fhoffa/agentic-n8n

Agentic Fleet Monitoring with n8n

When to Use This Skill

• Building automated monitoring that runs on a schedule
• Sending Geotab alerts to Slack, Discord, Teams, or email
• Creating multi-step workflows (detect → decide → act)
• Integrating Geotab with external systems without writing code
• Any "if this happens in Geotab, do that" automation

n8n Basics

n8n is a visual workflow builder. Workflows consist of nodes connected together:

[Trigger] → [Action] → [Action] → [Action]

Common Nodes

| Node | Purpose | |------|---------| | Schedule Trigger | Run workflow on interval (every 5 min, hourly, etc.) | | HTTP Request | Call any API (including Geotab) | | IF | Branch based on condition | | Filter | Only pass items matching criteria | | Slack | Send Slack messages | | Discord | Send Discord messages | | Send Email | Send email alerts | | Code | Custom JavaScript logic |

Geotab API Pattern in n8n

Step 1: Authenticate

HTTP Request node: {% raw %}

Method: POST
URL: https://my.geotab.com/apiv1
Body (JSON):
{
  "method": "Authenticate",
  "params": {
    "database": "{{ $vars.GEOTAB_DATABASE }}",
    "userName": "{{ $vars.GEOTAB_USERNAME }}",
    "password": "{{ $vars.GEOTAB_PASSWORD }}"
  }
}

{% endraw %}

Step 2: Fetch Data

HTTP Request node (after Authenticate): {% raw %}

Method: POST
URL: https://my.geotab.com/apiv1
Body (JSON):
{
  "method": "Get",
  "params": {
    "typeName": "Trip",
    "credentials": {{ JSON.stringify($json.result.credentials) }},
    "search": {
      "fromDate": "{{ $now.minus({hours: 1}).toISO() }}",
      "toDate": "{{ $now.toISO() }}"
    }
  }
}

{% endraw %}

Common TypeNames

| TypeName | Data | |----------|------| | Device | Vehicles | | Trip | Completed trips | | User | Users and drivers | | DeviceStatusInfo | Current location/status | | ExceptionEvent | Rule violations (speeding, etc.) | | FaultData | Engine fault codes | | Zone | Geofences | | LogRecord | GPS breadcrumbs |

Workflow Patterns

Pattern: Speeding Alerts to Slack

Schedule (15 min)
  → HTTP Request (Authenticate)
  → HTTP Request (Get Trips)
  → Filter (speedingDuration > 30)
  → Slack (Send message)

Filter node condition: {% raw %}

{{ $json.result.speedingDuration > 30 }}

{% endraw %}

Slack message: {% raw %}

🚨 *Speeding Alert*
*Vehicle:* {{ $json.result.device.name }}
*Duration:* {{ $json.result.speedingDuration }} seconds

{% endraw %}

Pattern: Fault Code Alert

Schedule (5 min)
  → HTTP Request (Authenticate)
  → HTTP Request (Get FaultData, last hour)
  → Filter (severity == "Critical")
  → Slack + Email (parallel)

Pattern: Geofence Entry Notification

Schedule (5 min)
  → HTTP Request (Authenticate)
  → HTTP Request (Get ExceptionEvent for zone rules)
  → Filter (new events only)
  → Discord (Send notification)

Pattern: Daily Fleet Summary

Schedule (daily at 8am)
  → HTTP Request (Authenticate)
  → HTTP Request (Get Trips, last 24h)
  → Code (calculate totals)
  → Email (send summary)

Code node for summary:

const trips = $input.all();
const totalDistance = trips.reduce((sum, t) => sum + (t.json.result?.distance || 0), 0);
const totalTrips = trips.length;

return [{
  json: {
    totalTrips,
    totalDistanceKm: (totalDistance / 1000).toFixed(1),
    date: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0]
  }
}];

Credential Security

Never hardcode credentials. Use n8n Variables:

1. Go to Settings → Variables
2. Add:
   • GEOTAB_DATABASE
   • GEOTAB_USERNAME
   • GEOTAB_PASSWORD

Reference in nodes: {% raw %}{{ $vars.GEOTAB_DATABASE }}{% endraw %}

Alert Destinations

Slack Webhook

1. Create app at api.slack.com/apps
2. Enable Incoming Webhooks
3. Copy webhook URL
4. Use in Slack node with "Webhook" authentication

Discord Webhook

1. Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
2. Create webhook, copy URL
3. Use in Discord node

Email

n8n Cloud includes email sending. Self-hosted needs SMTP config.

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Rate Limiting

Don't poll every second. Use 5-15 minute intervals for most cases.

Duplicate Alerts

Track what you've already alerted on. Use a Code node to filter:

// Store last run timestamp in static data
const lastRun = $getWorkflowStaticData('global').lastRun || 0;
$getWorkflowStaticData('global').lastRun = Date.now();

// Filter to only new items
return $input.all().filter(item => {
  const itemTime = new Date(item.json.result?.start).getTime();
  return itemTime > lastRun;
});

Credential Expiry

Geotab sessions expire. Always authenticate at the start of each workflow run.

Testing

1. Build workflow
2. Click "Test Workflow" (or Cmd/Ctrl + Enter)
3. Check each node for errors (red = error)
4. Fix issues, re-test
5. When working, click "Active" to enable

n8n Resources

• n8n Documentation
• HTTP Request Node
• Expressions
• Built-in Variables

Related Skills

• geotab-api-quickstart - Geotab API basics for Python
• geotab-addins - Building MyGeotab Add-Ins