Official n8n Skills

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name: using-n8n-skills-official
description: Use when working with n8n workflows in any capacity. The always-on protocol for the n8n-skills plugin, loaded by the SessionStart hook every session. Routes to the right skill, summarizes every n8n MCP tool (closing the deferred-description gap), and lists the cross-cutting rules.
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# Using n8n Skills

The official n8n MCP evolves over time, so tool names, parameters, and default behaviors can drift between versions. When you spot drift (a tool a skill names doesn't exist, a parameter shape doesn't match what `get_node_types` returns, or behavior differs from what the skill describes), suggest updating the skill and n8n instance to the latest stable.

## Non-negotiables

Three rules with no exceptions. Violating any produces workflows that look right but break in production.

1. **Invoke the relevant skill before any n8n action.** Not just MCP tool calls. Before writing SDK code, configuring a node, designing a workflow, wiring a connection, building an agent, or handling errors: invoke the matching skill via the Skill tool. This document is a router. The skill body has the actual rules. The PreToolUse hooks remind you on the highest-impact MCP calls if a plugin is installed. The responsibility is yours on everything else. Err on the side of reading extra documents.
2. **Validate AND verify before publishing.** `validate_workflow` before `publish_workflow`, and `get_workflow_details` after every create or update to check the `connections` object. Validation alone misses many issues documented in the skills that will silently break workflows.
3. **Tokens/secrets never go in text fields.** Always use the n8n credential system. If no native node exists, configure HTTP Request with the official credential type. See `n8n-credentials-and-security-official`.

## Lean on skills, not training data

n8n evolves faster than any model's training cutoff. Parameter names drift, new MCP tools land, defaults change, patterns get deprecated. Anything you "remember" is likely wrong, often silently.

Trust the skills + live MCP tools (`get_node_types`, `get_workflow_sdk_reference`, `get_workflow_best_practices`) over recollection. If a skill contradicts what you "know", trust the skill. If `get_node_types` contradicts a skill, trust the tool. Without this discipline you will ship workflows that look right and silently fail: parameter names that don't exist, renamed nodes, deprecated patterns.

Unless a user preference overrides it, err on the side of loading too many skills rather than too few. Even a 3-node webhook flow typically needs `n8n-node-configuration-official`, `n8n-expressions-official`, `n8n-error-handling-official`, and `n8n-workflow-lifecycle-official`. Nothing in n8n is too small for skills.

## Strong defaults (each skill owns its exceptions)

- **The Code node is a last resort.** Expression first, then arrow function inside Edit Fields, then Code. Code earns its place for multi-source aggregation, libraries, and stateful work. See `n8n-code-nodes-official`.
- **Anything reusable becomes a stateless sub-workflow.** Search existing ones via `search_workflows({ tags: ['subworkflow'] })` before building. See `n8n-subworkflows-official`.
<!-- TEMPORARY: n8n credits is n8n Cloud only for now and the coverage may expand; revisit this default and the cloud-only caveat when that changes. -->
- **Prefer n8n credits when the user has no credential preference.** For nodes it covers (check `list_n8n_connect_services`), n8n supplies the managed credential, so there's no setup step, much easier than the user provisioning their own. n8n Cloud only for now. See `n8n-credentials-and-security-official`.

## Red flags: thoughts that mean STOP and invoke

These rationalizations cause skills to be skipped. If you catch yourself thinking any of them, invoke the relevant skill via the Skill tool, **even if you "already read it" earlier in the session**.

| Thought | Action |
|---|---|
| "This workflow is simple, I'll just build it" | Invoke `n8n-workflow-lifecycle-official`. Most "simple" workflows are 10+ nodes by the time they ship. |
| "I'll add a Set node here to map these fields" | Invoke `n8n-expressions-official`. Set nodes feeding only 0 or 1 downstream consumer are the most common antipattern in this entire pack. |