MCP- N8N

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:1067-1097 (handler)

  MCP server tool handler for 'activate-workflow': validates client, calls N8nClient.activateWorkflow(id), formats and returns response or error.

  case "activate-workflow": {
    const { clientId, id } = args as { clientId: string; id: string };
    const client = clients.get(clientId);
    if (!client) {
      return {
        content: [{
          type: "text",
          text: "Client not initialized. Please run init-n8n first.",
        }],
        isError: true
      };
    }
  
    try {
      const workflow = await client.activateWorkflow(id);
      return {
        content: [{
          type: "text",
          text: `Successfully activated workflow:\n${JSON.stringify(workflow, null, 2)}`,
        }]
      };
    } catch (error) {
      return {
        content: [{
          type: "text",
          text: error instanceof Error ? error.message : "Unknown error occurred",
        }],
        isError: true
      };
    }
  }

• src/index.ts:192-196 (helper)

  N8nClient helper method implementing the activation logic via POST to n8n REST API /workflows/{id}/activate.

  async activateWorkflow(id: string): Promise<N8nWorkflow> {
    return this.makeRequest<N8nWorkflow>(`/workflows/${id}/activate`, {
      method: 'POST',
    });
  }

• src/index.ts:484-494 (registration)

  Tool registration in list-tools response: defines name, description, and input schema for 'activate-workflow'.

    name: "activate-workflow",
    description: "Activate a workflow by ID. This will enable the workflow to run. IMPORTANT: Arguments must be provided as compact, single-line JSON without whitespace or newlines.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        clientId: { type: "string" },
        id: { type: "string" }
      },
      required: ["clientId", "id"]
    }
  },

• src/index.ts:486-493 (schema)

  Input schema definition for 'activate-workflow' tool: requires clientId (string) and id (string).

  inputSchema: {
    type: "object",
    properties: {
      clientId: { type: "string" },
      id: { type: "string" }
    },
    required: ["clientId", "id"]
  }