⚡ n8n Automation Skill

Overview

This skill connects your OpenClaw agent directly to your n8n instance so you can trigger powerful multi-step automations using plain natural language — no coding required at runtime.

What makes this skill different: It does not just call webhooks. It confirms before acting, validates inputs, reports results, handles errors gracefully, and remembers what was last triggered so you can easily repeat or modify runs.

Setup (One Time)

Before using this skill, export these two environment variables in your terminal or add them to your shell profile:

export N8N_WEBHOOK_BASE_URL="https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook"
export N8N_API_KEY="your-n8n-api-key-here"

Then restart your OpenClaw gateway:

openclaw gateway restart

You will know setup worked when you type:

"n8n status"

And the agent responds with your instance URL confirmed.

Trigger Phrases

You can trigger this skill with any of these natural language phrases:

• "trigger n8n [workflow name]"
• "run automation for [contact/task]"
• "send [email type] to [name]"
• "post to social: [content]"
• "update CRM for [name]"
• "follow up with [name] from [meeting]"
• "check competitors"
• "send invoice reminder to [client]"
• "n8n status" — checks your instance is reachable

Workflow 1 — Lead Nurture Email Sequence

What it does: Triggers a multi-step email sequence in n8n for a new lead. Sends welcome email on Day 1, value email on Day 3, case study on Day 7, and soft pitch on Day 14. All personalized.

Trigger examples:

• "Send lead nurture to John Smith at [email protected]"
• "Start nurture sequence for [email protected], she found us via YouTube"
• "Add Maria to lead nurture, source is LinkedIn"

Required fields:

• first_name
• email
• source (where they came from — optional but improves personalization)

Webhook endpoint: $N8N_WEBHOOK_BASE_URL/lead-nurture

Payload sent:

{
  "first_name": "string",
  "email": "string",
  "source": "string",
  "triggered_at": "ISO timestamp",
  "triggered_by": "openclaw"
}

Expected n8n response: { "status": "queued", "sequence_id": "..." }

Workflow 2 — Social Media Auto-Post

What it does: Takes content you describe or provide and posts it to your connected social platforms via n8n. Supports LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram caption, Facebook, and Threads.

Trigger examples:

• "Post to social: Just launched my new n8n + OpenClaw skill on ClawHub!"
• "Post this to LinkedIn and X: [your content]"
• "Schedule social post for tomorrow 9am: [content]"

Required fields:

• content (the post text)
• platforms (list: linkedin, x, instagram, facebook, threads)
• schedule_time (optional — defaults to immediate)

Webhook endpoint: $N8N_WEBHOOK_BASE_URL/social-post