n8n-workflow-patterns

Files (7)

• README.md
• SKILL.md
• ai_agent_workflow.md
• database_operations.md
• http_api_integration.md
• scheduled_tasks.md
• webhook_processing.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# n8n Workflow Patterns

Proven architectural patterns for building n8n workflows.

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## The 6 Core Patterns

Based on analysis of real workflow usage:

1. **[Webhook Processing](webhook_processing.md)** (Most Common)
   - Receive HTTP requests → Process → Output
   - Pattern: Webhook → Validate → Transform → Respond/Notify

2. **[HTTP API Integration](http_api_integration.md)**
   - Fetch from REST APIs → Transform → Store/Use
   - Pattern: Trigger → HTTP Request → Transform → Action → Error Handler

3. **[Database Operations](database_operations.md)**
   - Read/Write/Sync database data
   - Pattern: Schedule → Query → Transform → Write → Verify

4. **[AI Agent Workflow](ai_agent_workflow.md)**
   - AI agents with tools and memory
   - Pattern: Trigger → AI Agent (Model + Tools + Memory) → Output

5. **[Scheduled Tasks](scheduled_tasks.md)**
   - Recurring automation workflows
   - Pattern: Schedule → Fetch → Process → Deliver → Log

6. **Batch Processing** (below)
   - Process large datasets in chunks with API rate limits
   - Pattern: Prepare → SplitInBatches → Process per batch → Accumulate → Aggregate

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## Pattern Selection Guide

### When to use each pattern:

**Webhook Processing** - Use when:
- Receiving data from external systems
- Building integrations (Slack commands, form submissions, GitHub webhooks)
- Need instant response to events
- Example: "Receive Stripe payment webhook → Update database → Send confirmation"

**HTTP API Integration** - Use when:
- Fetching data from external APIs
- Synchronizing with third-party services
- Building data pipelines
- Example: "Fetch GitHub issues → Transform → Create Jira tickets"

**Database Operations** - Use when:
- Syncing between databases
- Running database queries on schedule
- ETL workflows
- Example: "Read Postgres records → Transform → Write to MySQL"

**AI Agent Workflow** - Use when:
- Building conversational AI
- Need AI with tool access
- Multi-step reasoning tasks
- Example: "Chat with AI that can search docs, query database, send emails"

**Scheduled Tasks** - Use when:
- Recurring reports or summaries
- Periodic data fetching
- Maintenance tasks
- Example: "Daily: Fetch analytics → Generate report → Email team"

**Batch Processing** - Use when:
- Processing large datasets that exceed API batch limits
- Need to accumulate results across multiple API calls
- Nested loops (e.g., multiple categories × paginated API calls per category)
- Example: "Fetch products for 4 markets × 1000 per API call → Aggregate all results"

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## Common Workflow Components

All patterns share these building blocks:

### 1. Triggers
- **Webhook** - HTTP endpoint (instant)
- **Schedule** - Cron-based timing (periodic)
- **Manual** - Click to execute (testing)
- **Polling** - Check for changes (intervals)

### 2. Data Sources
- **HTTP Request** - REST APIs
- **Database nodes** - Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB
- **Service nodes** - Slack, Google Sheets, etc.
- **Extract From File** - CSV / XLSX / PDF from a downloaded or uploaded file

### 3. Transformation (native first)
- **Filter / IF / Switch** - Drop items, route
- **Edit Fields (Set)** - Named steps: constant items, payload objects, error and return items
- **Summarize / Aggregate / Split Out** - Group and total, collect into an array, explode an array
- **Merge / Compare Datasets** - Join two lists, diff them for a sync
- **Remove Duplicates / Sort / Limit** - Dedupe (also across runs), top-N
- **Date & Time, XML, HTML, Crypto** - Dates, markup, hashes and signatures
- **Code** - Only the closed list (loops or recursion no node expresses, state across runs, parsing no node handles), with a `Why Code:` note

The job-to-node table in `using-n8n-mcp-skills` maps jobs to these nodes; configs are in `n8n-node-configuration` → NATIVE_NODES.md. Reading a filtered slice of a nested API response for **one field**? A single `{{ $jmespath($json, "…") }}` in that field does it without extra nodes (quoting rules in n8n-expression-syntax).

### 4. Outputs
- **HTTP Request** - Call APIs
- **Database** - Write data
- **Communication** - Email, Slack, Discord
- **Storage** - Files, cloud storage

### 5. Error Handling
- **Error Trigger** - Catch workflow errors
- **IF** - Check for error conditions
- **Stop and Error** - Explicit failure
- **Continue On Fail** - Per-node setting

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From czlonkowski/n8n-skills, MIT.

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