n8n Manager MCP Server

🇩🇪 Deutsche Version

Part of the ellmos-ai family and open-bricks umbrella.

[!NOTE] For AI Assistants & LLMs: An llms.txt index file is available in the root directory for fast context ingestion, tool catalog references, and directory listings.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for managing n8n workflows via AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf.

Quick Navigation

• Overview & Architecture
• Directory Status
• Core Capabilities & Safety Invariants
• Features
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Available Tools (19 Tools)
• Optional: n8n-workflow-manager Seam
• Configuration & Safety Defaults
• Development & Testing
• Related Projects
• ellmos-ai Ecosystem
• Liability & License

System Architecture

graph TD
    A["AI Client (Claude / Cursor / Windsurf)"] -->|MCP Stdio Protocol| B["n8n Manager MCP Server"]
    subgraph "n8n Manager MCP Server"
        B --> C["Tool Router (19 Tools)"]
        C --> D["Safety Layer (Read-Only / Backups / Audit)"]
        C --> E["Multi-Server Manager"]
    end
    E -->|"REST API (API Key / Basic Auth)"| F["n8n Instance 1 (Local)"]
    E -->|"REST API (API Key / Basic Auth)"| G["n8n Instance 2 (Cloud / Remote)"]
    D --> H[("Local Store (~/.n8n-manager-mcp/)")]

Directory Status

• npm package: published as n8n-manager-mcp
• Glama listing: public directory page for the ellmos-ai repo
• Enterprise DNA directory: additional public directory entry for ellmos-ai/n8n-manager-mcp
• PulseMCP listing: indexed as ellmos-ai-n8n-manager
• MCP namespace status: this repo contains server.json and mcpName metadata for io.github.ellmos-ai/n8n-manager-mcp; some ecosystem directories still expose the legacy io.github.lukisch/n8n-manager-mcp name until their indexes refresh.
• Search context: best matched by n8n MCP server, n8n workflow management MCP, AI assistant n8n workflows, and ellmos-ai n8n-manager-mcp.

Core Capabilities & Safety Invariants

Features

• 19 Tools for complete n8n workflow management
• List, create, update, delete, and activate/deactivate workflows
• Safety controls: read-only mode, backup-before-delete/update, local restore, and audit log
• Multi-server support (connect to multiple n8n instances)
• Export/Import workflows between servers
• View execution history and status
• Built-in node catalog with descriptions
• Zero dependencies on Python -- connects directly to n8n REST API

Installation

Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n-manager": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "n8n-manager-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add --scope user n8n-manager npx -y n8n-manager-mcp

Manual

npm install -g n8n-manager-mcp

Quick Start

After installation, use these commands in your AI assistant:

1. Add your n8n server:

   "Add my n8n server at http://localhost:5678 with API key abc123"

2. List workflows:

   "Show me all workflows on my n8n server"

3. Create a workflow:

   "Create an n8n workflow that triggers on a webhook, fetches data from an API, and sends a Slack message"

4. Check executions:

   "Show me the last 10 workflow executions"

Available Tools

Optional: n8n-workflow-manager seam

n8n itself keeps no record of why a workflow changed. The sibling project n8n-workflow-manager does: it stores versions, a mandatory decision per mutation, and a sync history in a local database. n8n_manager_history makes that record readable from this MCP server.

The seam is opt-in and read-only:

• Without N8N_MCP_MANAGER_URL, nothing changes — every tool talks to n8n directly, as before.
• With it set (for example http://127.0.0.1:8100), n8n_manager_history reads from the running manager. Omit workflow_id to list the manager's workflows, pass it for full history.
• IDs are manager IDs, not n8n instance IDs. The manager stores that mapping but exposes no route to resolve it, so this server does not guess a translation.
• If the manager is configured but unreachable, the tool fails with an explicit message instead of quietly answering from the n8n instance — that store has no decision history, so a substituted answer would be a different answer.
• n8n_safety_status reports the measured state of the seam (configured, reachable, manager version), not just the environment variable.

Setup: pip install n8n-workflow-manager, then n8n-manager serve (binds 127.0.0.1:8100). The manager API is unauthenticated and loopback-only by design; a non-loopback URL is flagged in n8n_safety_status.