n8n Workflow Builder MCP server for AI agents

The n8n Workflow Builder provides a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for creating and managing n8n workflows programmatically. It enables you to create workflows with nodes and connections, validate specifications, and export complete workflow configurations through a REST API interface.

Installation Options

Installing via Smithery

For the easiest installation using the Smithery package manager:

npx -y @smithery/cli install n8n-workflow-builder --client claude

Manual Installation

To install the server manually:

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/[your-username]/n8n-workflow-builder.git
cd n8n-workflow-builder

Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```
Compile the TypeScript code:
```
npx tsc
```
Start the server:
```
npm start
```

Using the Server

The n8n Workflow Builder provides the create_workflow tool that accepts workflow specifications in JSON format.

Workflow Specification Format

Here's an example of a basic workflow specification:

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "name": "HTTP Request",
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "method": "GET"
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": []
}

Configuring MCP

To add the server to your MCP configuration:

{
  "n8n-workflow-builder": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["/path/to/n8n-workflow-builder/dist/index.js"]
  }
}

Server Features

Workflow Creation: Design workflows with various node types and connections
Validation: Automatically validates workflow specifications
Export: Generate complete workflow configurations for use in n8n
API Interface: Interact with the server through MCP's REST API interface

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "n8n-workflow-builder" '{"command":"node","args":["/path/to/n8n-workflow-builder/dist/index.js"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "n8n-workflow-builder": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/n8n-workflow-builder/dist/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "n8n-workflow-builder": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/n8n-workflow-builder/dist/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect