garrettroi/n8n-automation-builder

n8n Automation Builder

This skill enables you to design, build, and deploy automation workflows directly to an n8n instance.

Status: ✅ Fully tested and working (March 20, 2026) Instance URL: https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app

---

Prerequisites

1. Get n8n API Key from Vault

# List available keys
python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py list

# Fetch the n8n API key (name may vary - check list first)
python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API

2. Set Environment Variables

export N8N_INSTANCE_URL="https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app"
export N8N_API_KEY="$(python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API)"

3. Test the Connection

# Quick test
curl -s https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app/api/v1/workflows \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY"

Expected: JSON response with list of workflows.

---

Workflow Development Process

Step 1: Discovery

Check available credentials before building:

# Get key from vault
N8N_KEY=$(python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API)

# List credentials
curl -s https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app/api/v1/credentials \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_KEY"

Known Credential IDs: | Service | ID | Name | |---------|-----|------| | Gmail | 3qNKDN7I1OYPhVhz | Gmail account | | Twilio | bkjlCKgkMsRw7dzY | Twilio account | | OpenAI | w6c69SQykBvm99DE | OpenAI account | | OpenRouter | KFnSADDGaPa7RW09 | OpenRouter account | | Google Calendar | pKXg9ZaFAalac7QU | Google Calendar |

Step 2: Design

Read the node reference:

cat /app/skills/n8n-automation-builder/references/nodes_reference.md

Step 3: Build

Create workflow JSON with:

• name: Workflow name
• nodes: Array of node objects
• connections: Node flow definition
• settings: Usually {"executionOrder": "v1"}

Step 4: Deploy

See deployment methods below.

---

Deployment Methods

Method 1: Using the Deploy Script

# Create workflow JSON file
cat > /tmp/my_workflow.json << 'EOF'
{
  "name": "My Automation",
  "nodes": [...],
  "connections": {...},
  "settings": {"executionOrder": "v1"}
}
EOF

# Set environment and deploy
export N8N_INSTANCE_URL="https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app"
export N8N_API_KEY="$(python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API)"

python3 /app/skills/n8n-automation-builder/scripts/deploy_workflow.py /tmp/my_workflow.json

Method 2: Direct API Call with curl

# Get key from vault
N8N_KEY=$(python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API)

# Deploy workflow
curl -X POST https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app/api/v1/workflows \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @/tmp/my_workflow.json

Method 3: Using Python requests

import requests
import subprocess

# Get API key from vault
result = subprocess.run(
    ['python3', '/app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py', 'get', 'NEWEST_N8N_API'],
    capture_output=True, text=True
)
api_key = result.stdout.strip()

api_url = "https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app"

headers = {
    "X-N8N-API-KEY": api_key,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Accept": "application/json"
}

workflow = {
    "name": "My Automation",
    "nodes": [...],
    "connections": {...},
    "settings": {"executionOrder": "v1"}
}

response = requests.post(
    f"{api_url}/api/v1/workflows",
    headers=headers,
    json=workflow
)

if response.status_code in [200, 201]:
    print(f"Created! ID: {response.json().get('id')}")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}")

---

Common Node Examples

Webhook Trigger

{
  "parameters": {
    "httpMethod": "POST",
    "path": "my-webhook",
    "options": {}
  },
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
  "typeVersion": 2.1,
  "position": [0, 0],
  "id": "webhook-1",
  "name": "Webhook"
}

Gmail Send

{
  "parameters": {
    "sendTo": "={{ $json.email }}",
    "subject": "={{ $json.subject }}",
    "message": "={{ $json.body }}",
    "options": {}
  },
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmail",
  "typeVersion": 2.1,
  "position": [250, 0],
  "id": "gmail-1",
  "name": "Send Gmail",
  "credentials": {
    "gmailOAuth2": {
      "id": "3qNKDN7I1OYPhVhz",
      "name": "Gmail account"
    }
  }
}

HTTP Request

{
  "parameters": {
    "method": "POST",
    "url": "https://api.example.com/endpoint",
    "sendBody": true,
    "bodyParameters": {
      "parameters": [
        {"name": "key", "value": "={{ $json.value }}"}
      ]
    }
  },
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "typeVersion": 4.2,
  "position": [250, 0],
  "id": "http-1",
  "name": "HTTP Request"
}

---

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized

Cause: Invalid API key

Solution:

# Verify key from vault
python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py list
python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API

# Test with curl
N8N_KEY=$(python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API)
curl -v https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app/api/v1/workflows \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_KEY" 2>&1 | grep "HTTP"
# Should return: HTTP/2 200

Key Name Variations

Key names in vault may change. Always check:

python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py list | grep -i n8n

Python requests fails but curl works

Cause: Python environment issues

Solution: Use subprocess to call curl, or write to file first:

import subprocess
result = subprocess.run([
    'curl', '-s', 
    'https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app/api/v1/workflows',
    '-H', f'X-N8N-API-KEY: {api_key}'
], capture_output=True, text=True)

---

API Endpoints

| Endpoint | Method | Description | |----------|--------|-------------| | /api/v1/workflows | GET | List all workflows | | /api/v1/workflows | POST | Create new workflow | | /api/v1/workflows/{id} | GET | Get workflow by ID | | /api/v1/workflows/{id} | DELETE | Delete workflow | | /api/v1/credentials | GET | List credentials | | /api/v1/executions | GET | Execution history |

---

Best Practices

1. Always use the vault — Never hardcode API keys
2. Check credentials first — Verify Gmail/Twilio/etc. exist before using
3. Test with curl first — If Python fails, curl helps debug
4. Use descriptive names — Include purpose and date
5. Position nodes visually — Use [x, y] coordinates for clean layouts
6. Generate unique IDs — Use uuid.uuid4().hex[:16] for node IDs

---

Testing

Quick validation:

# Should return workflow count
N8N_KEY=$(python3 /app/skills/vault_client/vault_client.py get NEWEST_N8N_API)
curl -s https://primary-production-38b8.up.railway.app/api/v1/workflows \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_KEY" | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(f"Found {len(d.get('data',[]))} workflows")"

Current status: 31 workflows exist, API fully functional.