Database Nodes

Database nodes allow workflows to interact with relational databases.

PostgreSQL Node

Execute queries against PostgreSQL databases.

Type

n8n-nodes-base.postgres

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
connectionUrl	string	No*	PostgreSQL connection URL
host	string	No*	Database host
port	number	No	Port (default: 5432)
database	string	No*	Database name
user	string	No*	Username
password	string	No*	Password
operation	string	Yes	executeQuery, insert, update, delete
query	string	Depends	SQL query (for executeQuery)

*Either connectionUrl OR individual connection parameters required.

Connection Examples

Using Connection URL

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionUrl": "postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "SELECT * FROM users"
  }
}

Using Individual Parameters

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "host": "localhost",
    "port": 5432,
    "database": "mydb",
    "user": "dbuser",
    "password": "={{ $credentials.postgres.password }}",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "SELECT * FROM users WHERE status = 'active'"
  }
}

Operations

Execute Query

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionUrl": "postgres://...",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "SELECT id, name, email FROM users WHERE created_at > '2024-01-01'"
  }
}

Output:

[
  {"json": {"id": 1, "name": "John", "email": "[email protected]"}},
  {"json": {"id": 2, "name": "Jane", "email": "[email protected]"}}
]

Insert

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionUrl": "postgres://...",
    "operation": "insert",
    "table": "users",
    "columns": ["name", "email"],
    "values": ["={{ $json.name }}", "={{ $json.email }}"]
  }
}

Update

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionUrl": "postgres://...",
    "operation": "update",
    "table": "users",
    "updateKey": "id",
    "updateValue": "={{ $json.id }}",
    "columns": ["status"],
    "values": ["inactive"]
  }
}

Delete

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionUrl": "postgres://...",
    "operation": "delete",
    "table": "users",
    "deleteKey": "id",
    "deleteValue": "={{ $json.id }}"
  }
}

---

MySQL Node

Execute queries against MySQL databases.

Type

n8n-nodes-base.mysql

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
connectionUrl	string	No*	MySQL connection URL
host	string	No*	Database host
port	number	No	Port (default: 3306)
database	string	No*	Database name
user	string	No*	Username
password	string	No*	Password
operation	string	Yes	executeQuery, insert, update, delete
query	string	Depends	SQL query

Examples

Select Query

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.mysql",
  "parameters": {
    "host": "localhost",
    "port": 3306,
    "database": "myapp",
    "user": "root",
    "password": "={{ $credentials.mysql.password }}",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending'"
  }
}

Insert with Expression

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.mysql",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionUrl": "mysql://user:pass@localhost:3306/myapp",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "INSERT INTO logs (message, timestamp) VALUES ('{{ $json.message }}', NOW())"
  }
}

---

SQLite Node

Execute queries against SQLite databases.

Type

n8n-nodes-base.sqlite

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
filename	string	Yes	Path to SQLite database file
operation	string	Yes	executeQuery, insert, update, delete
query	string	Depends	SQL query

Examples

Query SQLite File

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.sqlite",
  "parameters": {
    "filename": "/data/myapp.db",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "SELECT * FROM settings"
  }
}

Insert Record

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.sqlite",
  "parameters": {
    "filename": "./local.db",
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "INSERT INTO events (name, data) VALUES ('{{ $json.event }}', '{{ JSON.stringify($json.data) }}')"
  }
}

---

Common Patterns

Parameterized Queries

Prevent SQL injection with expressions:

{
  "query": "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {{ parseInt($json.userId) }}"
}

Batch Insert

Loop through items:

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "executeQuery",
    "query": "INSERT INTO items (name, value) VALUES ('{{ $json.name }}', {{ $json.value }})"
  }
}

Check Query Results

Use Filter node after database query:

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
  "parameters": {
    "conditions": [
      {
        "leftValue": "={{ $json.length }}",
        "operator": "greaterThan",
        "rightValue": 0
      }
    ]
  }
}

---

Quick Reference

Node	Type	Default Port
PostgreSQL	n8n-nodes-base.postgres	5432
MySQL	n8n-nodes-base.mysql	3306
SQLite	n8n-nodes-base.sqlite	N/A (file)