n8n Connection
Connect your n8n instance to ApexGenius so you can read, build and repair workflows from chat, alongside your Salesforce org.
Connect your own n8n instance and work on workflows from the same conversation where you work on Salesforce. ApexGenius reads your workflows, understands what each node does, writes changes back, and can roll them back.
The point is not to replace the n8n editor. It is to let you ask questions that span both systems, like which Salesforce fields a workflow writes to, and whether renaming one would break it.
Before you start
n8n's public API is not available during the free trial. If your key is rejected the moment you connect, this is almost always why. Upgrade your n8n plan, then try again.
You also need an instance ApexGenius can reach over the public internet. n8n Cloud always qualifies. A self-hosted instance on localhost, inside a private network, or behind a VPN cannot be reached from our servers, and connecting it will fail with a clear message rather than hanging.
Connect n8n
- In n8n, open Settings, then n8n API, and create an API key. Copy it.
- In ApexGenius, go to Settings, then Integrations.
- Find the n8n card and click Connect.
- Enter your Instance URL, for example
https://your-workspace.app.n8n.cloud. - Paste your API key and click Connect.
ApexGenius checks the key against your live instance before saving anything, so a typo or an expired key fails right there instead of turning into a confusing error later.
Create a key for ApexGenius rather than reusing one from another tool. Then revoking one does not break the other.
Once connected, reconnect the ApexGenius connector in Claude so it picks up the new tools. MCP clients cache the tool list, so without this step the n8n tools will not appear.
Choosing a tool surface
Your MCP client sees every tool ApexGenius publishes, and long tool lists make any model less reliable at picking the right one. So you choose how much of n8n to expose, on the n8n card under Tool surface.
Core is the default and covers the everyday loop: list and read workflows, look up node types and their settings, validate, check executions, create, update, and roll back.
Full adds templates, AI workflow generation, whole-workflow replacement, autofix, test runs, data tables, an instance security audit, and delete.
Start on Core. Switch to Full when you hit something it will not do. After changing this, reconnect the connector so your client refetches the list.
What you can ask for
- List my n8n workflows, and tell me which are inactive.
- Show me the Customer Onboarding workflow and explain what each step does.
- The nightly sync failed last night. Check the executions and tell me why.
- What parameters does the Slack node take?
- This workflow writes to Salesforce Opportunity. Do those fields still exist, and what breaks if I rename one?
That last one is the reason to connect both. Nothing inside n8n can check your Salesforce schema, and nothing inside Salesforce can read your automations.
How changes are saved
Changes go straight to your live n8n instance. There is no staging step and no draft, which is different from how ApexGenius handles Salesforce, where changes sit in a workbench until you deploy them.
A few things keep this safe:
- Edits are targeted operations, like adding a node or changing one field, not a rewrite of the whole workflow.
- New workflows are created inactive, so nothing runs until you turn it on.
- Autofix previews its changes by default instead of applying them.
- Your assistant asks before anything that updates, replaces, runs or deletes a workflow.
Rolling back
ApexGenius keeps a version history of the changes it makes, so you can ask it to show recent versions of a workflow and restore an earlier one.
This history records changes made through ApexGenius. It does not capture edits you make by hand in the n8n editor, so it is a safety net for assistant mistakes rather than a full audit log of your instance.
What we store, and what we do not
We store your instance URL and your API key. The key is encrypted at rest, is never shown again after you connect, and is never returned by our API or written to our logs.
We do not store your workflows. Workflow content passes through memory while a request is in flight and is never written to our database. Our usage records contain the name of the tool that ran, how long it took, and whether it succeeded, and nothing about the content.
We also do not touch the credentials stored inside your n8n, meaning the Slack, Google and other connections your nodes use. ApexGenius has no tool to read, create or delete them. As it happens the n8n API cannot reveal credential values to anyone, but we keep away from managing them regardless.
To revoke access, either disconnect n8n in ApexGenius, which deletes the stored key, or delete the API key in n8n, which stops it working immediately.
Troubleshooting
The key was rejected. Most often the n8n plan does not include API access. Confirm your plan, then confirm you pasted the whole key.
Could not reach that instance. Your instance is not publicly reachable. Self-hosted instances behind a VPN, on a private network, or on localhost cannot be used.
Reached the host but the API was not found. The URL is probably pointing somewhere other than your n8n root. Use the address you log in at, with no path after it.
The n8n tools do not appear in Claude. Reconnect the ApexGenius connector so it refetches the tool list. This is also required after switching tool surface.
The assistant picks the wrong tool. Switch the tool surface back to Core. Shorter lists are easier for a model to choose from.