n8n_activate_workflow

Activate a workflow to begin listening for triggers like webhooks or schedules, enabling automatic execution when conditions are met.

Instructions

Start a workflow to listen for triggers (webhooks, schedules, etc). Activating enables automatic execution when trigger conditions are met. Workflow must have valid trigger nodes.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`id`	Yes	Workflow ID to activate

Implementation Reference

src/n8n-client.ts:80-84 (handler)
Handler method that activates a workflow by making a POST request to the n8n API endpoint /workflows/{id}/activate
```
async activateWorkflow(id: string) {
  return this.request(`${this.apiBase}/workflows/${id}/activate`, {
    method: 'POST',
  });
}
```

src/tools.ts:103-119 (schema)

Tool schema definition with name, description, input parameters (workflow ID), and behavioral annotations

  name: 'n8n_activate_workflow',
  description: 'Start a workflow to listen for triggers (webhooks, schedules, etc). Activating enables automatic execution when trigger conditions are met. Workflow must have valid trigger nodes.',
  inputSchema: {
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      id: { type: 'string', description: 'Workflow ID to activate' },
    },
    required: ['id'],
  },
  annotations: {
    title: 'Activate Workflow',
    readOnlyHint: false,
    destructiveHint: false,
    idempotentHint: true,
    openWorldHint: true,
  },
},

src/server.ts:35-36 (registration)
Tool registration in the request handler switch statement that routes the tool call to the activateWorkflow client method
```
case 'n8n_activate_workflow':
  return client.activateWorkflow(args.id);
```

src/n8n-client.ts:25-47 (helper)

Private helper method that handles authenticated HTTP requests to the n8n API with error handling and timeout support

private async request<T>(
  endpoint: string,
  options: RequestInit = {}
): Promise<T> {
  const url = `${this.config.apiUrl}${endpoint}`;

  const response = await fetch(url, {
    ...options,
    signal: AbortSignal.timeout(this.timeout),
    headers: {
      'X-N8N-API-KEY': this.config.apiKey,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      ...options.headers,
    },
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.text();
    throw new Error(`n8n API Error (${response.status}): ${error}`);
  }

  return response.json() as Promise<T>;
}

n8n Management MCP Server