n8n-cli

name n8n-cli description Use the n8n CLI to manage workflows, credentials, executions, and more on an n8n instance. Use when the user asks to interact with n8n, automate workflows, manage credentials, or operate their instance from the command line. allowed-tools Bash(n8n-cli:*), Bash(echo:*), Bash(cat:*), Read, Write n8n CLI The n8n-cli command-line tool manages an n8n instance via its REST API. It auto-detects piped output and switches to JSON, making it composable for scripts and LLM tool use. Setup # Interactive login (saves to ~/.n8n-cli/config.json) n8n-cli login # Or configure directly n8n-cli config set-url https://my-instance.n8n.cloud n8n-cli config set-api-key n8n_api_... # Or use environment variables (no config file needed) export N8N_URL=https://my-instance.n8n.cloud export N8N_API_KEY=n8n_api_... Global Flags Every command supports these flags: Flag Short Description --url -u Instance URL (overrides config/env) --apiKey -k API key (overrides config/env) --format -f Output format: table , json , id-only --json Shorthand for --format=json --jq jq-style filter (implies --json ), e.g. '.[0].id' , '.[].name' --quiet -q Suppress output --no-header Hide table headers (for awk / cut parsing) --debug Print HTTP details to stderr Auto-JSON: When stdout is piped (not a TTY), output defaults to JSON automatically. Workflows # List all workflows n8n-cli workflow list # Filter workflows n8n-cli workflow list --active n8n-cli workflow list --tag=production n8n-cli workflow list --name= "My Workflow" n8n-cli workflow list -- limit =5 # Get a single workflow (full JSON with nodes and connections) n8n-cli workflow get < id > # Extract just node names from a workflow n8n-cli workflow get < id > --jq '.nodes[].name' # Create a workflow from JSON n8n-cli workflow create --file=workflow.json cat workflow.json | n8n-cli workflow create --stdin # Update a workflow n8n-cli workflow update < id > --file=updated.json cat updated.json | n8n-cli workflow update < id > --stdin # Activate / deactivate n8n-cli workflow activate < id > n8n-cli workflow deactivate < id > # Delete a workflow n8n-cli workflow delete < id > # Transfer to another project n8n-cli workflow transfer < id > --project=<projectId> # List tags on a workflow n8n-cli workflow tags < id > Executions # List recent executions n8n-cli execution list n8n-cli execution list --workflow=< id > --status=error -- limit =10 # status options: canceled, error, running, success, waiting # Get execution details n8n-cli execution get < id > n8n-cli execution get < id > --include-data # includes full node I/O # Retry a failed execution n8n-cli execution retry < id > # Stop a running execution n8n-cli execution stop < id > # Delete an execution n8n-cli execution delete < id > Credentials # List credentials n8n-cli credential list # Get credential metadata (not secrets) n8n-cli credential get < id > # Get the schema for a credential type (shows required fields) n8n-cli credential schema notionApi n8n-cli credential schema slackOAuth2Api # Create a credential n8n-cli credential create -- type =notionApi --name= 'My Notion' --data= '{"apiKey":"..."}' n8n-cli credential create -- type =notionApi --name= 'My Notion' --file=cred.json cat cred.json | n8n-cli credential create -- type =notionApi --name= 'My Notion' --stdin # Delete / transfer n8n-cli credential delete < id > n8n-cli credential transfer < id > --project=<projectId> Tip: Use credential schema <type> to discover required fields before creating. Projects n8n-cli project list n8n-cli project get < id > n8n-cli project create --name= "My Project" n8n-cli project update < id > --name= "New Name" n8n-cli project delete < id > # Team management n8n-cli project members < id > n8n-cli project add-member < id > --user=<userId> --role=<role> n8n-cli project remove-member < id > --user=<userId> Tags n8n-cli tag list n8n-cli tag create --name=production n8n-cli tag update < id > --name=staging n8n-cli tag delete < id > Variables n8n-cli variable list n8n-cli variable create --key=API_ENDPOINT --value=https://api.example.com n8n-cli variable update < id > --key=API_ENDPOINT --value=https://new-api.example.com n8n-cli variable delete < id > Data Tables # CRUD n8n-cli data-table list n8n-cli data-table get < id > n8n-cli data-table create --name=Inventory --columns= '[{"name":"item","type":"string"},{"name":"qty","type":"number"}]' n8n-cli data-table delete < id > # Row operations n8n-cli data-table rows < id > n8n-cli data-table add-rows < id > --file=rows.json n8n-cli data-table update-rows < id > --file=rows.json n8n-cli data-table upsert-rows < id > --file=rows.json n8n-cli data-table delete-rows < id > --ids=row1,row2,row3 # All row commands support --stdin cat rows.json | n8n-cli data-table add-rows < id > --stdin Users n8n-cli user list n8n-cli user get < id > Other # Security audit n8n-cli audit n8n-cli audit --categories=credentials,nodes # Source control n8n-cli source-control pull # View config n8n-cli config show Composability Patterns The CLI is designed to be piped and composed: # Get all workflow IDs n8n-cli workflow list --jq '.[].id' # Get the name of the first workflow n8n-cli workflow list --jq '.[0].name' # Export a workflow to a file n8n-cli workflow get 1234 --json > workflow-backup.json # Find failing executions for a workflow n8n-cli execution list --workflow=1234 --status=error --json # Pipe workflow JSON for modification n8n-cli workflow get 1234 --json | jq '.name = "Updated Name"' | n8n-cli workflow update 1234 --stdin # Table output without headers for shell parsing n8n-cli workflow list --no-header | awk '{print $1}' # Debug API calls n8n-cli workflow list --debug 2>debug.log Workflow JSON Structure When creating or updating workflows, the JSON follows this structure: { "name" : "My Workflow" , "nodes" : [ { "name" : "Start" , "type" : "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger" , "position" : [ 250 , 300 ] , "parameters" : { } } , { "name" : "HTTP Request" , "type" : "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest" , "position" : [ 450 , 300 ] , "parameters" : { "url" : "https://api.example.com/data" , "method" : "GET" } } ] , "connections" : { "Start" : { "main" : [ [ { "node" : "HTTP Request" , "type" : "main" , "index" : 0 } ] ] } } } Key points: nodes[].type follows the pattern n8n-nodes-base.<nodeName> for built-in nodes connections is keyed by source node name, with main output arrays Each connection specifies target node , type (usually main ), and output index Use workflow get <id> --json to see real examples from the instance