Execute Command

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

Security considerations

The Execute Command node can introduce significant security risks in environments that operate with untrusted users. Because of this, the node is disabled by default from n8n 2.0.

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.

If you're using queue mode, the command runs on the worker that's executing the task in production mode. When running manual executions, it runs on the main instance, unless you set OFFLOAD_MANUAL_EXECUTIONS_TO_WORKERS to true.

Not available on Cloud

This node isn't available on n8n Cloud.

Node parameters

Configure the node using the following parameters.

Execute Once

Choose whether you want the node to execute only once (turned on) or once for every item it receives as input (turned off).

Command

Enter the command to execute on the host machine. Refer to sections below for examples of running multiple commands and cURL commands.

Run multiple commands

Use one of two methods to run multiple commands in one Execute Command node:

• Enter each command on one line separated by &&. For example, you can combine the change directory (cd) command with the list (ls) command using &&.

  cd bin && ls

• Enter each command on a separate line. For example, you can write the list (ls) command on a new line after the change directory (cd) command.

  cd bin
  ls

Run cURL command

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.

apk isn't included in the n8n image

The apk package manager was removed from the official n8n Docker image. To install a package like curl, you need to restore apk from a fresh Alpine base image first, as shown below.

1. Create a file named Dockerfile.

2. Add the below code snippet to the Dockerfile.

   FROM n8nio/n8n
   USER root

   # Restore the apk package manager (removed from the base image)
   COPY --from=alpine:3.22 /sbin/apk /sbin/apk
   COPY --from=alpine:3.22 /lib/apk /lib/apk
   COPY --from=alpine:3.22 /usr/lib/libapk* /usr/lib/

   RUN apk add --no-cache curl
   USER node

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

   docker build -t n8n-curl .

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

2. Run the newly created Docker image. You'll now be able to execute curl using the Execute Command Node.

Templates and examples

Browse n8n-nodes-base.executecommand integration templates or search all templates

Common issues

For common questions or issues and suggested solutions, refer to Common Issues.