n8n REST API
n8n's REST API for managing workflows, executions, credentials, and instances of the open-source, self-hostable workflow automation platform with code capabilities and 350+ integrations.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
API key auth for REST API. Self-hosted n8n has full control over security. n8n Cloud has SOC2. MCP server integration allows agents to trigger n8n workflows bidirectionally. Credentials stored in n8n vault.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You need powerful, code-capable workflow automation that can be self-hosted for data privacy, with deep customization and an MCP server for agent integration.
Avoid When
You need a simple no-code tool managed by a vendor without operational overhead.
Use Cases
- • Triggering n8n workflows via REST webhook or API
- • Managing workflow deployment and activation programmatically
- • Monitoring workflow execution history and error rates
- • Building custom automation tools on top of n8n's workflow engine
- • Integrating n8n into agent pipelines for orchestrated automation
Not For
- • Teams needing fully managed no-code tools without self-hosting
- • Simple single-integration tasks without complex logic
- • Organizations without technical staff to manage self-hosted infrastructure
Interface
Authentication
API key generated in n8n settings. Passed as X-N8N-API-KEY header. Full admin access with API key. n8n Cloud uses same approach; self-hosted can also use HTTP Basic Auth.
Pricing
Source-available (Sustainable Use License) for self-hosting. Cloud hosted plans for managed service. Enterprise license for commercial redistribution.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Self-hosted n8n requires a public URL for webhook triggers from external services
- ⚠ Fair-code license restricts commercial redistribution — check license terms if building a product on n8n
- ⚠ Node execution order and error handling require careful workflow design
- ⚠ MCP server (n8n-mcp) enables AI agents to run n8n workflows but is a community project
- ⚠ Webhook workflow vs API-trigger workflow have different semantics — choose the right trigger type
- ⚠ n8n handles credentials securely — never pass credentials as workflow parameters, use credential store
Alternatives
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-06.