n8n Public API
✓ Official Vendor SpecDeveloper ToolsProject ManagementapiKey40 EndpointsREST
For Agents
Create, activate, and run n8n workflows, manage credentials and users, trigger source-control pulls, and inspect executions across a self-hosted or n8n Cloud instance.
Use for: Activate the lead-routing workflow on the production n8n instance, List recent failed executions of the order-sync workflow, Trigger a source-control pull to bring the latest workflow definitions into n8n, Create a new workflow and tag it for the marketing project
Not supported: Does not run third-party SaaS calls directly, host the workflow engine, or expose internal node debugging — use for managing workflows, executions, credentials, users, and projects on an existing n8n instance only.
n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform used to connect SaaS tools, internal services, and AI models into reusable pipelines. The n8n Public API exposes 40 endpoints for programmatic management of workflows, executions, credentials, users, projects, tags, variables, and source-control sync, so a self-hosted or n8n Cloud instance can be administered by code or by an AI agent. Authentication uses an X-N8N-API-KEY header issued in the n8n UI, scoped to the calling user's permissions.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the n8n Public API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the n8n Public API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with n8n Public API.
Create, activate, and deactivate workflows on a self-hosted or cloud n8n instance
Inspect and delete workflow executions for debugging and replay
Provision and remove credentials used inside workflow nodes
Manage users, including invitation, role assignment, and removal
Trigger a source-control pull to sync workflow definitions from Git
Manage projects, project memberships, tags, and workflow-level variables
Use Cases
Patterns agents use n8n Public API for, with concrete tasks.
★ GitOps for Workflow Definitions
Treat workflow definitions as code by editing JSON files in a Git repository and triggering POST /source-control/pull to sync them into n8n. Combined with PATCH/PUT on /workflows, teams get pull-request review, rollback, and environment promotion for automation pipelines instead of editing in the UI directly. Removes the 'works on my n8n' problem common in shared automation teams.
After a merge to main, call POST /source-control/pull on the production n8n instance and confirm the response shows the latest commit hash.
Workflow Lifecycle Automation
Activate, deactivate, transfer, and tag workflows programmatically as part of release management. POST /workflows/{id}/activate and /deactivate gate which automations are live, while PUT /workflows/{id}/transfer moves ownership between projects. Useful for blue/green automation deploys, scheduled maintenance windows, and emergency kill-switches on flapping workflows.
Deactivate workflow ID 142 with POST /workflows/{id}/deactivate when an alert fires that it has crossed the error-rate threshold.
Execution Audit and Cleanup
Pull execution history with GET /executions, drill into individual runs with GET /executions/{id}, and remove old runs with DELETE /executions/{id} for storage management. Operations and SRE teams use this to feed dashboards, debug specific failures, and enforce retention. Also useful for compliance reviews where you need to demonstrate which runs touched a particular dataset.
List executions with GET /executions filtered by workflowId and status=error, then post a digest of the last 24 hours of failures to a monitoring channel.
Multi-Tenant Project Administration
n8n's project model isolates workflows, credentials, and users per team. The /projects, /projects/{projectId}/users, and /workflows/{id}/transfer endpoints let admins onboard new teams, move workflows between projects, and set per-project membership. Saves manual ClickOps when scaling beyond a handful of users on a self-hosted instance.
Create a new project via POST /projects and add three users with POST /projects/{projectId}/users for the new analytics squad.
AI Agent Workflow Orchestrator
Wire n8n into an AI agent through Jentic so the agent can list workflows, trigger source-control pulls, deactivate misbehaving automations, and answer questions like 'what failed last night?' without the developer wiring each call by hand. Through Jentic the X-N8N-API-KEY stays in the encrypted vault and the agent picks the right operation from the 40-endpoint surface via intent search.
On a Slack '/n8n status' command, search Jentic for 'list n8n workflows', execute GET /workflows, and reply with active counts and the last execution status per workflow.
Key Endpoints
40 endpoints — n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform used to connect saas tools, internal services, and ai models into reusable pipelines.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/workflows
List workflows on the instance
POST
/workflows
Create a new workflow
POST
/workflows/{id}/activate
Activate a workflow
POST
/workflows/{id}/deactivate
Deactivate a workflow
GET
/executions
List execution history with filters
POST
/source-control/pull
Pull workflow definitions from connected Git remote
POST
/credentials
Create a credential for use in workflow nodes
POST
/audit
Generate an audit report
GET
/workflows
List workflows on the instance
POST
/workflows
Create a new workflow
POST
/workflows/{id}/activate
Activate a workflow
POST
/workflows/{id}/deactivate
Deactivate a workflow
GET
/executions
List execution history with filters
POST
/source-control/pull
Pull workflow definitions from connected Git remote
POST
/credentials
Create a credential for use in workflow nodes
POST
/audit
Generate an audit report
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
n8n X-N8N-API-KEY values live in the Jentic vault encrypted at rest. Agents call the API through Jentic's execution layer, which injects the header server-side, so admin keys never enter the agent's prompt or chat log.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search by intent (e.g., 'list n8n workflows' or 'sync workflows from Git') and Jentic returns the matching n8n operation with its parameter schema, so the agent can call the right endpoint without reading the spec.
Time to first call
Direct n8n API integration: 1-3 days for auth, pagination, and error handling across 40 endpoints. Through Jentic: under 30 minutes for the first workflow listing or activation call.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
Complementary
GitHub REST API
Source of truth for workflow JSON when running n8n in GitOps mode
Use the GitHub API alongside n8n's source-control endpoints to react to merges, open PRs, or write new workflow JSON files into the repo.
FAQs
Specific to using n8n Public API through Jentic.
What authentication does the n8n Public API use?
The n8n Public API uses an API key passed in the X-N8N-API-KEY header. Keys are issued from each user's profile in the n8n UI and inherit that user's permissions. Through Jentic, the X-N8N-API-KEY is held encrypted in the vault and injected at execution time so the raw key never reaches the agent's prompt.
Can I activate and deactivate n8n workflows through the API?
Yes. POST /workflows/{id}/activate enables a workflow and POST /workflows/{id}/deactivate disables it. Pair these with PUT /workflows/{id} for definition updates and PUT /workflows/{id}/transfer to move ownership between projects.
How do I sync n8n workflows from Git through the API?
Call POST /source-control/pull on an instance configured with the source-control feature. The endpoint pulls the latest workflow JSON from the connected Git remote so a CI job after a merge can promote workflows from staging to production without UI clicks.
What rate limits apply to the n8n Public API?
Self-hosted n8n does not enforce a fixed rate limit; throughput depends on your instance's resources. n8n Cloud applies plan-specific limits — check your plan's quotas in the n8n Cloud dashboard. Build clients with exponential backoff on HTTP 429 responses regardless.
Can I list and clean up n8n execution history through the API?
Yes. GET /executions returns the run history with filters for workflowId and status, GET /executions/{id} returns the full run, and DELETE /executions/{id} removes it. Most teams script a retention window with a daily DELETE pass against runs older than the threshold.
How do I orchestrate n8n from an AI agent through Jentic?
Install the Jentic SDK with pip install jentic. Use SearchRequest with a query like 'list n8n workflows' or 'deactivate an n8n workflow' to find the right operation, LoadRequest for its schema, and ExecutionRequest to call it. Get an agent API key at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.
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