post-build-flow

Post-Build Flow

Use this skill after build-workflow succeeds on a direct orchestrator build, especially when the build result contains postBuildFlow.required: true, or when the current message contains <workflow-verification-follow-up> or <workflow-setup-required>.

These instructions are in English, but user-visible text you write while following them stays in the user's conversation language.

For trigger inputData shapes, read ${N8N_WORKSPACE_DIR}/knowledge-base/reference/trigger-input-data-shapes.md in the sandbox workspace when available, or load this skill's references/trigger-input-data-shapes.md linked file.

Verification follow-up

When the current message contains <workflow-verification-follow-up>, verify immediately from the payload's obligation — do not acknowledge first. If the obligation is ready_to_verify or verifying, call verify-built-workflow. Do not call workflows(action="setup") in this turn and do not declare the workflow finished if outcome.setupRequirement.status === "required" — setup is routed automatically as a separate <workflow-setup-required> step after verification.

Setup follow-up

When the current message contains <workflow-setup-required>, your first action is to call workflows(action="setup") with the workflowId from the payload. Do not verify, do not ask, do not write a message first — the inline setup card in the AI Assistant panel is the user-visible surface. If it returns deferred: true, respect the user's choice and do not retry with any other setup tool. After setup completes or is applied, follow Mocked verification live-test follow-up if the payload or prior verification evidence says mocked credentials, simulated node output, fixture overrides, temporary pin data, or another mocked input was used.

Choosing the credential type for a service

Pick in this order:

1. A dedicated credential type (slackApi, notionApi, …) whenever one exists — search with credentials(action="search-types").
2. Simplified Custom Auth (httpTemplatedCustomAuth) for any service without a dedicated type whose auth is expressible as header/query/body values — which covers API keys and bearer tokens (Authorization: Bearer <token> becomes {"headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer {{api_key}}"}}, not httpBearerAuth). Always provide a recipe (below) so the user only pastes their secret.
3. Plain generic types (httpBasicAuth, httpDigestAuth, oAuth2Api, …) only for what a template cannot express: basic auth's base64-encoded pair, digest's challenge-response, OAuth flows — or when the user explicitly asks for a specific plain type: an explicit user choice wins (setup accepts it with allowPlainGenericAuth: true).

Credential recipes for Simplified Custom Auth

When the workflow authenticates a service through Simplified Custom Auth, include credentialHints in the same workflows(action="setup") call so the setup card pre-fills the credential and the user only pastes their secret — instead of facing an empty JSON template they'd have to decode from the provider's docs. Before composing the hints, load the credential-recipe-research skill and execute its lookup procedure — the template, docsUrl and testUrl must come from the provider documentation it has you fetch, never from memory:

• template — the auth request parts (headers/qs/body) exactly as documented, with {{placeholder}} markers where the user's values go.
• placeholders — one entry per marker: name, user-facing title, an optional info clarifying the value itself — its format or which of the provider's tokens it is (e.g. "Starts with tvly-"). Never where to obtain it, and never a URL or domain: the user asks the AI Assistant for that from the credential form. type is password unless clearly non-secret (at least one placeholder must stay password). Add optional: true only when the provider documents the value as optional (e.g. an org/region qualifier) — template entries referencing an empty optional placeholder are omitted from the request.
• docsUrl — the provider page where a logged-in user CREATES/COPIES the secret (e.g. https://replicate.com/account/api-tokens) — never the API reference. Not shown in the form: the AI Assistant help thread uses it to send the user to the exact page. Found via the credential-recipe-research procedure; omit when it finds nothing conclusive.
• testUrl — a documented side-effect-free GET that rejects a bad key with 401/403, used to verify the credential on save and later retests; never one of the workflow's own endpoints, never anything billable. Found via the credential-recipe-research procedure; omit when nothing qualifies — a credential without a testUrl saves fine and honestly shows "could not be verified", which beats a false green.
• acceptedStatusCodes — almost always omit; the user can adjust it later on the credential if a service's auth answers 401/403 to valid GETs.
• suggestedName — display name for the created credential.

Example — fal.ai's docs say requests use Authorization: Key <FAL_KEY> and GET https://api.fal.ai/v1/models/usage is a documented side-effect-free endpoint that rejects a bad key (the model-serving host fal.run is not a key-check endpoint):

{
  "action": "setup",
  "workflowId": "...",
  "credentialHints": [
    {
      "suggestedName": "fal.ai API Key",
      "template": {
        "headers": { "Authorization": "Key {{api_key}}" }
      },
      "placeholders": [
        {
          "name": "api_key",
          "title": "fal.ai API key",
          "info": "Key ID and secret, separated by a colon",
          "type": "password"
        }
      ],
      "docsUrl": "https://fal.ai/dashboard/keys",
      "testUrl": "https://api.fal.ai/v1/models/usage"
    }
  ]
}

Never put a real secret in a recipe — the user pastes it in the setup card and it is stored redacted in the credential. Add nodeName when several nodes use Simplified Custom Auth for different services. You cannot see the secret, but once setup reports the credential applied, treat it as fully configured — the {{placeholder}} markers live only in the template; the stored values replace them at request time. If a live test later fails with an auth error, that is the moment to have the user re-open the credential and re-paste the value.

If the user defers setup instead, don't hand them manual field-by-field credential instructions for the n8n editor — tell them to reopen setup when they're ready: the card pre-fills everything except their key.

Publishing and testing

Publishing is never required for testing. Both executions(action="run") and verify-built-workflow inject inputData as the trigger's output — the workflow does not need to be active. Form, webhook, chat, and other event-based triggers are all testable while the workflow is unpublished. Never publish a workflow as a precondition for running it.

For workflows produced by build-workflow, always verify with verify-built-workflow, never with raw executions(action="run"). It reuses the build outcome simulation plan, mocked credentials, and temporary pin data, so destructive nodes are pinned and it is safe to call repeatedly. A raw executions(action="run") runs the workflow live with no pin data, and on a workflow you just verified it surfaces a redundant run-approval prompt to the user right after verification already executed the workflow. For follow-up requests like "verify again", call verify-built-workflow with workflowId even if the original workItemId is not in context. For alternate deterministic scenarios, pass fixtureOverrides keyed by simulated node name instead of trying to force data through the trigger.

Reserve executions(action="run") for runs the user explicitly asked for (e.g. "run it now", "execute it against my real data"). Never call it on your own to re-test, expand coverage, or "prove the full chain" of a workflow you just built or verified: re-run verify-built-workflow (with fixtureOverrides to reach an unverified branch) instead, or report the partial coverage and let the user decide whether to run it. If fixtureOverrides is rejected with invalid_fixture_override, the target node was not classified as simulated in the build outcome. Do not retry the same override. If that node's data controls a branch that needs verification and you have the source file, load workflow-builder, declare representative output fixtures on the controlling upstream node, rebuild the same workflow, and verify again.

After build-workflow succeeds

1. Read workflowId, workItemId, triggerNodes, verificationReadiness, setupRequirement, and postBuildFlow from the tool output. If the output is missing a workflowId, explain that the build did not submit.
   • Before treating a saved workflow as done, inspect the persisted workflow with workflows(action="get-as-code", workflowId) or read the bound workspace source file, and compare the actual graph to the user's requested outcome. Build/save success only means a workflow was saved; it does not prove the saved workflow is good.
   • If the persisted workflow is missing the requested outcome, has an obvious dead-end draft shape, or the verification evidence is weak, load the workflow-builder skill and patch the same workflow with build-workflow using the existing workflowId and workItemId; then inspect and verify again.
   • If verificationReadiness.status === "already_verified", treat the workflow as verified and do not call verify-built-workflow again.

• If verificationReadiness.status === "ready", call verify-built-workflow with the workflowId, the workItemId when you have it, and the trigger-appropriate inputData shape.
• If verificationReadiness.status === "needs_setup", call workflows(action="setup") with the workflowId so the user can configure it through the inline setup card in the AI Assistant panel.
• If verificationReadiness.status === "not_verifiable", do not infer lower-level verification conditions; use the readiness guidance to give a clear warning or manual-test note. This is a warning completion state, not a verified state and not an infinite blocker.

2. Judge coverage, not just status. A verify-built-workflow result with success: true but a non-empty nodesNotReached is partial evidence: the execution ended early (see lastNodeExecuted and coverageNote) and the listed nodes — including any planned simulations — never ran.
   • Most common cause: a lookup/query node returned zero items (n8n stops downstream nodes on empty item lists). If the dead-end is a Data Table lookup, insert a matching test row with data-tables(action="insert-rows"), re-run verify-built-workflow, and delete the test row afterwards.
   • If you cannot seed the data source, report honestly: name which nodes were verified and which were not, and tell the user the unreached part needs a manual test. Do not start a live executions(action="run") yourself to reach those nodes; offer the user a test instead. Never claim end-to-end verification when nodesNotReached is non-empty.
   • If the unreached nodes sit behind IF/Switch logic controlled by a live or nondeterministic upstream node, and alternate-branch verification is part of this turn's goal, first try one source-file repair: add representative output fixtures to that upstream node, rebuild the same workflow, and re-run verify-built-workflow with fixtureOverrides. Only fall back to a manual-test note when you cannot safely patch the source or the repair budget is exhausted.
   • Relay simulationNote (nodes whose output was simulated) to the user whenever it is present.
3. After verification handling, if setupRequirement.status === "required" and setup has not already run for this build, call workflows(action="setup") with the workflowId.
4. When workflows(action="setup") opens the inline setup card, the card is the user-visible surface. Do not tell the user to open the editor, use the canvas, or click a Setup button; the user does not need to navigate anywhere.
5. When workflows(action="setup") returns deferred: true, respect the user's decision — do not retry with credentials(action="setup") or any other setup tool. The user chose to set things up later.
6. After setup completes or is applied, follow Mocked verification live-test follow-up when the latest verification evidence used mocks or simulations. If this follow-up is due, ask only that question now; do not also ask about the error workflow in the same response.
7. If testing has not already been offered or completed, ask whether the user wants to test the workflow. Skip this if verify-built-workflow already proved it works end-to-end with full coverage.
8. Only call workflows(action="publish") when the user explicitly asks to publish. Never publish automatically.
9. After a direct new primary workflow is successfully published, follow Error workflow follow-up. Do not replace this explicit opt-in with a generic "add anything else?", publish, or test question.

Error workflow follow-up

This follow-up comes only after a direct new primary workflow is successfully published.

If you just built an Error Trigger workflow because the user opted into adding one for a known target workflow, do not ask whether to build another error workflow. Continue the publish-before-assign flow for the target workflow: ask whether to publish the error workflow and set it on that target workflow, then publish and assign only after the user approves.

After successfully publishing a direct new primary workflow, ask once whether the user wants to build an error workflow for that workflow. Use ask-user with a yes/no choice or a concise visible question. Do not create an error workflow before the user opts in.

The opt-in must explicitly mention an error workflow and the target workflow name. A generic follow-up like "Want me to add anything else?", "Want me to publish it?", or "Want to test it?" does not satisfy this step.

Skip this follow-up when:

• The workflow you just built is itself an error workflow or starts with an Error Trigger.
• The build is a supporting workflow, repair, small edit, planned-task subtask, or workflow-level settings patch.
• The user already asked for an error workflow in the original request, already declined one, or the target workflow already has the desired error workflow set.

If the user says yes:

1. Load workflow-builder and build a separate error workflow using the user's requested notification destination. Keep the error workflow scoped to the target workflow the user opted in for.
2. Do not ask whether this new error workflow needs its own error workflow.
3. The error workflow must be published before it can be assigned. If the user has not already asked you to publish and attach it, ask whether to publish it and set it as the error workflow for the named target workflow. When the user agrees, call workflows(action="publish") for the error workflow and let the HITL approval card handle confirmation.
4. After publish succeeds, set the original workflow's workflow-level settings.errorWorkflow to the error workflow's workflowId. Do not use the published activeVersionId, workflow name, a placeholder, or a local SDK id. If you have the original source file, edit it; otherwise call workflows(action="get-as-code", workflowId) for the original workflow, write the returned code to a .workflow.ts file, add .settings({ errorWorkflow: '<published-error-workflow-id>' }), and call build-workflow for the original workflow. The workflow edit approval card is the HITL surface for this assignment.
5. Summarize the result with explicit per-workflow language: this error workflow was assigned only to the named target workflow. Mention that n8n has no global or instance-wide error workflow setting only when the user explicitly asked about, requested, or referenced global/instance-wide error workflow behavior.

Mocked verification live-test follow-up

After workflow setup completes or is applied, if the latest verification for that workflow used mocked credentials, simulated node output, fixture overrides, temporary pin data, or another mocked input, ask whether the user wants a live test without mocks. Do not run the live test automatically.

If the user agrees, use the explicit live execution path (executions(action="run") for a direct live run) and report the result separately from the earlier mocked verification. If the user declines or defers, state what remains untested and do not claim live end-to-end verification.

Claiming success

Do not tell the user a workflow is "fixed", "verified", "tested", "working", or has "no errors" unless this turn has a passing verify-built-workflow or executions(action="run") that exercised the path being claimed. A successful build-workflow/save, a static workflows(action="validate"), or your own narration are NOT execution evidence. For a produced artifact (a file, generated document, or Code-node output), read the real output before calling it complete; do not infer correctness from the fact that a node ran. If you could not run the failing path or inspect the artifact, say so plainly — "I couldn't verify X because Y" — and name what is unconfirmed. An honest "could not verify" beats an unverified success claim.

Credentials before build

Call credentials(action="list") first to know what's available. Build the workflow immediately — the builder preserves explicit valid credentials and auto-mocks missing or unselected ones. Do not ask whether to build now and set up credentials later; building first and routing setup after verification is the default path. Workflow verification is automatic from the build outcome; the orchestrator handles workflow setup after verification when the saved workflow still has mocked credentials or placeholders.

Trust the build outcome over your own source file. When build-workflow returns resolvedCredentialsByNode (or setupRequirement.status === "not_required"), the saved workflow is already connected to existing credentials — even if your source used an unresolved newCredential() call. Do not ask the user to connect those credentials, do not offer the setup card for them, and do not describe them as missing; at most mention which existing credential is being used. Route credential setup only when the build outcome reports mocked credentials or setupRequirement.status === "required".

Ask once when a service has multiple credentials of the same type. If credentials(action="list") shows more than one entry of the type a requested integration needs (e.g. two openAiApi accounts, three Google Calendar accounts), use ask-user with a single-select to let the user pick one before building, and use the chosen credential name in the workflow code. Exception: the user already named the credential in their message — use it directly. With a single candidate, auto-apply and do not ask.

Ask which auth type to use when a service supports more than one. credentials(action="setup") opens a picker locked to a single credentialType — the user cannot switch auth types from there. So when credentials(action="search-types") returns more than one auth option for a service (e.g. notionApi and notionOAuth2Api, or slackApi and slackOAuth2Api), use ask-user with a single-select to let the user pick the auth type before calling credentials(action="setup"). List OAuth2 first and present it as the recommended option. Exception: the user has clearly indicated an auth type (e.g. "api key", "oauth", "personal token") — map it to the matching credentialType and use it directly without asking.