n8n Workflow Builder

Setup

Requires two environment variables:

• - N8N_URL — n8n instance URL (e.g. https://your-n8n.example.com)
• INLINECODE2 — n8n API key (Settings → API → Create API Key)

Workflow

1. 1. Understand the automation — Clarify trigger (webhook/schedule/manual), data sources, processing logic, outputs, and error handling needs.

1. 2. Design the workflow JSON — Build valid n8n workflow JSON following the schema in references/workflow-schema.md. Use patterns from references/workflow-patterns.md as templates.

1. 3. Deploy via API — Use scripts/n8n-api.sh create <file> or pipe JSON to scripts/n8n-api.sh create-stdin.

1. 4. Activate — Use scripts/n8n-api.sh activate <workflow_id> for trigger-based workflows.

1. 5. Verify — List workflows to confirm deployment: scripts/n8n-api.sh list.

API Script Reference

CODEBLOCK0

Building Workflow JSON

Every workflow needs: name, nodes[], connections{}, settings{}.

Every node needs: id, name, type, typeVersion, position, parameters.

Connections use source node display name as key, mapping outputs to target nodes.

For full schema, node types, and expression syntax → read references/workflow-schema.md
For complete workflow examples (webhook, schedule, AI agent, DB sync, error handling) → read INLINECODE20

Key Rules

• - Always set "executionOrder": "v1" in settings
• Node names must be unique within a workflow
• Node IDs must be unique — use descriptive slugs like webhook1, INLINECODE23
• Position nodes starting at [250, 300], spacing ~200px horizontally
• IF nodes have two outputs: index 0 = true, index 1 = false
• Webhook workflows need respondToWebhook node if responseMode is INLINECODE27
• Credentials must exist in n8n before activation — check with INLINECODE28
• Test before activating — use scripts/n8n-api.sh execute <id> for manual trigger workflows
• Use continueOnFail: true on risky HTTP/API nodes, then check for errors downstream

Common Real Estate Workflows

• - Lead intake: Webhook → validate → dedupe → insert DB → notify Slack/SMS
• Call follow-up: Schedule → query DB for completed calls → send SMS/email based on outcome
• Drip campaign: Schedule → query leads by stage → send stage-appropriate email/SMS
• CRM sync: Webhook → transform → update HubSpot/Salesforce + internal DB
• Property alerts: Schedule → scrape/API listings → filter new → notify leads
• AI qualification: Webhook → AI Agent (classify lead intent) → route to appropriate pipeline