: Declared permissions include read / write / shell-exec / env-read; ask the agent to state file, command, and rollback boundaries before acting.
Quality bar: A useful result names the deliverable, evidence, and next action. Generic prose means the task needs tighter context.

n8n CLI

The n8n-cli command-line tool manages an n8n instance via its REST API. It auto-detects piped output and switches to JSON, making it composable for scripts and LLM tool use.

Setup

# Interactive login (saves to ~/.n8n-cli/config.json)
n8n-cli login

# Or configure directly
n8n-cli config set-url https://my-instance.n8n.cloud
n8n-cli config set-api-key n8n_api_...

# Or use environment variables (no config file needed)
export N8N_URL=https://my-instance.n8n.cloud
export N8N_API_KEY=n8n_api_...

Global Flags

Every command supports these flags:

Flag	Short	Description
`--url`	`-u`	Instance URL (overrides config/env)
`--apiKey`	`-k`	API key (overrides config/env)
`--format`	`-f`	Output format: `table`, `json`, `id-only`
`--json`		Shorthand for `--format=json`
`--jq`		jq-style filter (implies `--json`), e.g. `'.[0].id'`, `'.[].name'`
`--quiet`	`-q`	Suppress output
`--no-header`		Hide table headers (for `awk`/`cut` parsing)
`--debug`		Print HTTP details to stderr

Auto-JSON: When stdout is piped (not a TTY), output defaults to JSON automatically.

Workflows

# List all workflows
n8n-cli workflow list

# Filter workflows
n8n-cli workflow list --active
n8n-cli workflow list --tag=production
n8n-cli workflow list --name="My Workflow"
n8n-cli workflow list --limit=5

# Get a single workflow (full JSON with nodes and connections)
n8n-cli workflow get <id>

# Extract just node names from a workflow
n8n-cli workflow get <id> --jq '.nodes[].name'

# Create a workflow from JSON
n8n-cli workflow create --file=workflow.json
cat workflow.json | n8n-cli workflow create --stdin

# Update a workflow
n8n-cli workflow update <id> --file=updated.json
cat updated.json | n8n-cli workflow update <id> --stdin

# Activate / deactivate
n8n-cli workflow activate <id>
n8n-cli workflow deactivate <id>

# Delete a workflow
n8n-cli workflow delete <id>

# Transfer to another project
n8n-cli workflow transfer <id> --project=<projectId>

# List tags on a workflow
n8n-cli workflow tags <id>

Executions

# List recent executions
n8n-cli execution list
n8n-cli execution list --workflow=<id> --status=error --limit=10
# status options: canceled, error, running, success, waiting

# Get execution details
n8n-cli execution get <id>
n8n-cli execution get <id> --include-data   # includes full node I/O

# Retry a failed execution
n8n-cli execution retry <id>

# Stop a running execution
n8n-cli execution stop <id>

# Delete an execution
n8n-cli execution delete <id>

Credentials

# List credentials
n8n-cli credential list

# Get credential metadata (not secrets)
n8n-cli credential get <id>

# Get the schema for a credential type (shows required fields)
n8n-cli credential schema notionApi
n8n-cli credential schema slackOAuth2Api

# Create a credential
n8n-cli credential create --type=notionApi --name='My Notion' --data='{"apiKey":"..."}'
n8n-cli credential create --type=notionApi --name='My Notion' --file=cred.json
cat cred.json | n8n-cli credential create --type=notionApi --name='My Notion' --stdin

# Delete / transfer
n8n-cli credential delete <id>
n8n-cli credential transfer <id> --project=<projectId>

Tip: Use credential schema <type> to discover required fields before creating.

Projects

n8n-cli project list
n8n-cli project get <id>
n8n-cli project create --name="My Project"
n8n-cli project update <id> --name="New Name"
n8n-cli project delete <id>

# Team management
n8n-cli project members <id>
n8n-cli project add-member <id> --user=<userId> --role=<role>
n8n-cli project remove-member <id> --user=<userId>

Variables

n8n-cli variable list
n8n-cli variable create --key=API_ENDPOINT --value=https://api.example.com
n8n-cli variable update <id> --key=API_ENDPOINT --value=https://new-api.example.com
n8n-cli variable delete <id>

Data Tables

# CRUD
n8n-cli data-table list
n8n-cli data-table get <id>
n8n-cli data-table create --name=Inventory --columns='[{"name":"item","type":"string"},{"name":"qty","type":"number"}]'
n8n-cli data-table delete <id>

# Row operations
n8n-cli data-table rows <id>
n8n-cli data-table add-rows <id> --file=rows.json
n8n-cli data-table update-rows <id> --file=rows.json
n8n-cli data-table upsert-rows <id> --file=rows.json
n8n-cli data-table delete-rows <id> --ids=row1,row2,row3

# All row commands support --stdin
cat rows.json | n8n-cli data-table add-rows <id> --stdin

Users

n8n-cli user list
n8n-cli user get <id>

Other

# Security audit
n8n-cli audit
n8n-cli audit --categories=credentials,nodes

# Source control
n8n-cli source-control pull

# View config
n8n-cli config show

Composability Patterns

The CLI is designed to be piped and composed:

# Get all workflow IDs
n8n-cli workflow list --jq '.[].id'

# Get the name of the first workflow
n8n-cli workflow list --jq '.[0].name'

# Export a workflow to a file
n8n-cli workflow get 1234 --json > workflow-backup.json

# Find failing executions for a workflow
n8n-cli execution list --workflow=1234 --status=error --json

# Pipe workflow JSON for modification
n8n-cli workflow get 1234 --json | jq '.name = "Updated Name"' | n8n-cli workflow update 1234 --stdin

# Table output without headers for shell parsing
n8n-cli workflow list --no-header | awk '{print $1}'

# Debug API calls
n8n-cli workflow list --debug 2>debug.log

Workflow JSON Structure

When creating or updating workflows, the JSON follows this structure:

{
  "name": "My Workflow",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Start",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "position": [250, 300],
      "parameters": {}
    },
    {
      "name": "HTTP Request",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "position": [450, 300],
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
        "method": "GET"
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Start": {
      "main": [[{ "node": "HTTP Request", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]]
    }
  }
}

Key points:

nodes[].type follows the pattern n8n-nodes-base.<nodeName> for built-in nodes
connections is keyed by source node name, with main output arrays
Each connection specifies target node, type (usually main), and output index
Use workflow get <id> --json to see real examples from the instance

Install command

One-click installPick a runner, click Copy, paste into your terminal, press enter

npx skills add n8n-io/n8n/packages/@n8n/cli/skills/n8n-cli -y

Open general install guide

View skill source

Works with

Claude Code
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Codex
Windsurf
Gemini
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KKiro
Junie
WWarp
Goose
Trae
Kilo Code
OpenHands
Amp
Zencoder
CContinue
AIAider
CodeBuddy
CodeGeeX
Replit Agent

Security audit

88 / 100

Community

未声明 license/许可。
未声明 version。
未限定 allowed-tools，默认拥有全部工具权限。

Metadata

Source: github
n8n-io/n8n
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