n8n Docs

This repository hosts the documentation for n8n, an extendable workflow automation tool which enables you to connect anything to everything. The documentation is live at docs.n8n.io.

Previewing and building the documentation locally

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or above
• Pip
• Follow the recommended configuration and auto-complete guidance for the theme. This will help when working with the mkdocs.yml file.
• The repo includes a .editorconfig file. Make sure your local editor settings do not override these settings. In particular:
  • Don't allow your editor to replace tabs with spaces. This can affect our code samples (which must retain tabs for people building nodes).
  • One tab must be equivalent to four spaces.
• n8n recommends using a virtual environment when working with Python, such as venv.

Steps

For members of the n8n GitHub organization:

n8n members have access to the full Insiders version of the site theme.

1. Set up an SSH token and add it to your GitHub account. Refer to GitHub | About SSH for guidance.

2. Then run these commands:

   git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:n8n-io/n8n-docs.git
   cd n8n-docs
   # Set up a virtual environment (steps depend on your system) and activate it
   # Install dependencies
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   pip install _submodules/insiders
   

For external contributors:

External contributors don't have access to the full Insiders version of the site theme. You can rely on the preview builds on pull requests, or use the free version of Material for MkDocs.

Fork the repository, then:

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/n8n-docs.git
cd n8n-docs
# Set up a virtual environment (steps depend on your system) and activate it
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install mkdocs-material

To serve a local preview:

mkdocs serve --strict

Troubleshooting

Errors due to missing extensions or features

n8n's docs use the Insiders version of the Material theme. This is not available to external contributors. The standard (free) version has most of the features, but you may get errors if the site is relying on features currently in Insiders. The feature set is constantly changing, as the theme creator gradually moves features out of Insiders to general availability. You can view the currently restricted feautres here: Material Insiders Benefits.

To work around this, you can either:

• Rely on the preview builds when you open a PR.
• Temporarily comment out features in the mkdocs.yml. Before committing any changes, remember to uncomment any sections you commented out of the mkdocs.yml file.

Build times

If you find the build times are slow when working with local previews, you can temporarily speed up build times by ignoring parts of the site you're not working on.

Dirty builds

mkdocs serve --strict --dirty

The first build will still be a full build, but subsequently it will only rebuild files that you change.

Temporarily exclude the integrations library

In mkdocs.yml, find the exclude plugin. Uncomment - integrations/builtin/*. Remember to comment it out again before committing.

Skip pulling in data for integrations macros

One of the factors that slows down the builds is pulling fresh data for the trending workflows in the integrations pages. You can skip this when previewing locally.

# Bash
export NO_TEMPLATE=true && mkdocs serve --strict

# PowerShell
$env:NO_TEMPLATE='true'; mkdocs serve --strict

Contributing

Please read the CONTRIBUTING guide.

You can find style guidance in the wiki.

Support

If you have problems or questions, head to n8n's forum: https://community.n8n.io

License

n8n-docs is fair-code licensed under the Sustainable Use License.

More information about the license is available in the License documentation.