n8n Workflow Management

Manage your n8n automation platform: list workflows, trigger executions, check status, and activate/deactivate workflows.

Setup

Set these environment variables:

N8N_API_URL="https://your-n8n-instance.com"   # Base URL (no trailing slash)
N8N_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"                # Settings → API → Create API Key

List all workflows

curl -s "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/workflows" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" | jq '.data[] | {id, name, active}'

Get workflow details

curl -s "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/workflows/{WORKFLOW_ID}" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" | jq .

Execute a workflow

curl -s -X POST "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/workflows/{WORKFLOW_ID}/execute" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}' | jq .

With input data:

curl -s -X POST "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/workflows/{WORKFLOW_ID}/execute" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"data": {"key": "value"}}' | jq .

Activate a workflow

curl -s -X PATCH "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/workflows/{WORKFLOW_ID}" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"active": true}' | jq .

Deactivate a workflow

curl -s -X PATCH "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/workflows/{WORKFLOW_ID}" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"active": false}' | jq .

List executions

curl -s "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/executions" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" | jq '.data[] | {id, workflowId, status, startedAt, stoppedAt}'

Filter by workflow:

curl -s "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/executions?workflowId={WORKFLOW_ID}" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" | jq '.data[] | {id, status, startedAt}'

Get execution details

curl -s "$N8N_API_URL/api/v1/executions/{EXECUTION_ID}" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" | jq .

Trigger via webhook

If a workflow has a Webhook trigger node, call its URL directly:

curl -s -X POST "https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/{WEBHOOK_PATH}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "deploy", "status": "success"}'

Notes

• Replace {WORKFLOW_ID}, {EXECUTION_ID}, and {WEBHOOK_PATH} with actual values.
• Always list workflows first to find the correct ID before executing.
• Webhook URLs are separate from the API — they use the path configured in the Webhook node.
• n8n API uses pagination. Add ?limit=100&cursor=... for large result sets.
• Be cautious activating workflows that have external triggers — they start listening immediately.