Workflow Management

n8n-deploy provides comprehensive workflow management capabilities, allowing you to interact with n8n workflows seamlessly.

🌟 Workflow Operations

List Workflows

Local Workflows

n8n-deploy wf list

Remote Server Workflows

n8n-deploy wf list-server --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678

Pull Workflow from Remote Server

# Pull specific workflow
n8n-deploy wf pull "Customer Onboarding" --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678

# Pull multiple workflows at once (NEW in v0.9.0)
n8n-deploy wf pull wf1 wf2 wf3 --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678

# Pull with custom flow directory
n8n-deploy wf pull "Customer Onboarding" --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678 --flow-dir /path/to/workflows

# Non-interactive mode (uses default filenames, no prompts)
n8n-deploy wf pull wf1 wf2 --remote production --non-interactive

Push Workflow to Remote Server

# Push specific workflow
n8n-deploy wf push "Deployment Pipeline" --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678

# Push multiple workflows at once (NEW in v0.9.0)
n8n-deploy wf push wf1 wf2 wf3 --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678

# Push with custom flow directory
n8n-deploy wf push "Deployment Pipeline" --remote http://n8n.example.com:5678 --flow-dir /path/to/workflows

Multi-workflow output example:

[1/3] Processing: wf1
Pushed workflow 'wf1' to server

[2/3] Processing: wf2
Pushed workflow 'wf2' to server

[3/3] Processing: wf3
Pushed workflow 'wf3' to server

=== Push Summary ===
  OK   wf1
  OK   wf2
  OK   wf3

All 3 workflow(s) pushed successfully

Delete Workflow

Remove a workflow from the n8n server and/or local database. At least one flag is required.

# Remove from database only (untrack)
n8n-deploy wf delete "Customer Onboarding" --db

# Delete from server only (keep in database)
n8n-deploy wf delete "Customer Onboarding" --server

# Delete from both server and database
n8n-deploy wf delete "Customer Onboarding" --db --server

# Skip confirmation prompt
n8n-deploy wf delete "Customer Onboarding" --db --server --yes

# Override server
n8n-deploy wf delete workflow-name --server --remote staging

# Self-signed certificates
n8n-deploy wf delete workflow-name --server --skip-ssl-verify

Important Notes:

  • The local JSON file is NEVER deleted
  • Draft workflows (starting with draft_*) are only removed from database (they don’t exist on server)
  • At least one of --db or --server must be specified

Smart Workflow Lookup

All workflow commands support flexible name matching (new in v0.9.0):

# All of these resolve to the same workflow "My Workflow"
n8n-deploy wf push "My Workflow"      # Exact name
n8n-deploy wf push "my workflow"      # Case-insensitive
n8n-deploy wf push my-workflow        # Slug-style (hyphens)
n8n-deploy wf push my_workflow        # Slug-style (underscores)
n8n-deploy wf push my-workflow.json   # Filename lookup

Lookup Priority:

  1. Workflow ID (exact match)
  2. Workflow name (exact match)
  3. Case-insensitive name match
  4. Slug-style match (converts spaces/dashes/underscores)
  5. Filename match (auto-appends .json if missing)

Workflow Backup

# Backup all workflows
n8n-deploy wf backup

# Backup specific workflow
n8n-deploy wf backup "My Workflow"

Workflow Restore

# Restore from backup
n8n-deploy wf restore backup_file.tar.gz

🔍 Advanced Workflow Management

Search Workflows

# Search workflows by name or tag
n8n-deploy wf search "customer"

Workflow Statistics

# Show workflow statistics
n8n-deploy wf stats

💡 Pro Tips

  • Use quotes for workflow names with spaces
  • Leverage --no-emoji flag for scripting
  • Keep workflow files organized in a consistent directory

🧩 Workflow File Management

Workflow File Location

  • Stored as JSON files
  • Named by n8n workflow ID
  • Can be stored in custom directories

Workflow Status Tracking

  • Workflows tracked in SQLite database
  • Metadata includes:
    • Workflow name
    • File path
    • Timestamps
    • Tags

🆘 Troubleshooting

  • Verify server URL and API key
  • Check file permissions
  • Ensure workflow names are exact
  • Use --skip-ssl-verify for self-signed certificates

📖 Related Guides

💻 Example Workflow Management Scenario

# Create server and add API key
n8n-deploy server create my_server http://n8n.example.com:5678
echo "your-api-key" | n8n-deploy apikey add - --name my_key --server my_server

# List remote workflows
n8n-deploy wf list-server --remote my_server

# Pull a specific workflow
n8n-deploy wf pull "Customer Onboarding" --remote my_server

# Backup all workflows
n8n-deploy wf backup

# Search workflows
n8n-deploy wf search "customer"