n8n-cli

name	n8n-cli
description	Manage n8n workflows on the NextNode automation instance with the local n8n-cli tool.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	<list|get|create|update|activate|deactivate|execute|delete> [args]
autoload-dirs	["/Users/walid/Development/nextnode","/Users/walid/Development/saas"]

n8n-cli Skill

Skill for managing n8n workflows using the n8n-cli command-line tool.

Overview

The n8n-cli tool provides command-line access to manage n8n workflows on the NextNode instance (https://automation.nextnode.fr). It supports listing, creating, updating, activating, and executing workflows.

Prerequisites

• n8n-cli must be installed at ~/.local/bin/n8n-cli
• N8N_API_KEY environment variable must be set
• jq is recommended for formatted JSON output (optional)

Available Commands

List Workflows

n8n-cli list

Lists all workflows in the n8n instance with their IDs, names, and activation status.

Get Workflow Details

n8n-cli get <workflow-id>

Retrieves detailed information about a specific workflow including nodes, connections, and settings.

Create New Workflow

n8n-cli create <workflow-file.json>

Creates a new workflow from a JSON file. Returns the new workflow ID and URL.

Example:

n8n-cli create dripify-hubspot-full.json

Update Existing Workflow

n8n-cli update <workflow-id> <workflow-file.json>

Updates an existing workflow while preserving metadata (name, tags, etc.).

Example:

n8n-cli update abc123 dripify-hubspot-full.json

Activate/Deactivate Workflow

n8n-cli activate <workflow-id>
n8n-cli deactivate <workflow-id>

Enables or disables a workflow. Only active workflows can be triggered by webhooks.

Execute Workflow Manually

n8n-cli execute <workflow-id>

Manually triggers a workflow execution for testing purposes.

Delete Workflow

n8n-cli delete <workflow-id>

Permanently deletes a workflow (requires confirmation).

Workflow Development Workflow

1. Initial Setup

# Check if CLI is working
n8n-cli list

# Find your workflow ID (if updating existing)
n8n-cli list | grep -i "workflow-name"

2. Export Current Workflow (for backup)

WORKFLOW_ID="your-workflow-id"
n8n-cli get $WORKFLOW_ID > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).json

3. Modify Workflow

Edit the JSON file with your changes, or have the AI generate a new version.

4. Update Workflow

n8n-cli update $WORKFLOW_ID modified-workflow.json

5. Test Changes

# Activate if not already active
n8n-cli activate $WORKFLOW_ID

# Execute manually to test
n8n-cli execute $WORKFLOW_ID

6. Verify

# Check the workflow is running correctly
n8n-cli get $WORKFLOW_ID

Common Patterns

Creating a Webhook Workflow

1. Generate the workflow JSON:

   • Include a webhook node as the trigger
   • Set httpMethod to "POST"
   • Define a unique path

2. Create the workflow:

   n8n-cli create my-webhook-workflow.json
   

3. Get the webhook URL:

   • The webhook URL will be: https://automation.nextnode.fr/webhook/{path}
   • Example: https://automation.nextnode.fr/webhook/dripify-webhook

4. Activate:

   n8n-cli activate WORKFLOW_ID
   

Updating Without Reimport

Instead of deleting and reimporting:

# Get current ID
ID=$(n8n-cli list | jq -r '.data[] | select(.name=="My Workflow") | .id')

# Update directly
n8n-cli update $ID updated-workflow.json

Batch Operations

# Activate all inactive workflows
n8n-cli list | jq -r '.data[] | select(.active==false) | .id' | while read id; do
  n8n-cli activate $id
done

Error Handling

Common errors and solutions:

"N8N_API_KEY environment variable is not set"

Solution: Export your API key:

export N8N_API_KEY="n8n_api_your_key_here"

"Workflow not found"

Solution: Verify the workflow ID:

n8n-cli list | grep -i "workflow-name"

"Invalid JSON"

Solution: Validate the JSON file:

jq . workflow-file.json

Security Best Practices

1. Never commit API keys to version control
2. Use environment variables for sensitive data
3. Backup workflows before major updates
4. Test inactive workflows before activating in production

Integration with AI Workflows

When the user asks to:

• "Create a new n8n workflow" → Generate JSON → n8n-cli create file.json
• "Update my workflow" → Get ID → n8n-cli update ID file.json
• "Check if my workflow is working" → n8n-cli get ID
• "Activate the workflow" → n8n-cli activate ID

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
N8N_URL	n8n instance URL	https://automation.nextnode.fr
N8N_API_KEY	API authentication key	Required

API Reference

The CLI uses the n8n REST API v1:

• Base URL: $N8N_URL/api/v1
• Authentication: X-N8N-API-KEY header
• Content-Type: application/json

See Also

• n8n API Documentation: https://docs.n8n.io/api/
• NextNode n8n Instance: https://automation.nextnode.fr