n8n Automation — Build & Deliver Workflows Fast

Build, customize, and deliver n8n workflows using our 2,061-template library. Reference: ~/projects/n8n-workflows/ — browse by integration folder. Our n8n instance: localhost:5678 (requires fnm use 22 before starting). All outputs go to workspace/artifacts/.

Use when

• Building an n8n workflow for a client (Upwork, Alfred, direct)
• Customizing a template from our library for a specific use case
• Debugging or optimizing an existing n8n workflow
• Designing a workflow architecture before building
• Estimating delivery time for a workflow project
• Importing/exporting workflow JSON

Don't use when

• Finding Upwork jobs (use upwork-hunting skill)
• Writing the client proposal (use proposal-writing skill)
• General coding tasks not involving n8n
• Zapier/Make.com builds (different platforms, different nodes)

Negative examples

• "Find me automation jobs on Upwork" → No. Use upwork-hunting.
• "Build me a Python script" → No. This is n8n-specific.
• "Set up my n8n server" → Borderline. Infrastructure setup is ops, not workflow building. But credential configuration fits here.

Edge cases

• Workflow uses custom JavaScript (Code node) → YES. n8n supports inline JS.
• Client wants Zapier→n8n migration → YES. Map Zapier triggers/actions to n8n equivalents.
• Workflow needs external API with no n8n node → YES. Use HTTP Request node.
• Multi-workflow orchestration → YES. Use Execute Workflow node.

Template Library Quick Reference

Location: ~/projects/n8n-workflows/workflows/ Structure: workflows/[IntegrationName]/[id]_[integration]_[action]_[trigger].json

Finding the Right Template

# List all templates for an integration
ls ~/projects/n8n-workflows/workflows/Twilio/

# Search across all workflows
find ~/projects/n8n-workflows/workflows/ -name "*.json" | grep -i "shopify"

# Count templates per integration
ls ~/projects/n8n-workflows/workflows/ | while read d; do echo "$(ls ~/projects/n8n-workflows/workflows/$d/ | wc -l) $d"; done | sort -rn | head -20

Top Integration Folders (by Upwork demand)

Workflow Building Process

Step 1: Assess Requirements

• What triggers the workflow? (webhook, schedule, form, app event)
• What actions need to happen? (send email, update CRM, create record)
• What data needs to flow? (fields, formats, transformations)
• What error handling is needed? (retries, fallback, alerts)
• What credentials are required? (API keys, OAuth, etc.)

Step 2: Find Matching Templates

# Search for relevant templates
find ~/projects/n8n-workflows/workflows/ -name "*.json" | xargs grep -l "keyword" 2>/dev/null

Or browse by integration folder. Most jobs need 2-3 templates stitched together.

Step 3: Import & Customize

• Copy template JSON
• In n8n: Menu → Import from File (or paste JSON)
• Update credentials (Client's API keys)
• Update field mappings (their data structure)
• Adjust trigger settings (their webhook URL, schedule, etc.)
• Add error handling nodes (Error Trigger → notification)

Step 4: Test

• Use n8n's Manual Execution to test each node step-by-step
• Verify data flows correctly between nodes
• Test error paths (what happens when an API is down?)
• Check rate limits (especially for bulk operations)

Step 5: Document & Deliver

## Workflow: [Name]
**Trigger:** [What starts it]
**Steps:** [1. → 2. → 3.]
**Credentials needed:** [List]
**Testing:** [How to verify it works]
**Maintenance:** [What might break and how to fix it]

Common Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Trigger → Transform → Action

[Webhook/Form/Schedule] → [Set/Code node: transform data] → [Send Email/Update CRM/Create Record]

Pattern 2: Trigger → Branch → Multiple Actions

[Trigger] → [IF node: check condition] → True: [Action A] / False: [Action B]

Pattern 3: Scheduled Batch Processing

[Cron/Schedule] → [Get data from Sheet/DB] → [Loop: process each item] → [Action per item]

Pattern 4: Webhook API Endpoint

[Webhook: receive request] → [Process] → [Respond to Webhook: return data]

Pattern 5: Multi-Step Pipeline

[Trigger] → [Enrich data] → [Route/Split] → [Multiple actions] → [Aggregate] → [Final action]

Pattern 6: Error-Resilient Workflow

[Trigger] → [Try: main flow] → [Catch: Error Trigger] → [Alert via Slack/Email]

Node Cheat Sheet

Credential Setup Checklist

Before delivering to a client, ensure:

• [ ] All credentials use THEIR API keys (never ours)
• [ ] OAuth tokens are connected to THEIR accounts
• [ ] Webhook URLs point to THEIR n8n instance (or ours if managed)
• [ ] Sensitive data isn't hardcoded in nodes (use credentials store)
• [ ] Test credentials work in production (not just sandbox)

Delivery Checklist

• [ ] Workflow tested end-to-end with real data
• [ ] Error handling nodes in place
• [ ] Documentation written (trigger, steps, credentials, maintenance)
• [ ] Workflow JSON exported as backup
• [ ] Client can import and run independently
• [ ] Edge cases tested (empty data, API errors, rate limits)
• [ ] Screenshot of working workflow included in delivery

Estimation Guide

n8n Instance Management

Start n8n:

eval "$(fnm env)" && fnm use 22 && nohup n8n start > /tmp/n8n.log 2>&1 &

Access: http://localhost:5678

Import workflow via API:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5678/api/v1/workflows \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: $N8N_API_KEY" \
  -d @workflow.json

Our credentials configured:

• Twilio API Auth (ID: 2hP5kiyhResadXrF)
• More to be added per client