Why mcp-n8n?
Other n8n MCPs cover workflows and executions. mcp-n8n covers everything — including Data Tables, the only MCP to do so.
| Feature | mcp-n8n | leonardsellem | illuminare | czlonkowski |
|---|
| Workflows (CRUD + execute) | 10 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
| Executions | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Data Tables | 8 | — | — | — |
| Tags + Workflow Tags | 7 | — | 5 | — |
| Credentials | 4 | — | 3 | — |
| Users | 3 | — | 4 | — |
| Variables | 3 | — | 3 | — |
| Projects (Enterprise) | 4 | — | 4 | — |
| Security Audit | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Webhooks | 1 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Health Check | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Total | 43 | 12 | 33 | 20 |
Data Tables — full CRUD with filters, search, upsert and dry-run. No other MCP has this.
🚀 Quick Start
Claude Code
claude mcp add --scope user \
-e N8N_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5678 \
-e N8N_API_KEY=your-api-key \
-- n8n npx -y @nextoolsolutions/mcp-n8n
Cursor
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"n8n": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-n8n"],
"env": {
"N8N_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:5678",
"N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"n8n": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-n8n"],
"env": {
"N8N_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:5678",
"N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
Config file location:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Windsurf
Add to your Windsurf MCP config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"n8n": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-n8n"],
"env": {
"N8N_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:5678",
"N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
VS Code (Copilot)
Add to your VS Code settings.json:
{
"mcp": {
"servers": {
"n8n": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-n8n"],
"env": {
"N8N_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:5678",
"N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
}
Getting your API key
- Open your n8n instance
- Go to Settings → n8n API
- Create a new API key
- Copy it into the
N8N_API_KEY environment variable
Workflows (10)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_workflows | List all workflows with optional filters |
n8n_get_workflow | Get a workflow by ID (includes nodes, connections, settings) |
n8n_create_workflow | Create a new workflow from JSON |
n8n_update_workflow | Update an existing workflow (full replacement) |
n8n_delete_workflow | Permanently delete a workflow |
n8n_activate_workflow | Activate a workflow for production |
n8n_deactivate_workflow | Deactivate a workflow |
n8n_execute_workflow | Trigger execution with optional input data |
n8n_get_workflow_tags | List tags associated with a workflow |
n8n_update_workflow_tags | Replace all tags on a workflow |
Executions (3)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_executions | List executions with filters (workflow, status, cursor) |
n8n_get_execution | Get execution status, result data and timing |
n8n_delete_execution | Delete an execution record |
Data Tables (8)
Only available in n8n v1.64+. This is the only MCP server with Data Tables support.
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_datatables | List all data tables with filtering and sorting |
n8n_create_datatable | Create a table with typed columns (string, number, boolean, date, json) |
n8n_get_datatable | Get table metadata (columns, name, ID) |
n8n_get_datatable_rows | Query rows with filter, full-text search, sorting and pagination |
n8n_insert_datatable_rows | Insert one or more rows |
n8n_update_datatable_rows | Update rows matching a filter (supports dry-run) |
n8n_upsert_datatable_row | Update if exists, insert if not |
n8n_delete_datatable_rows | Delete rows matching a filter (supports dry-run) |
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_tags | List all tags |
n8n_get_tag | Get a tag by ID |
n8n_create_tag | Create a new tag |
n8n_update_tag | Rename a tag |
n8n_delete_tag | Delete a tag |
Credentials (4)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_credentials | List credentials (names and types only — data is redacted) |
n8n_create_credential | Create a credential (use get_credential_schema first) |
n8n_delete_credential | Delete a credential |
n8n_get_credential_schema | Get the JSON schema for a credential type |
Users (3)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_users | List all users (requires instance owner role) |
n8n_get_user | Get a user by ID or email |
n8n_delete_user | Delete a user |
Variables (3)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_variables | List all environment variables |
n8n_create_variable | Create a key-value variable |
n8n_delete_variable | Delete a variable |
Projects (4) — Enterprise
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_list_projects | List all projects |
n8n_create_project | Create a project |
n8n_update_project | Rename a project |
n8n_delete_project | Delete a project |
Audit (1)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_generate_audit | Generate a security audit (credentials, database, filesystem, nodes) |
System (1)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_health_check | Verify n8n API connectivity |
Webhooks (1)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
n8n_trigger_webhook | Trigger a workflow via its webhook URL (production or test) |
⚙️ Configuration
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|
N8N_BASE_URL | http://localhost:5678 | Your n8n instance URL |
N8N_API_KEY | — | API key (required) |
N8N_MAX_RETRIES | 3 | Retry attempts on 429 / 5xx errors |
N8N_TIMEOUT | 30000 | Request timeout in milliseconds |
✨ Features
- 43 tools — the most comprehensive n8n MCP available
- Data Tables — full CRUD, the only MCP with this support
- Automatic retry — exponential backoff on rate limits (429) and server errors (5xx)
- Configurable timeout — prevent hung requests (default 30s)
- Zero external dependencies — only MCP SDK + Zod
- TypeScript strict mode — fully typed, safe, and maintainable
- Node 16+ compatible — native fetch with http/https fallback
🔒 Security
- API keys are never hardcoded — loaded exclusively from environment variables
- Credential data is redacted in list responses (n8n API behavior)
- All IDs are sanitized with
encodeURIComponent to prevent path traversal
- No sensitive data is logged or exposed in error messages
🏗 Development
git clone https://github.com/RPGMais/mcp-n8n.git
cd mcp-n8n
npm install
| Command | Description |
|---|
npm run dev | Run with tsx (no build step) |
npm run build | Compile TypeScript to dist/ |
npm start | Run compiled version |
Project structure
mcp-n8n/
├── src/
│ ├── index.ts # MCP server — tool registration and handlers
│ └── n8n-client.ts # HTTP client — API calls, retry, timeout
├── dist/ # Compiled output
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feat/my-feature)
- Commit your changes
- Push and open a Pull Request
📄 License
MIT — free for personal and commercial use.
