29 skills found
Use when an n8n-mcp account targets more than one n8n instance — i.e. the `n8n_instances` tool is available, the user mentions multiple n8n instances or environments (prod vs staging, several teams or clients), a workflow / datatable / credential / execution call returns an unexpected NOT_FOUND or reads data you don't recognize, or a credential create/update/delete is refused with an `INSTANCE_AMBIGUOUS` error. Covers choosing and switching which instance this MCP session targets, verifying the
Use when working with n8n's built-in Data Tables, designing schemas, inserting/updating/upserting rows, deduping, or querying. Triggers on "Data Table", "data table", `n8n-nodes-base.dataTable`, "dedup", "idempotency", "lookup", "persistent state", "store across executions", or any schema design discussion inside n8n.
Use when handling files, images, attachments, or binary data in n8n, OR when an AI agent needs to take a user-uploaded file as tool input or return a generated file. For Data Tables (schemas, dedup, persistent state), see the separate n8n-data-tables-official skill. Triggers on "file", "image", "PDF", "attachment", "binary", "upload", "download", chat trigger with files, agent tool that needs a file, vision/multimodal, or any handling of non-JSON file data.
Use when building anything multi-step, anything that looks repeatable, anything the user mentions reusing, or any workflow with more than ~10 nodes. Triggers on "reuse", "I do this in another workflow", "extract", "modular", "shared logic", "subworkflow", multi-step builds, or any task that mentions logic the user has built before.
Handle files and binary data in n8n correctly. Use when working with files, images, PDFs, attachments, uploads or downloads, base64, vision/multimodal input, or when an AI agent needs a file as tool input or output — and whenever the user mentions $binary, binaryPropertyName, "read the PDF", "attach the file", "send the image", Merge losing binary, or a CDN for chat images. Covers the $binary vs $json split, reading/writing binary, keeping binary alive across transforms with Merge, the agent-too
Use when configuring any n8n node: HTTP, webhooks, database, comms (Slack/Gmail/Discord), AI, triggers, Merge, anything. Triggers on any node-builder call (`node(...)`, `trigger(...)`, `tool(...)`, `memory(...)`, `languageModel(...)`, `ifElse(...)`, `merge(...)`, etc.), configuring a parameter, `useDataOfInput`, `numberOfInputs`, fan-in convergence, or any node-specific debugging.
Use when writing or reviewing n8n expressions (`{{...}}` syntax), `$json` / `$node` references, Luxon date code, or expression errors. Triggers on `{{}}`, `$json`, `$node`, `$input`, `DateTime`, `Luxon`, "expression error", "evaluating", "format date", "transform field", or any node-parameter assignment.
Deploy a production self-hosted n8n end-to-end to a fresh Linux VM over SSH, using Docker Compose behind a Caddy reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS. Use whenever the user wants to self-host, install, provision, or deploy n8n on their own server/VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS EC2, bare metal) — single/regular mode or queue mode with workers — or to update, back up, restore, or harden such an instance, or make Python Code nodes run on it (task runners). For SELF-HOSTED n8n (Docker), not n8n Cloud
Use when working with n8n workflows in any capacity. The always-on protocol for the n8n-skills plugin, loaded by the SessionStart hook every session. Routes to the right skill, summarizes every n8n MCP tool (closing the deferred-description gap), and lists the cross-cutting rules.
Design n8n AI agents the right way. Use when building or editing any @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.* AI node — an AI Agent, LLM chain, Text Classifier, or Information Extractor — and whenever the user mentions AI agents, LLM with tools, tool calling, $fromAI, system prompts, agent memory, sessionId, structured/JSON output, output parser, RAG, vector store, a chat assistant/bot, or human-in-the-loop review. Covers Agent-vs-chain-vs-classifier choice, the model/memory/tools/outputParser slots, tool nam
Use when the user reaches for a Code node, mentions writing JavaScript or Python in n8n, or any custom logic comes up in workflow design. Triggers on "Code node", "Code", "JavaScript", "Python", "custom logic", "transform data", "$input", "$json transformation", "loop in code", "write a function", or any time the obvious answer seems to be "just put it in code."
Wire n8n error handling so failures are loud, structured, and recoverable. Use when building any webhook/API workflow, a scheduled or unattended workflow, or any path where a silent failure would drop user-visible work — and whenever the user mentions error handling, onError, continueErrorOutput, error branches/outputs, retries, retryOnFail, Respond to Webhook status codes, 4xx/5xx, Error Trigger, or "my workflow fails silently". Covers per-node error outputs and wiring, retry/self-healing, erro
