n8n-automation

What This Skill Does

The n8n-automation skill provides the OpenClaw AI agent with native capabilities to interact with the n8n REST API. It serves as a command-and-control bridge, allowing you to manage complex workflow automations without needing to manually log into your n8n dashboard. Whether you are running a self-hosted instance on your local machine or utilizing the n8n Cloud, this skill enables you to list workflows, trigger specific webhooks, monitor execution logs, and perform administrative tasks like activating or deactivating automated processes. By standardizing API communication through the OpenClaw interface, it transforms manual DevOps monitoring into a streamlined, chat-driven experience.

Installation

To install this skill, use the OpenClaw CLI command: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/dilomcfly/n8n-automation. Once installed, ensure you have configured your environment variables. You must set N8N_API_URL to your specific instance endpoint (typically ending in /api/v1) and N8N_API_KEY, which can be generated under your n8n Settings menu. For added security, these configurations can be persisted in a local .n8n-api-config file.

Use Cases

1. Automated Monitoring: Use OpenClaw to periodically poll execution status and receive summaries of failed processes.
2. Deployment Management: Quickly disable production workflows during maintenance or enable them after successful testing.
3. Debugging Workflows: When a process fails, ask OpenClaw to fetch recent failed executions, identify the specific node that threw the error, and parse the output logs to suggest a configuration fix.
4. Dynamic Triggering: Trigger webhooks programmatically based on natural language commands, such as "Run the marketing data sync now."

Example Prompts

1. "OpenClaw, list all currently active workflows and let me know if any have failed in the last hour."
2. "I need to debug the last failed execution for the 'Slack Notification' workflow. Can you pull the details and tell me which node caused the issue?"
3. "Trigger the 'Sync CRM' webhook and let me know if the response indicates a successful start."

Tips & Limitations

This skill relies on the n8n REST API, so ensure your API key has appropriate permissions. When debugging, keep in mind that execution history retention depends on your n8n instance settings. Always exercise caution when triggering webhooks that perform write operations to external databases or services, as these actions are final and irreversible once executed.