n8n-cli-test-fixtures

name	n8n-cli-test-fixtures
description	Generate realistic test payloads for n8n webhook workflows. Infers input schema and creates happy-path, edge-case, and error fixtures. Use when adding tests to an existing workflow or building one TDD-style.
user_invocable	true

/n8n-cli-test-fixtures — Generate Test Payloads for Webhook Workflows

Read a webhook-triggered workflow, infer the input shape, and generate a set of realistic test payloads (happy path + edge cases + error cases).

Procedure

1. Get the workflow:

   • n8n-cli wf get <id> (or by name)
   • Confirm it has a webhook trigger node
   • Note the HTTP method, path, and any authentication

2. Infer the input shape:

   • Look at the webhook node config: does it specify expected fields, body parser type (JSON, form, raw)?
   • Walk forward to the next nodes — they reference fields from $json.foo, $json.bar. Those are the fields the workflow uses.
   • For each referenced field, infer the type from how it's used:
     • Used in date math? → date string
     • Used in math? → number
     • Used as a URL? → URL string
     • Used as a recipient? → email
     • Compared to specific strings? → enum (and we know the values)
   • Build a schema-like description of the expected input

3. Generate fixtures (3-5 of each):

   • Happy path — realistic, all fields present, common values
   • Edge cases — empty strings, very long strings, unicode, escaped chars, max numeric values
   • Error cases — missing required fields, wrong types, malformed JSON
   • Security cases — SQL-injection-y strings, script tags, oversized payloads

4. Save fixtures to tests/<workflow-name>/fixtures/:

   tests/
     order-webhook/
       fixtures/
         01-happy-path-standard-order.json
         02-happy-path-international-order.json
         03-edge-empty-customer-name.json
         04-edge-very-long-product-name.json
         05-error-missing-product-id.json
         06-error-invalid-email.json
         07-security-sql-injection.json
   

5. Generate a test runner script (tests/<workflow-name>/run.sh) that loops through the fixtures and posts each one with n8n-cli wh test:

   #!/bin/bash
   set -e
   for fixture in fixtures/*.json; do
     echo "▶ $fixture"
     n8n-cli wh test <workflow-id> --data "$(cat $fixture)"
     sleep 1
   done
   

6. Print usage to the user:

   Generated 7 fixtures and a runner script in tests/order-webhook/
   
   Run all tests:    cd tests/order-webhook && bash run.sh
   Run one fixture:  n8n-cli wh test <id> --data "$(cat fixtures/01-happy-path-standard-order.json)"
   

Output format

• List the fixtures generated
• Show the schema you inferred (so the user can correct it if wrong)
• Print the runner usage

Tips

• For workflows with branching (IF/Switch nodes), generate fixtures that exercise each branch — that's the whole point
• For workflows that read from external state (DB query before processing), the fixtures need to align with that state. Ask the user about preconditions.
• Save the inferred schema as tests/<workflow-name>/schema.md so future Claude sessions don't have to re-derive it.
• For security cases, don't actually run them against production — surface the warning and recommend running against staging/sandbox only.
• This skill pairs with /n8n-cli-replay (run a real failed execution as a fixture) and /n8n-cli-smoke (define a smoke-test suite).