n8n-cli-bulk

name	n8n-cli-bulk
description	Run bulk activate/deactivate/archive/transfer operations across n8n workflows with mandatory dry-run first. Operates on existing tags -- NOT tag design (use /n8n-cli-tag-governance). Use for batch state changes and project reorgs.
user_invocable	true

/n8n-cli-bulk — Bulk Workflow Operations

Run safe bulk operations against n8n with mandatory dry-run-first behavior.

Supported operations

• activate-by-tag <tag> — activate all workflows with the given tag
• deactivate-by-tag <tag> — opposite
• archive-by-age <days> — archive workflows with no executions in N days
• delete-archived-by-age <days> — permanently delete archived workflows older than N days (REQUIRES double confirmation)
• transfer-by-tag <tag> <project-id> — move all workflows with tag X to project Y
• set-tags-by-name <pattern> <tag-id> [tag-id...] — set tags on workflows whose name matches a pattern
• unset-tag-by-name <pattern> <tag-id> — remove a tag from workflows matching a name pattern
• update-credential-by-type <old-cred-id> <new-cred-id> — swap a credential reference across all workflows that use it

Procedure

1. Parse the user's bulk request into one of the supported operations above
2. Resolve the target set:
   • For tag-based ops: n8n-cli wf list --tag <tag> --json
   • For age-based ops: list all workflows, then check executions list --workflow-id <id> --limit 1 for the most recent run
   • For pattern-based ops: list all workflows, filter by name regex
   • For credential-swap ops: use the /n8n-cli-node-usage skill internally to find all workflows using the old credential
3. Build a dry-run plan:

   ## Dry run: archive-by-age 90
   
   The following 12 workflows will be ARCHIVED (no executions in 90+ days):
   1. Foo (id: abc, last run: 2025-12-01)
   2. Bar (id: def, last run: never)
   ...
   
   Workflows that will NOT be touched:
   - Baz (last run: 2026-04-01) — within 90 days
   - Qux (already archived) — skipped
   
   Type CONFIRM to proceed, or ABORT to cancel.
   

4. Wait for explicit confirmation — the literal string "CONFIRM" or equivalent. Never proceed on a vague "yes" for destructive operations.
5. Execute the operation in batches:
   • 5-10 workflows per batch
   • Print progress: [1/12] archiving Foo... ok
   • On error, STOP, report what failed, and ask whether to retry, skip, or abort
6. Report results:
   • Total: 12
   • Succeeded: 11
   • Failed: 1 (with reason)
   • Skipped: 0
7. Offer rollback for reversible operations:
   • For activate/deactivate, easy to reverse — surface the reverse command
   • For archive, easy to reverse with wf unarchive
   • For delete, NOT reversible — confirm again before doing it

Safety rules

• Mandatory dry-run before any bulk operation. Never skip the dry-run.
• Double confirmation for delete-archived-by-age (the only truly destructive op). Print the count, the names, and require a second "yes I understand this is permanent" confirmation.
• Batch size cap at 50 per run. If the dry-run shows 100+ workflows, ask the user to confirm they really meant that many.
• Never bulk-modify production workflows without explicit profile selection — if the user is on the default profile, confirm the profile name before executing.
• Credential swaps are especially risky. Always show which workflows will be modified and offer to do it one at a time.

Output format

• Lead with the operation name and target count
• Show the dry-run as a numbered list with names AND IDs
• After execution, show a results table
• Include rollback instructions for reversible ops

Tips

• For credential rotation flows, suggest the safe sequence: create new credential → bulk-update workflows → test → delete old credential
• For project reorgs, suggest doing the move in chunks by tag rather than all at once
• For "deactivate everything tagged dev before going home", that's a great quality-of-life flow — make it a one-liner the user can save
• If the user has 500+ workflows, even the dry-run is slow. Show a progress bar during the dry-run scan.

Important n8n quirks to know

1. n8n cloud prunes execution history. Only the last N executions are retained (varies by plan, typically 7-30 days). For archive-by-age operations, "no recent executions in the API" does NOT necessarily mean "the workflow is dead" — it might just mean the executions have been pruned. Always cross-reference with the workflow's triggerCount or updatedAt timestamp before recommending archival. Surface this caveat in the dry-run output so the user knows.

2. wf set-tags requires at least one tag ID. You cannot clear all tags via wf set-tags <id> (the CLI requires at least one positional arg). To remove ALL tags from a workflow, the workaround is to PUT an empty array directly to /workflows/{id}/tags via the n8n API. If you need this often, propose adding a wf clear-tags subcommand to n8n-cli.

3. wf set-tags REPLACES existing tags, not appends. If you want to add a tag without removing existing ones, first fetch current tags with wf tags <id>, combine with the new tag, then set the combined list.