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CLI commands for n8n#

n8n includes a CLI (command line interface), allowing you to perform actions using the CLI rather than the n8n editor. These include starting workflows, and exporting and importing workflows and credentials.

Running CLI commands#

You can use CLI commands with self-hosted n8n. Depending on how you choose to install n8n, there are differences in how to run the commands:

  • npm: the n8n command is directly available. The documentation uses this in the examples below.

  • Docker: the n8n command is available within your Docker container:

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    docker exec -u node -it <n8n-container-name> <n8n-cli-command>

Start a workflow#

You can start workflows directly using the CLI.

Execute a saved workflow by its ID:

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n8n execute --id <ID>

Change the active status of a workflow#

You can change the active status of a workflow using the CLI.

Restart required

These commands operate on your n8n database. If you execute them while n8n is running, the changes don't take effect until you restart n8n.

Set the active status of a workflow by its ID to false:

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n8n update:workflow --id=<ID> --active=false

Set the active status of a workflow by its ID to true:

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n8n update:workflow --id=<ID> --active=true

Set the active status to false for all the workflows:

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n8n update:workflow --all --active=false

Set the active status to true for all the workflows:

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n8n update:workflow --all --active=true

Export workflows and credentials#

You can export your workflows and credentials from n8n using the CLI.

Command flags:

Flag Description
--help Help prompt.
--all Exports all workflows/credentials.
--backup Sets --all --pretty --separate for backups. You can optionally set --output.
--id The ID of the workflow to export.
--output Outputs file name or directory if using separate files.
--pretty Formats the output in an easier to read fashion.
--separate Exports one file per workflow (useful for versioning). Must set a directory using --output.
--decrypted Exports the credentials in a plain text format.

Workflows#

Export all your workflows to the standard output (terminal):

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n8n export:workflow --all

Export a workflow by its ID and specify the output file name:

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n8n export:workflow --id=<ID> --output=file.json

Export all workflows to a specific directory in a single file:

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n8n export:workflow --all --output=backups/latest/file.json

Export all the workflows to a specific directory using the --backup flag (details above):

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n8n export:workflow --backup --output=backups/latest/

Credentials#

Export all your credentials to the standard output (terminal):

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n8n export:credentials --all

Export credentials by their ID and specify the output file name:

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n8n export:credentials --id=<ID> --output=file.json

Export all credentials to a specific directory in a single file:

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n8n export:credentials --all --output=backups/latest/file.json

Export all the credentials to a specific directory using the --backup flag (details above):

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n8n export:credentials --backup --output=backups/latest/

Export all the credentials in plain text format. You can use this to migrate from one installation to another that has a different secret key in the configuration file.

Sensitive information

All sensitive information is visible in the files.

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n8n export:credentials --all --decrypted --output=backups/decrypted.json

Import workflows and credentials#

You can import your workflows and credentials from n8n using the CLI.

Update the IDs

When exporting workflows and credentials, n8n also exports their IDs. If you have workflows and credentials with the same IDs in your existing database, they will be overwritten. To avoid this, delete or change the IDs before importing.

Available flags:

Flag Description
--help Help prompt.
--input Input file name or directory if you use --separate.
--projectId Import the workflow or credential to the specified project. Can't be used with --userId.
--separate Imports *.json files from directory provided by --input.
--userId Import the workflow or credential to the specified user. Can't be used with --projectId.

Migrating to SQLite

n8n limits workflow and credential names to 128 characters, but SQLite doesn't enforce size limits.

This might result in errors like Data too long for column name during the import process.

In this case, you can edit the names from the n8n interface and export again, or edit the JSON file directly before importing.

Workflows#

Import workflows from a specific file:

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n8n import:workflow --input=file.json

Import all the workflow files as JSON from the specified directory:

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n8n import:workflow --separate --input=backups/latest/

Credentials#

Import credentials from a specific file:

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n8n import:credentials --input=file.json

Import all the credentials files as JSON from the specified directory:

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n8n import:credentials --separate --input=backups/latest/

License#

Clear#

Clear your existing license from n8n's database and reset n8n to default features:

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n8n license:clear

If your license includes floating entitlements, running this command will also attempt to release them back to the pool, making them available for other instances.

Info#

Display information about the existing license:

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n8n license:info

User management#

You can reset user management using the n8n CLI. This returns user management to its pre-setup state. It removes all user accounts.

Use this if you forget your password, and don't have SMTP set up to do password resets by email.

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n8n user-management:reset

Disable MFA for a user#

If a user loses their recovery codes you can disable MFA for a user with this command. The user will then be able to log back in to set up MFA again.

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n8n mfa:disable --email=johndoe@example.com

Disable LDAP#

You can reset the LDAP settings using the command below.

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n8n ldap:reset

Uninstall community nodes and credentials#

You can manage community nodes using the n8n CLI. For now, you can only uninstall community nodes and credentials, which is useful if a community node causes instability.

Command flags:

Flag Description
--help Show CLI help.
--credential The credential type. Get this value by visiting the node's <NODE>.credential.ts file and getting the value of name.
--package Package name of the community node.
--uninstall Uninstalls the node.
--userId The ID of the user who owns the credential. On self-hosted, query the database. On cloud, query the API with your API key.

Nodes#

Uninstall a community node by package name:

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n8n community-node --uninstall --package <COMMUNITY_NODE_NAME>

For example, to uninstall the Evolution API community node, type:

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n8n community-node --uninstall --package n8n-nodes-evolution-api

Credentials#

Uninstall a community node credential:

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n8n community-node --uninstall --credential <CREDENTIAL_TYPE> --userId <ID>

For example, to uninstall the Evolution API community node credential, visit the repository and navigate to the credentials.ts file to find the name:

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n8n community-node --uninstall --credential evolutionApi --userId 1234

Security audit#

You can run a security audit on your n8n instance, to detect common security issues.

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n8n audit