# cli-anything-n8n

A skill that hands your agent a command line for n8n: workflows, executions, credentials, variables and tags. Useful when automation lives in scripts, not the UI.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 515 installs · ★ 57187
- Author: HKUDS
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/HEAD/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/cli-anything-n8n

## What it does

The skill wires the `cli-anything-n8n` CLI into your project so the agent can work with the n8n automation platform. It lists and creates workflows, reads executions, retries failed ones, and manages variables and tags. Everything runs against n8n Public API v1.1.1, so you need n8n 1.0.0 or newer.

Commands are grouped by object: `workflow`, `execution`, `credential`, `variable`, `tag`, `config`. Workflows can be activated, deactivated, tagged and transferred; executions can be retried; credentials expose their schema. The README tells agents to pass `--json` for structured output, hand complex JSON over as `@file.json`, and treat every ID as a string rather than an integer.

You need reachable instance details first. Set the address and key with `cli-anything-n8n config set base_url` and `config set api_key`, or export `N8N_BASE_URL` and `N8N_API_KEY`; the timeout defaults to 30 seconds and is overridden by `N8N_TIMEOUT`. One catch: the public API has no data tables, no credential listing and no execution stop, so a scenario built on those won't work here.

## Requirements
- Works with: n8n

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything-n8n -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/cli-anything-n8n/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything-n8n -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything-n8n -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install HKUDS/CLI-Anything cli-anything-n8n
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything-n8n -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything --path skills/cli-anything-n8n
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything-n8n -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/HEAD/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- pull a list of workflows with their tags in one call
- retry a failed execution without opening the web UI
- create a workflow variable from a script
- move a workflow between n8n projects
- create credentials from a JSON schema file

## Example prompts
- List every n8n workflow with its tags, output as JSON
- Retry the last failed execution of this workflow
- Create a variable `API_HOST` with the value from `env.json`

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c482511e62493812.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c482511e62493812
````text
---
name: "cli-anything-n8n"
description: >-
  Command-line interface for n8n workflow automation platform.
  Manages workflows, executions, credentials, variables, and tags.
  Based on n8n Public API v1.1.1 (n8n >= 1.0.0).
---

# cli-anything-n8n

CLI harness for n8n workflow automation — built with the CLI-Anything pattern.
Verified against n8n OpenAPI spec v1.1.1.

## Installation

```bash
pip install cli-anything-n8n
```

## Configuration

```bash
cli-anything-n8n config set base_url https://your-n8n-instance.com
cli-anything-n8n config set api_key your-api-key

# Or environment variables
export N8N_BASE_URL=https://your-n8n-instance.com
export N8N_API_KEY=your-api-key
export N8N_TIMEOUT=60  # optional, default 30s
```

## Command Groups

| Group | Commands |
|-------|----------|
| workflow | list, get, create, update, delete, activate, deactivate, tags, set-tags, transfer |
| execution | list, get, delete, retry |
| credential | create, delete, schema, transfer |
| variable | list, create, update, delete |
| tag | list, get, create, update, delete |
| config | show, set |

## For AI Agents

- Always use `--json` flag for structured output
- Use `@file.json` to pass complex JSON from files
- Check return codes: 0 = success, non-zero = error
- All IDs are strings, not integers
- API key is always masked in `config show` output
- Not available in public API: data tables, credential listing, execution stop
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE c482511e62493812

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the c482511e62493812 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

© HKUDS · Apache-2.0 · https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/HEAD/skills/cli-anything-n8n/SKILL.md

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From the same set: [hkuds/cli-anything](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/hkuds/cli-anything.md) — 55 cards

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