n8n-code-javascript

JavaScript Code Node

Expert guidance for writing JavaScript code in n8n Code nodes.

Quick Start

// Basic template for Code nodes
const items = $input.all();
 
// Process data
const processed = items.map

Essential Rules

1. Choose "Run Once for All Items" mode (recommended for most use cases)
2. Access data: $input.all(), $input.first(), or $input.item
3. Return [{json: {...}}] — the canonical, mode-portable form. In Run Once for All Items mode n8n also auto-wraps a bare return {…} object, so that runs too; what genuinely fails is returning a primitive (string/number) or null.
4. CRITICAL: Webhook data is under $json.body (not $json directly)
5. Built-ins available: this.helpers.httpRequest() (no auth — the bare $helpers global is undefined in the task-runner sandbox, so $helpers.httpRequest() throws ReferenceError: $helpers is not defined), DateTime (Luxon), $jmespath(). Not available: this.helpers.httpRequestWithAuthentication (deny-listed), $env (when N8N_BLOCK_ENV_ACCESS_IN_NODE=true), require() (unless allowlisted). For anything beyond a trivial unauthenticated GET (auth, pagination, retries), prefer the HTTP Request node and keep Code nodes for pure logic.
6. Instance-allowlisted libraries: Self-hosted instances can allowlist modules via N8N_RUNNERS_ALLOWED_BUILT_IN_MODULES and N8N_RUNNERS_ALLOWED_EXTERNAL_MODULES (legacy: NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_BUILTIN / NODE_FUNCTION_ALLOW_EXTERNAL). If the user says their instance allows specific modules (e.g. axios, lodash, crypto), use them via require() — don't refuse. If unsure, ask or default to built-ins only.
7. Wrong skill? If you're writing code for a Custom Code Tool attached to an AI Agent (@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolCode), stop — that node has a different contract (input via query, must return a string, no $input/$helpers). Use the n8n-code-tool skill.

Mode Selection Guide

The Code node offers two execution modes. Choose based on your use case:

Run Once for All Items (Recommended - Default)

Use this mode for: 95% of use cases

• How it works: Code executes once regardless of input count
• Data access: $input.all() or items array
• Best for: Aggregation, filtering, batch processing, transformations, API calls with all data
• Performance: Faster for multiple items (single execution)

When to use:

• ✅ Comparing items across the dataset
• ✅ Calculating totals, averages, or statistics
• ✅ Sorting or ranking items
• ✅ Deduplication
• ✅ Building aggregated reports
• ✅ Combining data from multiple items

Run Once for Each Item

Use this mode for: Specialized cases only

• How it works: Code executes separately for each input item
• Data access: $input.item or $item
• Best for: Item-specific logic, independent operations, per-item validation
• Performance: Slower for large datasets (multiple executions)

When to use:

• ✅ Each item needs independent API call
• ✅ Per-item validation with different error handling
• ✅ Item-specific transformations based on item properties
• ✅ When items must be processed separately for business logic

Decision Shortcut:

• Need to look at multiple items? → Use "All Items" mode
• Each item completely independent? → Use "Each Item" mode
• Not sure? → Use "All Items" mode (you can always loop inside)

Why "All Items" is faster — the per-item boundary

Mode choice is the single biggest performance lever in a Code node. Each per-item execution context costs a setup tax (measured on n8n 2.x, small records):

So Run Once for Each Item over 10k items is ~6 s of pure overhead vs ~0.2 s in Run Once for All Items. Use Each Item only when an item genuinely needs isolating (independent error handling, or a per-item API call you can't batch); otherwise loop inside one All Items node. Expression complexity itself is essentially free (~90% of the cost is the per-item context, not your code) and every node→node hop re-copies all items — so reduce the number of per-item boundaries, don't micro-optimize each one. Below a few hundred items none of this matters; reach for it on the hot path (large item counts, little I/O).

See: DATA_ACCESS.md → "Mode Performance" for the corollaries, hop costs, and scale check.

Data Access Patterns

Four ways to pull data from upstream nodes. Note $node["Name"] and $('Name') need .first().json or .all() — never .json directly.

Always access fields via .json (e.g. item.json.name, not item.name), and prefer the explicit $input.first().json.field over a bare $json.field.

See: DATA_ACCESS.md for the full guide — every pattern with examples, a decision tree, and the common mistakes (mutating originals, missing length checks, $input.item in the wrong mode).

Critical: Webhook Data Structure

MOST COMMON MISTAKE: Webhook data is nested under .body

Why: Webhook node wraps all request data under body property. This includes POST data, query parameters, and JSON payloads.

See: DATA_ACCESS.md for full webhook structure details

Return Format Requirements

Canonical form: [{json: {...}}] — an array of objects each with a json property. It is unambiguous and works identically in both execution modes, so make it your default.

In Run Once for All Items mode n8n auto-normalizes looser shapes on the way out: a single bare object, or an array of bare objects, gets wrapped under json for you. So return {foo: 1} runs. What has nothing to wrap — and therefore genuinely fails at runtime with "Code doesn't return items properly" — is a primitive (string/number/boolean) or null/undefined. (n8n-mcp ≥ 2.63.0 no longer flags a bare-object return as an error; it reflects this auto-wrap behavior.)

Correct Return Formats

Non-Canonical Returns (auto-wrapped — prefer the canonical form)

Genuinely Broken Returns

Why it matters: The canonical [{json: {...}}] is unambiguous and behaves the same in both modes. n8n auto-normalizes bare objects and arrays-of-objects in All Items mode, but a primitive or null return has nothing to wrap and stops execution.

See: ERROR_PATTERNS.md #3 for detailed error solutions

Common Patterns Overview

The most useful Code node shapes from production workflows. One quick example — sum/aggregate across all items:

The full library covers 10 patterns: multi-source aggregation, regex filtering, markdown/structured-text parsing, JSON comparison, CRM/form transformation, release processing, array transformation with computed fields, Slack Block Kit formatting, top-N ranking, and string-aggregation reporting — each with variations.

See: COMMON_PATTERNS.md for the 10 detailed production patterns (and the Best Practices section: validate input, try-catch, filter-early, array methods over loops, console.log debugging).

Error Prevention - Top Mistakes

The recurring Code node failures, in rough frequency order:

1. Empty code / missing return — always end with return [...], and make sure every branch returns.
2. Expression syntax as code — don't write {{ }} where JavaScript belongs (return {{ $json.x }} is a syntax error). Use `${$json.field}` or $input.first().json.field. {{ }} inside a string literal is fine — it's just literal text n8n won't evaluate.
3. Return shape — prefer return [{json:{...}}]. A bare return {…} auto-wraps in All Items mode, but returning a primitive (string/number) or null is what actually fails.
4. Missing null checks — use optional chaining: item.json?.user?.email || 'fallback'.
5. Webhook body nesting — $json.email is undefined; use $json.body.email.
6. Auth helpers blocked (httpRequestWithAuthentication) and $env blocked — route secrets through credentials/HTTP Request node, not the Code node sandbox.

See: ERROR_PATTERNS.md for the comprehensive guide — each error with wrong/right code, escaping rules, the sandbox restrictions (Errors #6–#7), a prevention checklist, and a quick error-message lookup table.

Built-in Functions & Helpers

Sandbox (since n8n v2.0, JsTaskRunnerSandbox): the accessor is this.helpers.httpRequest() — the bare $helpers global is undefined here ($helpers.httpRequest() throws ReferenceError). Inside a nested async function where this is lost, call it as await fn.call(this, ...). this.helpers.httpRequestWithAuthentication and this.helpers.requestWithAuthenticationPaginated are deny-listed (→ UnsupportedFunctionError); for authenticated calls use an HTTP Request node with the credential (preferred), a sub-workflow, or a manual Authorization: Bearer ${token} header on this.helpers.httpRequest() only when the token already flows through the workflow as data. $env is blocked when N8N_BLOCK_ENV_ACCESS_IN_NODE=true; require() works only for allowlisted modules. Buffer, URL, and standard JS globals (Math, JSON, Object, Array) always work.

See: BUILTIN_FUNCTIONS.md for the complete reference — full httpRequest options, all DateTime/Luxon operations, JMESPath patterns, static-data use cases, and the sandbox-restriction details.

Best Practices

• Validate input first — guard for empty arrays / missing .json before processing.
• Try-catch risky work (HTTP calls) and return an error object instead of crashing.
• Prefer array methods (filter/map/reduce) over manual loops.
• Filter early, transform late — shrink the dataset before expensive work.
• Descriptive names and console.log() for debugging (output goes to the browser console).

See: COMMON_PATTERNS.md → "Best Practices" for code examples of each.

Production Gotchas

Hard-won lessons from real deployments — summarized here, with code in DATA_ACCESS.md → "Production Gotchas":

• SplitInBatches outputs are counterintuitive: main[0] = done (fires once, after all batches), main[1] = each batch (the loop body). Add a Limit 1 node after the done output as a safety.
• Iteration count is the cost: each loop iteration re-runs the whole body through the engine (~0.8 ms overhead each). batchSize: 1 is the loop equivalent of Each Item — use the largest batch your real constraint (rate limit, page size, memory) allows, or don't loop at all.
• Cross-iteration accumulation (CRITICAL): after the loop, $('Node Inside Loop').all() returns ONLY the last iteration's items. Accumulate via $getWorkflowStaticData('global') (reset before, push inside, read after).
• pairedItem: when emitting items that don't map 1:1 to input, set pairedItem: { item: i } or downstream Set nodes fail with paired_item_no_info.
• Node reference syntax: $('Node').first().json or $('Node').all() — never .json directly on the reference.
• Float precision: compare currency at the cent level — Math.round(a*100) !== Math.round(b*100) — to avoid false positives from float noise.

When to Use Code Node

Before reaching for a Code node, walk the transform gatekeeper in the n8n Expression Syntax skill: expression → arrow-function IIFE inside an Edit Fields field → Code node, in that order. The first two paths cover most "transform this data" tasks at ~1–10ms each, versus the Code node's sandboxed ~500–1000ms — a ~100x gap on pure single-item shaping, with no functional difference. The Code node earns its place only for whole-dataset aggregation ($input.all()), allowlisted libraries, or async work. And before writing code for crypto (HMAC, hashing, signing) or XML/SOAP/RSS parsing, check for a native node — n8n has a Crypto node (nodes-base.crypto) and an XML node (nodes-base.xml) that cover those without any JavaScript. Dropping into Code for something a native node already does is one of the most common false positives.

Use Code node when:

• ✅ Complex transformations requiring multiple steps
• ✅ Custom calculations or business logic
• ✅ Recursive operations
• ✅ API response parsing with complex structure
• ✅ Multi-step conditionals
• ✅ Data aggregation across items

Consider other nodes when:

• ❌ Simple field mapping → Use Set node
• ❌ Basic filtering → Use Filter node
• ❌ Simple conditionals → Use IF or Switch node
• ❌ HTTP requests only → Use HTTP Request node

Code node excels at: Complex logic that would require chaining many simple nodes

Integration with Other Skills

Works With:

n8n Expression Syntax:

• Expressions use {{ }} syntax in other nodes
• Code nodes use JavaScript directly (no {{ }})
• When to use expressions vs code

n8n MCP Tools Expert:

• How to find Code node: search_nodes({query: "code"})
• Get configuration help: get_node({nodeType: "nodes-base.code"})
• Validate code: validate_node({nodeType: "nodes-base.code", config: {...}})

n8n Node Configuration:

• Mode selection (All Items vs Each Item)
• Language selection (JavaScript vs Python)
• Understanding property dependencies

n8n Workflow Patterns:

• Code nodes in transformation step
• Webhook → Code → API pattern
• Error handling in workflows

n8n Validation Expert:

• Validate Code node configuration
• Handle validation errors
• Auto-fix common issues

Quick Reference Checklist

Before deploying Code nodes, verify:

• Code is not empty - Must have meaningful logic
• Return statement exists - Returns items, not a primitive/null
• Canonical return format - Each item: {json: {...}} (bare objects auto-wrap, but be explicit)
• Data access correct - Using $input.all(), $input.first(), or $input.item
• No {{ }} written as code - Use JavaScript template literals: `${value}`
• Error handling - Guard clauses for null/undefined inputs
• Webhook data - Access via .body if from webhook
• Mode selection - "All Items" for most cases
• Performance - Prefer map/filter over manual loops
• Output consistent - All code paths return same structure

Additional Resources

Related Files

• DATA_ACCESS.md - Comprehensive data access patterns
• COMMON_PATTERNS.md - 10 production-tested patterns
• ERROR_PATTERNS.md - Top 5 errors and solutions
• BUILTIN_FUNCTIONS.md - Complete built-in reference

n8n Documentation

• Code Node Guide: https://docs.n8n.io/code/code-node/
• Built-in Methods: https://docs.n8n.io/code-examples/methods-variables-reference/
• Luxon Documentation: https://moment.github.io/luxon/

Ready to write JavaScript in n8n Code nodes! Start with simple transformations, use the error patterns guide to avoid common mistakes, and reference the pattern library for production-ready examples.