Overview of the most common nodes in n8n

n8n provides a wide range of nodes that allow you to connect different services, manipulate data, and automate workflows. Here is an overview of some of the most commonly used nodes in n8n:

This post was inspired by a youtube video from Master 80% of n8n by Learning just these 17 Nodes. Check it out for a more detailed explanation of each node!

1. Trigger Nodes

• Trigger manually: Execute workflows manually. Most of the times ussed for testing purposes.
• Chat trigger: Start workflows based on built-in chat messages.
• Schedule trigger: Start workflows at specified intervals or times.
• On app event trigger: Start workflows based on events from connected applications. Such as form submissions or new entries.

2. Storage Solutions

• Google Sheets: Read from and write to Google Sheets. N8n provides various operations like adding rows, updating cells, and retrieving data. Needs authentication via OAuth2.
• Data Table: A built-in node for storing and retrieving data within n8n workflows. Useful for temporary data storage and manipulation.

3. Data Processing Nodes

• Edit Fields (Set): Modify, add, or remove fields in the data passing through the workflow.
• Split Out: Split data into multiple items based on specified criteria.
• Aggregate: Groups separate items into a single item
• If: Conditional logic to route data based on specified conditions. Only returns true or false branches to continue the workflow.
• Switch: Similar to the If node but allows for multiple branches based on different conditions.
• Code in JavaScript or Python: Custom code execution for advanced data manipulation and processing.
• Merge: Combine multiple data streams into a single stream.

4. Connectivity & APIs

• HTTP Request: Make HTTP requests to external APIs and services. Supports various methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.
• Webhook Trigger: Start workflows based on incoming HTTP requests. Useful for integrating with external services that can send webhooks.
• Webhook Response: Send responses back to the source of the webhook request.

5. AI Integration

• AI Agent: Bundle multiple AI operations into a single node. Useful for complex AI workflows. Connect a chat model, a memory storage and tools to the agent. Provide prompts to control the agent’s behavior.
• Chat Model: Connect a chat model to your workflow. Supports various providers like OpenAI, Ollama, Antropic, and more.
• Simple Memory: Store and retrieve information during the workflow execution. Useful for maintaining context in AI conversations. For more complex memory management, consider using vector databases.
• Tools: Integrate external tools and services into your AI workflows. Examples include web search, calculations, and more.
• Pre-built AI Nodes: n8n offers pre-built nodes for popular AI services like Text Classification, Information Extraction, and Sentiment Analysis.

Conclusion

These nodes represent just a fraction of the capabilities n8n offers. By combining these nodes, you can create powerful and flexible workflows to automate a wide range of tasks and processes. Experiment with different nodes to discover how they can enhance your automation projects!

EDIT: A YouTube user I am subscribed to created a video based on this blog post. Check it out: Master n8n With These 17 Essential Nodes. He provided additional documents and workflow examples in the video description. I link them here for your convenience:

n8n-Essential-Nodes.json

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n8n-common-nodes.pdf

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