USE GUIDE — N8N

Main takeaway: ship one complete workflow before adding more nodes

A node is one step in n8n. A trigger starts your workflow.

WINDOWS

Start n8n and open editor

n8n --version
n8n start

Expected result: version prints and editor opens at http://localhost:5678.

macOS

Start n8n and open editor

n8n --version
n8n start

Expected result: same output pattern as Windows.

Linux

Start n8n and open editor

n8n --version
n8n start

Expected result: editor opens and waits for workflow execution.

FIRST WORKFLOW

Manual Trigger + Set + Code

Create a workflow with Manual Trigger, Set, and Code nodes. In Set, add customer_message and priority. In Code, output a short response summary.

Expected result: execution returns normalized fields ready for Slack, email, or API routes.

QUICK USE CASE

Ticket triage automation

Trigger from webhook, classify priority, route high-priority tickets to urgent channel, and log all events to a spreadsheet. This can reduce manual triage time significantly for small teams.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Common fixes

If localhost:5678 does not open, check terminal logs and rerun n8n start.

If n8n is missing, install with npm install n8n -g.

If port conflicts appear, run n8n on another port and update bookmarks.

IF NEEDED

Install first

Use setup guide before this page if dependencies are missing.

Open setup guide →