The very quick quickstart#
This quickstart gives you a very quick taste of n8n. Its aim is to allow you to try out the UI, and introduce you to two key features: workflow templates and expressions. It doesn't include detailed explanations or explore concepts.
You will:
- Load a workflow from the workflow templates library
- Add a node and configure it using expressions.
- Run your first workflow
Step one: Sign up for n8n#
Skip this section if you've already installed n8n or signed up for a Cloud account
n8n is available as a Cloud service, npm module, and Docker image. For this quickstart, n8n recommends using Cloud. A free trial is available for new users.
Step two: Open a workflow template#
n8n provides a quickstart template using training nodes. This allows you to work with fake data, and avoids setting up credentials.
- Select Templates.
- Search for
Very quick quickstart
. - Select the Very quick quickstart template to preview it.
- Select Use this workflow to open the template in your own editor.
This is a basic workflow. It:
- Gets example data from the Customer Datastore node.
- Uses the Set node to extract just the data you want, and assign that data to variables. In this example, you use the customer name, ID, and description.
Double click a node to explore its settings and how it processes data.
Step three: Run the workflow#
Select Execute workflow to run the workflow to check it's working, and load in data for the next steps.
Step four: Add a node#
Add a third node to message each customer and tell them their description. The Customer Messenger node allows you to send a message to fake recipients.
- Select the Add node
connector on the Set node.
- Search for Customer Messenger. n8n shows a list of nodes that match the search.
- Select Customer Messenger (n8n training) to add the node to the canvas. n8n opens the node automatically.
- You're going to use expressions to map in the Customer ID and create the Message:
- Drag customer_ID from the INPUT panel into the Customer ID field in the node settings.
- Hover over Message. Select the Expression tab, then select the expand button
to open the full expressions editor.
- Copy this expression into the editor:
1
Hi {{$json.customer_name}}, Your description is {{$json.customer_description}}
- Close the expressions editor, then close the Customer Messenger node by clicking outside the node or selecting Back to canvas.
- Select Execute workflow. n8n runs the workflow.
The complete workflow should look like this:
Next steps#
- Read n8n's longer try it out tutorial for a more complex workflow, and an introduction to more features and n8n concepts.
- Take the courses.