n8n-workflow-lifecycle

n8n Workflow Lifecycle

The six stages

1. PLAN. Gather requirements, ask clarifying questions, search for existing workflows / sub-workflows that already do this.
2. BUILD. Write SDK code (with skills: subworkflows, node-config, expressions, code-nodes; readability section below). Use validate_node_config as a side-channel for iteration, debugging, or small single-node edits: clean per-parameter errors without full-graph noise. Not a replacement for validate_workflow in VALIDATE.
3. VALIDATE. validate_workflow + get_workflow_details for connections, then have the user verify per-node credentials and create anything you couldn't (missing credentials, folders, etc).
4. TEST. test_workflow with prepare_test_pin_data; iterate until output matches intent.
5. PUBLISH. publish_workflow only after stages 3 and 4 are clean.
6. HANDOFF. Production handoff: how to trigger it, what it returns, what to watch, what they should know to use it well.

Skipping a stage produces workflows that look done but break in production, or solve the wrong problem entirely. Three most common skips:

• Build before plan. "User asked for X, I'll start coding" without confirming what X means, whether the same logic already exists as a sub-workflow, or which folder/project it belongs in. Cheaper to ask one clarifying question than to rebuild after.
• Test before user-side wire-up. Running test_workflow before the user has verified credentials per node hits the wrong service or 401s. Get the user-side setup done as part of VALIDATE.
• Publish without test. Validation passing means the SDK is well-formed; it does NOT mean the workflow is correct.

Non-negotiables

1. Validate AND verify before publish. Run validate_workflow on the SDK code, then get_workflow_details after every create/update to check the connections object. Validation alone misses silently dropped wires. validate_node_config is a separate per-node iteration tool, not a replacement for this step.
2. Surface known limitations to the user. If folders, MCP access, or any other limitation blocks the request, say so explicitly and propose a path. Don't silently dump workflows at the wrong location or report success on a request you couldn't fully fulfill.
3. Ask before testing when not-auto-pinned downstreams have side effects. test_workflow auto-pins triggers, credentialed nodes, and HTTP Request nodes. Everything else (Code, Edit Fields, If, Wait, Execute Command, file ops, sub-workflow calls, Data Tables) runs for real. Ask the user before running if any of those would fire user-visible side effects. See references/TESTING.md.

Strong defaults

• Test before publish with test_workflow + prepare_test_pin_data. See references/TESTING.md for mocking by trigger type, pinning individual nodes, and the side-effect surface. Looser for internal one-off scripts you watch run.
• Always include a description on create_workflow_from_code. 1-2 sentences capturing what and why. See "Readability" below.

Validation isn't enough

validate_workflow runs schema and shape checks: missing parameters, type errors, references to non-existent nodes. It does not catch:

• The .to()-inside-.add() connection trap (silent dropped wires)
• Fan-outs collapsed to a single connection
• Merge index off-by-one
• Error outputs wired without onError: 'continueErrorOutput'
• Parameters that are syntactically valid but semantically wrong (e.g., wrong sheet ID, wrong column name)

Validation is necessary but not sufficient. The real gate is:

1. validate_workflow passes.
2. get_workflow_details returns a connections object that matches your intent.
3. test_workflow produces the right output on representative pinned data.

Only then call publish_workflow.

For the full pre-publish checklist, see references/VALIDATION_CHECKLIST.md.

Execution model

n8n workflows execute sequentially, left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Branches that visually appear parallel on the canvas (fan-out from one source to multiple downstreams) run one after the other, ordered by the target nodes' Y-position on the canvas. There is no automatic concurrency.

Practical consequences:

• A fan-out to three slow HTTP calls runs in series; total latency is the sum, not the max.
• "Parallel" branches share workflow state in execution order; downstream consumers see whatever the last branch left.
• For real concurrency, dispatch sub-workflows with mode: 'each' and waitForSubWorkflow: false. See n8n-loops-official and n8n-subworkflows-official.

This is platform behavior, not an SDK quirk. Don't design fan-outs around assumed parallelism.

Naming conventions

Bad names compound: a workflow that's hard to find six months from now gets duplicated.

For full conventions (verb-noun patterns, capitalization, prefixes), read references/NAMING_CONVENTIONS.md. Short version:

• Workflows: verb-first, scoped. Send weekly customer report not Customer report sender.
• Nodes: describe what they do in this workflow, not the node type. Fetch active customers not Postgres1.
• Sub-workflows: plain descriptive name (Parse RFC2822 date); carry the category in tags (subworkflow, a domain tag, tool), not a name prefix. search_workflows({ tags }) filters on them. See n8n-subworkflows-official references/NAMING_AND_DISCOVERY.md.
• Tags: the AI-side discovery mechanism (n8n 2.27.0+). The MCP lists (list_tags), filters (search_workflows({ tags })), and attaches them (update_workflow addTags/removeTags, auto-creating unknown names). Lowercase, 2-4 per workflow. See references/NAMING_CONVENTIONS.md.

Readability: descriptions, node groups, sticky notes, conventions

For any workflow over ~5 nodes, four levers carry the readability load:

• Workflow description: capture the why, including AI-derived context. Two sentences: what it does and why it exists. Most importantly, capture context you had during conversation that won't otherwise survive into the file (the constraint that drove the design, why this approach over the alternative, the user's reason for asking). Otherwise it dies with the chat.

• Node groups: the only way to group nodes. Partition the canvas into named groups, one per logical step (Validate input, Enrich order, Notify), via update_workflow setNodeGroups (n8n 2.28.0+). Group every logical step past ~10 nodes. Each group must be a connected, trigger-free run with a single entry and exit (n8n rejects anything else); collapsed, the workflow reads as its steps, not its nodes. Split a section too branchy to form one group into smaller groups that each qualify, or leave it ungrouped. Organization only, members run inline (reuse/isolation is a sub-workflow's job).

  Each group also accepts an optional description string (shown when the group is collapsed). Use it to add a one-sentence summary of what the group does, especially useful for groups whose name alone doesn't convey the why. Blank or whitespace-only descriptions are ignored. Keep descriptions concise; they appear in a small collapsed label.

• Sticky notes: annotate, don't group. Grouping is the node group's job (above). Sticky notes are a follow-up layer for context a group can't carry: a callout on a tricky section, a TODO, a warning, a note on the trigger. Use the n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote node with markdown content (### Title on the first line, 1-3 sentences of body) and an integer color 1-7. Pick a small palette and stick to it (e.g. gray/yellow for notes, red for warnings, pink for TODOs); random colors communicate nothing.

• Node notes for non-obvious config. Explain why a workaround exists or a Code node does what it does. Don't annotate obvious nodes.

Plus two notes:

• Match existing project conventions before introducing your own. Skim a couple of nearby workflows via search_workflows + get_workflow_details and mirror the sticky palette, naming, and description style.
• Layout is auto-applied on create / update. SDK position values for non-sticky nodes are ignored. Stickies, node groups, and naming are your readability levers.

Folder limitations

The MCP can place a workflow into a folder that already exists. It cannot:

• Create new folders
• Move existing folders
• Move existing workflows between folders

If the user asks for a folder that doesn't exist, say so before building. Don't silently create at the project root and report success. Surface options:

1. User creates the folder manually, then you place workflows into it.
2. Use a different existing folder.
3. Confirm root-level placement is acceptable.

For the full protocol including detecting existing folders via search_folders, read references/FOLDER_LIMITATIONS.md.

Per-workflow MCP access

Each workflow has an availableInMCP flag. The default depends on who created it:

• Workflows created via the MCP (create_workflow_from_code) default to MCP-accessible. No toggle step needed: you can find them via search_workflows and operate on them right away.
• Workflows created in the n8n UI can default to off. Until the user flips the toggle, the workflow is invisible to you.

The #1 case where this bites: the user built a workflow manually in the UI and now wants you to inspect or edit it, but you can't see it. Before assuming it doesn't exist or you're searching the wrong project, ask the user to confirm MCP access is enabled.

Sub-workflows called via MCP: the caller can use them as code-level sub-workflows without the toggle. To invoke as MCP-exposed tools, the toggle is required (and is on by default for MCP-created sub-workflows).

For the full case-by-case guide and user-facing message, read references/MCP_ACCESS_PER_WORKFLOW.md.

User-side wire-up (part of stage 3)

There are things the user has to do that you can't, and they need to be done before testing, otherwise the test fires against the wrong credential, hits a missing folder, or 401s. Surface these as a short list during VALIDATE, before TEST:

• Verify credentials per node. newCredential('Label') is cosmetic. n8n auto-assigns the most recently edited credential of the right type, which silently picks the wrong one when the user has multiples (prod vs staging Gmail, two API keys). Tell them: "open every node that uses a credential and confirm the right one is selected." See n8n-credentials-and-security-official non-negotiable #2.
• Create missing credentials. If the user pasted a secret in chat or the workflow needs an account that doesn't exist yet, name the credential type and have them create it in the UI.
• Create missing folders. The MCP can't create folders. If the user wanted a folder that doesn't exist, they create it before you can place the workflow there. See references/FOLDER_LIMITATIONS.md.
• MCP access toggle for user created workflows. Workflows you create via the MCP are MCP-accessible by default. The toggle only matters when the test depends on a UI-created workflow being callable from the MCP. See references/MCP_ACCESS_PER_WORKFLOW.md.

Don't proceed to TEST until these are confirmed done.

Handoff: production handoff (stage 6)

After publish_workflow and a clean test, the workflow is technically live, but the user still needs enough context to actually use it in production. Treat this like the freelancer-to-customer handoff: short, structured, and oriented toward how they'll operate it from here.

What to include:

• How it triggers. Webhook URL (live now that it's published), schedule cadence + timezone, manual trigger button, sub-workflow caller, whichever applies. For webhooks, hand them the URL.
• What it returns / where the data goes. One sentence. "Writes new rows to the customers table," "responds JSON to the caller," "fires the on-call Slack channel."
• How to invoke it for real, with an example. "Hit the webhook with curl -X POST <url> -d '{...}'," "trigger manually from the UI," "wait until 09:00 UTC for the first scheduled run."
• What to watch. Failure modes that surface as alerts/errors, rate-limit ceilings on upstream services, and where to look first when something breaks (executions tab, error workflow, audit log, etc.).
• MCP access status. If you created the workflow via the MCP, it's already MCP-accessible. Let the user know they can revoke access in Settings if they want to lock it down. If they hand-built it in the UI, they need to flip MCP access on for any other agent to call it.
• Anything still pending on their side. Secret rotation if a token was pasted in chat, follow-up wiring you couldn't reach, known TODOs left in stickies.

Keep it tight: half a dozen bullets, not a wall of text. The user shouldn't have to ask "ok, what now?"

Reference files

Anti-patterns