n8n MCP Server

n8n-MCP is a community-maintained Model Context Protocol server that bridges n8n's workflow automation platform with AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf. It exposes structured documentation for the full n8n node catalog (the README claims 1,650+ nodes across core and community), along with workflow templates and node property metadata, so AI agents can generate, validate, and deploy n8n workflows with high fidelity instead of guessing at JSON shapes.

The server provides two layers of tooling. The core layer works without any credentials and offers node search, node inspection, workflow validation, and template discovery. The management layer requires an n8n API URL and API key, and adds CRUD operations on workflows, execution control, credential management, and instance health/audit tools. This means an agent can both research the right nodes and then create or update real workflows on a running n8n instance.

This is not an official n8n project. It is built and maintained by czlonkowski and is the most popular community implementation, with a hosted dashboard option at dashboard.n8n-mcp.com for users who do not want to self-host. n8n itself ships separate first-party building blocks (the "MCP Server Trigger" and "MCP Client Tool" nodes inside n8n) which solve a different problem: turning n8n workflows into MCP tools and consuming external MCP servers from within a workflow.

Tools

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (for the npx install path) or Docker
• An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code)
• Optional but recommended: a running n8n instance with an API key (Settings, n8n API) for management tools

Install via npx (recommended)

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json (or .mcp.json for Claude Code / Cursor):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["n8n-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_MODE": "stdio",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "error",
        "DISABLE_CONSOLE_OUTPUT": "true",
        "N8N_API_URL": "https://your-n8n-instance.com",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you omit N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY, you still get the documentation, search, validation, and template tools. Adding them unlocks the workflow and execution management tools.

Install via Docker

A prebuilt image is published at ghcr.io/czlonkowski/n8n-mcp. The repo also includes a docker-compose.yml for self-hosting. Pass the same N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY env vars to the container.

Hosted option

For quick evaluation, the maintainer hosts a dashboard at dashboard.n8n-mcp.com with a free tier (100 tool calls per day).

• Build a new n8n workflow from a natural language description, with the agent looking up correct node types and properties before generating JSON.
• Validate and autofix an existing workflow before promoting it to production, catching missing required fields or invalid connections.
• Search the template library for a starting point (for example "Slack to HubSpot lead routing") and deploy it to your n8n instance.
• Inspect recent executions of a workflow to debug a failure, then patch the workflow with n8n_update_partial_workflow.
• Audit an n8n instance for misconfigured credentials, outdated nodes, or security issues.

• "Search n8n nodes for ones that can read Gmail and show me the required parameters."
• "Build a workflow that triggers on a new Stripe charge, looks up the customer in HubSpot, and posts a Slack message. Validate it before saving."
• "List my last 20 workflow executions and find the ones that failed in the last 24 hours."
• "Find a template for syncing Airtable rows to Google Sheets and deploy it to my n8n instance."
• "Autofix the workflow with ID 142 and run a test execution against this sample payload."

• Very comprehensive: claims 99% node property coverage and 2,300+ templates, far beyond a simple API wrapper.
• Two-tier design works with or without n8n API credentials, so you can use it for workflow research even without a server.
• Multiple deploy paths: npx, Docker image, Railway one-click, or a hosted dashboard with a free tier.
• Actively maintained with frequent releases and a large community following.

• Community-maintained, not an official n8n project, so support and roadmap depend on a single maintainer.
• Management tools require an n8n API key, and the maintainer explicitly warns against pointing the agent at production workflows.
• Surface area is large (20+ tools), which can confuse smaller models and inflate context usage.

• leonardsellem/n8n-mcp-server: lighter-weight community MCP server focused on the n8n REST API.
• n8n MCP Server Trigger node: official n8n node that turns a workflow itself into an MCP server, rather than exposing n8n's management API.
• makafeli/n8n-workflow-builder: another community MCP server aimed at natural-language workflow creation.