n8n MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that wraps the n8n self-hosted REST API, letting Claude (and any MCP-compatible LLM client) manage your n8n instance through natural language.

Features

30+ tools covering:

Domain	Operations
Workflows	list, get, create, update, delete, activate, deactivate, archive, unarchive, manage tags
Executions	list, get, delete, retry, stop
Credentials	list, get, get schema, create, update, delete, test
Tags	list, create, update, delete
Variables	list, create, update, delete
Projects	list, create
Users	list
System	security audit, discover API capabilities, manage community packages

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• A self-hosted n8n instance (v1.0+)
• An n8n REST API key (see Getting an API Key)

Getting an API Key

1. Open your n8n instance
2. Go to Settings → n8n API
3. Click Create an API key
4. Copy the generated key — you will not be able to see it again

The API key inherits the permissions of the user who created it. Use an owner account to unlock all tools (credential listing, user management, audit).

Installation

git clone https://git.verzth.work/mcp/n8n.git
cd n8n
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add the following entry to your Claude Desktop config file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/n8n/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_BASE_URL": "https://your-n8n-instance.example.com",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/n8n with the actual directory where you cloned the repo.

Claude Code (CLI)

Add to your project's .claude/settings.json or global ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/n8n/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "N8N_BASE_URL": "https://your-n8n-instance.example.com",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
N8N_BASE_URL	✅	Base URL of your n8n instance (e.g. https://n8n.example.com)
N8N_API_KEY	✅	API key from n8n Settings → n8n API

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can ask Claude things like:

List all active workflows in n8n

Show me the last 10 failed executions

Activate the workflow named "Daily Report"

Create a new tag called "production" and apply it to workflow abc123

Test the Slack credential

Run a security audit on my n8n instance

What community packages do I have installed?

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Watch mode (auto-rebuild on change)
npm run dev

Project Structure

src/
├── index.ts              # Entry point — server init + transport
├── types.ts              # TypeScript interfaces
├── constants.ts          # Shared constants (limits, pagination)
├── services/
│   └── n8n-client.ts     # Axios client + error handler
└── tools/
    ├── workflows.ts      # Workflow management tools
    ├── executions.ts     # Execution management tools
    ├── credentials.ts    # Credential management tools
    ├── tags.ts           # Tag management tools
    ├── variables.ts      # Variable management tools
    └── misc.ts           # Projects, users, audit, packages

Transport

This server uses stdio transport, which means it runs as a subprocess of the MCP client. It does not expose any network ports and all authentication credentials are passed via environment variables — they never touch the codebase.

Security Notes

• API keys are read from environment variables only — never hardcode them
• The server only talks to the n8n instance you configure
• Destructive tools (delete, uninstall) are annotated with destructiveHint: true so clients can prompt for confirmation
• Credential secret data is intentionally excluded from n8n_list_credentials and n8n_get_credential responses (n8n API design — secrets are write-only)

License

MIT