Official n8n Skills

n8n's MCP makes the connection. n8n Skills set the standard.

Built by the n8n team to pair with n8n's instance-level MCP server. Your coding agent can now build and edit workflows through the MCP, organize them into folders and projects, and build n8n Agents. The skills enable it to get it right the first time.

What's inside:

• The n8n MCP connection, set up for you (Claude Code): the plugin bundles the n8n-mcp server and prompts for your instance URL at install, so there's no manual MCP config. Codex adds it with one codex mcp add.
• 13 capability skills covering best practices across the full workflow lifecycle: sub-workflow reuse, expressions, loops and pagination, AI agents, error handling, credentials, Data Tables, debugging, and more.
• 50+ reference docs and worked examples loaded on demand: per-node gotchas, decision trees, and copy-pasteable workflow JSON / TypeScript SDK snippets.
• A SessionStart hook that loads the protocol on every session, including a compact reference for every n8n MCP tool.
• PreToolUse hooks that nudge your agent to consult the matching skill before high-impact MCP calls.

Prerequisite

An n8n instance (any plan, Cloud or self-hosted) with the instance-level MCP server enabled (Settings → Instance-level MCP). Minimum n8n 2.2.0; for best results, run the latest stable. See n8n's MCP setup guide.

Install

Pick your platform:

• Claude Code (CLI)
• Claude Code (Desktop app)
• Codex
• OpenCode (CLI)
• OpenCode (Desktop app)
• Other platforms

Claude Code (CLI)

Inside a claude session:

1. Add the marketplace. Run /plugin marketplace add n8n-io/skills.
2. Install the plugin. Run /plugin install n8n-skills@n8n-io, enter your n8n instance URL when prompted, then run /reload-plugins.
   • Just the base URL, e.g. https://acme.app.n8n.cloud (no path) — the plugin adds /mcp-server/http.
3. Authorize the MCP. Run /mcp, select n8n-mcp, and choose Authenticate to sign in via your browser.

Already run the n8n MCP elsewhere? This adds its own n8n-mcp connection. Disable it from /mcp to avoid a duplicate toolset.

Claude Code (Desktop app)

1. Add the marketplace. In the prompt box, run /plugin marketplace add n8n-io/skills.
2. Install. Click + next to the prompt box → Plugins → Add plugin, select n8n-skills in the plugin browser, and pick a scope. Enter your n8n instance URL when prompted (just the base URL, e.g. https://acme.app.n8n.cloud — the plugin adds /mcp-server/http).
   • No prompt? Set it with /plugin configure n8n-skills@n8n-io, then reload.
3. Authorize the MCP. Open Settings → Connectors, find n8n-mcp, and connect (browser sign-in).

Codex

Requires Codex ≥ 0.142.0 (root-plugin marketplace support). Works in the Codex CLI and the Codex mode of the ChatGPT desktop app.

In a terminal:

1. Add the marketplace. Run codex plugin marketplace add n8n-io/skills.
2. Install the plugin. Run codex plugin add n8n-skills@n8n-io, then restart Codex and approve the hook-trust prompt (enables the SessionStart, PreToolUse, and PostToolUse reminders).
3. Add the MCP server. Codex can't auto-configure it, so add it once (Codex has no config prompt like Claude Code):

   codex mcp add n8n-mcp --url https://<your-n8n-domain>/mcp-server/http

   • No terminal (desktop app only)? Add it in the GUI: Settings → MCP servers → Add server → Streamable HTTP, paste the URL, save, then Restart.
4. Authorize the MCP. Codex signs in via OAuth on first use, or click Authenticate in the MCP servers list.

OpenCode (CLI)

Add one line to your opencode.jsonc (global ~/.config/opencode/, or a project .opencode/) and restart:

{
  "plugin": ["n8n-skills@git+https://github.com/n8n-io/skills.git"]
}

OpenCode fetches and installs the plugin, which registers the n8n skills and fires the bash hooks after n8n MCP tool calls. No clone, symlink, or skills.paths. Pin a version with ...skills.git#v1.2.0.

OpenCode (Desktop app)

The desktop app loads plugins from ~/.config/opencode/plugins/. Get the repo (clone, or download and unzip the ZIP), then symlink the plugin file into that folder:

git clone https://github.com/n8n-io/skills.git ~/.local/share/opencode/n8n-skills
mkdir -p ~/.config/opencode/plugins/
ln -s ~/.local/share/opencode/n8n-skills/opencode/plugin.ts \
      ~/.config/opencode/plugins/n8n-skills-hooks.ts

Fully quit and reopen the app. The plugin self-registers its skills, so no skills.paths is needed. Update later with git pull in the clone (or re-download the ZIP).

See opencode/README.md for prerequisites and the experimental-API caveat.

Other platforms

Each coding agent has its own skill format. Follow your platform's docs for installing skills

skills.sh handles a few popular platforms via npx. From your project folder:

npx skills add n8n-io/skills

Compatibility varies by agent. Check skills.sh for support on your specific platform.

Then add a snippet to your AGENTS.md

This project uses n8n. When working with workflows, nodes, expressions, or
the n8n MCP tools, always start by loading the `using-n8n-skills-official` meta-skill
and follow its routing into the matching capability skill before acting.

The plugins ship a SessionStart hook that loads the entry-point skill for you. Plain skill installs don't have that hook, so the snippet is what cues your agent to start every n8n task by loading using-n8n-skills-official.

Skills inside

Skill	When it activates
n8n-workflow-lifecycle-official	Starting, designing, organizing, or finishing a workflow
n8n-subworkflows-official	Anything reusable, multi-step builds
n8n-extending-mcp-official	Need capabilities the MCP doesn't have
n8n-expressions-official	Writing {{}}, $json, $node
n8n-node-configuration-official	Configuring any node
n8n-code-nodes-official	Custom logic, Code node consideration
n8n-loops-official	Loops, batching, paginated APIs
n8n-agents-official	LangChain Agent node, tools, system prompts, structured output
n8n-error-handling-official	Webhook APIs, production workflows
n8n-credentials-and-security-official	Auth, API keys, tokens
n8n-binary-and-data-official	Files, images, attachments, vision
n8n-data-tables-official	Data Tables: schemas, dedup, persistent state
n8n-debugging-official	Things break

A 14th meta-skill, using-n8n-skills-official, is loaded by the SessionStart hook in plugins and routes your agent to the right capability skill on every n8n task.

How it works

Each skill is a markdown file. Frontmatter tells the agent when to load it. The SessionStart hook routes to the right one on every n8n task; PreToolUse hooks pull the matching skill back into context before high-impact MCP calls. It's all just markdown. Disagree with a call? Fork it.

Related

• Connect to the n8n MCP server
• n8n

Contributing

See CLAUDE.md, the contributing guide for humans and AI agents alike. Open an issue first. We don't accept PRs that haven't been discussed in an issue.

Looking for contributors: feature parity plugins for other coding agents (Cursor, OpenCode, etc.). The skills are just markdown, the work is wrapping them so they activate in those harnesses the way they do in Claude Code.

License

Apache 2.0. See LICENSE.