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Execute Command#

The Execute Command node runs shell commands on the host machine that runs n8n.

Examples and templates

For usage examples and templates to help you get started, refer to n8n's Execute Command integrations page.

Which shell runs the command?

This node executes the command in the default shell of the host machine. For example, cmd on Windows and zsh on macOS.

If you run n8n with Docker, your command will run in the n8n container and not the Docker host.

Not available on Cloud

This node isn't available on n8n Cloud.

Node Reference#

The Execute Command node has two properties:

  1. Execute Once toggle: This is a boolean field that specifies whether you want the node to execute only once, or once for every item it receives an input.
  2. Command field: This is a text field that specifies the command to execute on the host machine.

FAQs#

How to run multiple commands in the Execute Command node?#

You can combine multiple commands using &&. For example, you can combine the change directory (cd) command with the list (ls) command using &&.

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cd bin && ls

To run multiple commands, you can also write the commands on separate lines. For example, you can write the list (ls) command on a new line after the change directory (cd) command.

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cd bin
ls

How to run the curl command in the Execute Command node?#

You can also use the HTTP Request node to make a cURL request.

If you want to run the curl command in the Execute Command node, you will have to build a Docker image based on the existing n8n image. The default n8n Docker image uses Alpine Linux. You will have to install the curl package.

  1. Create a file named Dockerfile.

  2. Add the below code snippet to the Dockerfile.

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    FROM docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
RUN apk --update add curl

  3. In the same folder, execute the command below command to build the Docker image.

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    docker build -t n8n-curl

  4. Replace the Docker image you used before. For example, replace docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n with n8n-curl.

  5. Run the newly created Docker image, and you will now be able to execute ssh using the Execute Command-Node.