| name | instance-readiness |
| description | Assess n8n instance readiness before provisioning. Runs health checks, inventories workflows and credentials, detects conflicts, verifies community nodes, and produces a readiness report with pass/warn/fail ratings.
Use when: "check n8n instance", "is n8n ready for provisioning", "n8n health check", "verify n8n instance", "pre-provisioning check", "audit n8n before import", "instance readiness report"
|
Instance Readiness
Assess whether an n8n instance is ready to receive new workflows. Produces a structured readiness report with pass/warn/fail ratings for each check category. All calls use ~~capability with automatic fallback (see CONNECTORS.md).
Readiness Assessment Overview
Run the full assessment in this order:
1. Health Check → Is the instance alive and responsive?
2. Workflow Inventory → What already exists? Any conflicts?
3. Credential Inventory → What credentials are configured?
4. Community Nodes → Are required community nodes installed?
5. Webhook Conflicts → Any duplicate webhook paths?
6. Resource Capacity → Can the instance handle more workflows?
7. Security Posture → Is the instance properly secured?
Step 1: Health Check
~~instance_audit
Extract and evaluate:
| Metric | Source | Pass | Warn | Fail |
|---|
| Instance reachable | Audit response | Responds < 5s | Responds 5-15s | No response / timeout |
| n8n version | Audit .version | Latest stable or N-1 | N-2 or N-3 | More than 3 versions behind |
| Uptime | Audit .uptime | > 24 hours | 1-24 hours | < 1 hour (recent restart) |
| Queue health | Audit .queue | No backed-up executions | < 50 queued | > 50 queued |
| Database | Audit .database | Connected, responsive | Slow queries detected | Connection errors |
Step 2: Workflow Inventory
~~workflow_list
Analyze the results:
| Metric | Pass | Warn | Fail |
|---|
| Total workflow count | < 50 | 50-100 | > 100 (performance risk) |
| Active workflows | < 30 | 30-60 | > 60 |
| Inactive workflows | Any count (no risk) | — | — |
Conflict detection: Compare each planned import name against existing workflows. Exact match = CONFLICT (must rename or skip). Partial match = WARNING (review for duplication). No match = CLEAR.
Step 3: Credential Inventory
Call ~~credential_manage (action: list) to map existing credentials by name, type, and usage count. Compare against planned imports to identify reusable vs missing credentials. See credential-planning skill for full credential analysis.
Step 4: Community Node Verification
Extract required node types from planned workflow JSONs (filter to non-core nodes — those NOT starting with n8n-nodes-base.). Compare against installed community nodes from ~~instance_audit or n8n settings. Produce a gap report listing each required package with installed/missing status. FAIL if any required community node is missing.
Step 5: Webhook Conflict Detection
Extract webhook paths from planned imports (look for n8n-nodes-base.webhook nodes, read node.parameters.path). Compare against webhook paths in existing active workflows from ~~workflow_list. Duplicate path = FAIL (two workflows cannot share a webhook path). Similar paths = WARN (review for intent).
Step 6: Resource Capacity
Estimate whether the instance can handle additional workflows:
| Factor | Assessment Method | Threshold |
|---|
| Active workflow count | Current active + planned active | Warn if total > 60 |
| Trigger density | Count trigger/webhook/cron nodes | Warn if > 30 triggers total |
| Execution volume | Check recent execution history | Warn if > 1000 executions/day |
| Memory usage | Instance audit resource metrics | Warn if > 80% utilized |
| Storage | Database size trend | Warn if execution log growing rapidly |
Step 7: Security Posture
| Check | Pass | Warn | Fail |
|---|
| API key configured | Key is set and non-default | — | No API key or using default |
| HTTPS enabled | Instance served over HTTPS | HTTP with reverse proxy | Plain HTTP exposed |
| Authentication | Users require login | Single-user mode | No authentication |
| Environment variables | Secrets stored in env vars | Mixed (some hardcoded) | Secrets hardcoded in workflows |
| Execution data pruning | Auto-prune enabled | Manual pruning only | No pruning (data growth risk) |
Readiness Report Format
Produce the final report with these sections:
- Header: Instance URL, date, planned import count
- Summary: Overall rating — READY / READY WITH WARNINGS / NOT READY
- Per-check sections: Each step with key metrics and PASS/WARN/FAIL rating
- Action Items: Ordered by priority (CRITICAL first, then WARNING)
- Conclusion: How many critical items to resolve before provisioning
Quick Check vs Full Assessment
| Mode | Steps Included | When to Use |
|---|
| Quick | Steps 1-2 only (health + workflow count) | Before a single workflow import |
| Full | All 7 steps | Before batch provisioning or first-time setup |
