Terminology and naming

This page is a companion to the style guide: the style guide covers writing style, formatting, and structure, and this page is the source of truth for product terminology.

n8n Docs aims to use the same term for the same concept on every page, and to prefer the official product term over a plausible synonym. Consistent terminology helps our readers, and directly improves how AI tools (search, the docs assistant, and coding agents) find and use the docs.

Casing

• In prose, use sentence case: "Add a trigger node", "create a sub-workflow".

• For a literal UI label or node name, use bold with the product's exact casing: "Select Add trigger", "the HTTP Request node". Match what the interface shows.

• Write the product name as n8n, always lowercase, even at the start of a sentence.

Core concepts

Do use	Don't use
workflow	flow, automation (as a noun for the whole thing), scenario, pipeline, zap
node	step, block, action, module
execution (one run of a workflow)	run (as a noun), job, invocation

Workflow lifecycle

Do use	Don't use
publish, unpublish a workflow; published workflow	activate, deactivate, enable, disable, turn on, go live, deploy
run, execute a workflow (verb)	kick off, fire
pin data; pinned data	mock data, freeze data, lock data, sample data

Nodes

Do use	Don't use
app node	integration node, service node
core node	system node
cluster node; root node; sub-node	parent node, child node, super node
community node (installable, community-published)	custom node, third-party node, plugin, add-on
Execute Sub-workflow Trigger node; Execute Sub-workflow node	Execute Workflow Trigger node, Execute Workflow node (deprecated names)
AI Agent node	Agent node (bare)

Credentials and connections

Do use	Don't use
credential (stores authentication details for a service)	connection (as a synonym for a credential)
connection (a link between two nodes on the canvas)	wire, link

n8n's own interface sometimes labels a credential's authentication link as a "connection" (for example, a private credential's sharing message). In docs, keep the two separate: a credential authenticates with a service; a connection joins nodes on the canvas.

Canvas and editor

Two casing rules: bold a term only when it's the direct target of a select/click/open instruction, not when it's just naming a location. Capitalize only the head word of a defined element's name (for example "Workflow menu", never "Workflow Menu").

Do use	Don't use
canvas	editor board, diagram, workspace, graph
sticky note	comment, annotation, label, memo
sub-workflow	subworkflow, sub workflow, subflow, child workflow, nested workflow
left menu (app-wide left nav containing Overview, Projects, Favorites, etc.)	sidebar, left sidebar, navigation menu, main menu
Canvas header (top bar of the canvas, containing project/workflow name, Workflow menu, editor/executions/evaluations toggle, Publish)	top navigation bar, top menu
Workflow menu (horizontal ⋯ icon) situated in the Canvas header	three dots icon, the three dots, Options (reserved for the vertical icon)
Options menu (vertical ⋮ icon; a per-row/per-item menu, not a canvas element)	three-dot menu (ambiguous orientation), three dots menu
Nodes panel (opens from the canvas's + button)	Node Panel (capitalized singular), add node menu, "What happens next?" panel
Node details view (opens by double-clicking a node)	node editor view, NDV (without defining it first)
input panel; output panel (the Node details view's side panes)	Input panel/Output panel (capitalized), INPUT/OUTPUT pane
Logs panel (bottom of canvas)	bottom panel, bottom menu, canvas footer

+The Workflow menu icon is three-dots-horizontal.png; the Options menu icon is three-dot-options-menu.png. Use these inline when referring to these menus. See the style guide for how to format an inline icon.

AI and agents

Do use	Don't use
sub-agent	subagent, child agent

n8n has several distinct AI-powered features for building workflows. Each is a specific n8n product name, not a generic description, so don't use them interchangeably:

Do use	Don't use
n8n Assistant (chat-based agent: creates, edits, tests, and publishes workflows and agents)	assistant, the AI, chatbot, AI Assistant
AI Workflow Builder (legacy, generates and refines a single workflow from a prompt)	workflow builder, builder
Ask n8n AI (legacy help assistant, no longer actively developed, point readers to AI Assistant)	AI assistant (as a synonym for this), help assistant

Feature maturity

Do use	Don't use
Preview (a feature's maturity label, capitalized)	beta, alpha, early access

Platform and deployment

Do use	Don't use
self-hosted	self hosted, on-premise, on-premises, on-prem
n8n Cloud	Cloud, hosted version, SaaS, the cloud, managed n8n
instance (a running n8n system)	server, box, deployment (as a noun for the running system)
Enterprise (plan)	enterprise edition, premium, paid tier

"Deployment" isn't banned outright: it's correct for the act of deploying ("deployment methods", "the deployment finishes") and for a Kubernetes Deployment resource. Only replace it with "instance" when it's used as a noun for the running n8n system itself.

Plans and tiers

Use these exact, capitalized plan names, low to high. Don't invent alternate names for them (for example, "professional plan" or "team tier"):

• n8n Cloud: Starter, Pro, Enterprise

• Self-hosted: Community, Registered Community, Business, Enterprise

To refer to every tier at once, write "All plans" or "All editions" rather than listing them.

Features

Do use	Don't use
project	workspace, team space
folder	directory (in the app), group
environment variable	env (as a noun), config var
data table	database table, datatable, the table feature

Product and brand names

Do use	Don't use
n8n (lowercase, always)	N8n, N8N, n8N
GitHub, npm, JavaScript, OAuth2	Github, NPM, Javascript, oAuth

Related resources

• Contribution guide for n8n Docs

• Style guide for n8n Docs

• Agent-friendly docs