HTTP Node¶

The HTTP Request node makes HTTP calls to REST APIs and web services.

HTTP Request Node¶

Type¶

n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest

Description¶

Make HTTP requests to external APIs and services. Supports all HTTP methods, custom headers, request bodies, and authentication.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`url`	string	Yes	-	Target URL (supports expressions)
`method`	string	No	`GET`	HTTP method
`headers`	object	No	`{}`	Request headers
`body`	string/object	No	-	Request body
`authentication`	string	No	`none`	Auth type

HTTP Methods¶

Method	Description
`GET`	Retrieve data
`POST`	Create resource
`PUT`	Replace resource
`PATCH`	Update resource
`DELETE`	Delete resource
`HEAD`	Get headers only
`OPTIONS`	Get allowed methods

Examples¶

Simple GET Request¶

{
  "id": "http-1",
  "name": "Get Users",
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "position": [450, 300],
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/users",
    "method": "GET"
  }
}

GET with Query Parameters¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/users?page={{ $json.page }}&limit=10",
    "method": "GET"
  }
}

POST with JSON Body¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/users",
    "method": "POST",
    "headers": {
      "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    "body": {
      "name": "={{ $json.name }}",
      "email": "={{ $json.email }}"
    }
  }
}

With Custom Headers¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer {{ $json.token }}",
      "X-Custom-Header": "custom-value",
      "Accept": "application/json"
    }
  }
}

PUT Request¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/users/{{ $json.id }}",
    "method": "PUT",
    "headers": {
      "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    "body": {
      "name": "={{ $json.name }}",
      "status": "active"
    }
  }
}

DELETE Request¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/users/{{ $json.userId }}",
    "method": "DELETE"
  }
}

Output¶

The node outputs a single item with the response:

{
  "json": {
    "statusCode": 200,
    "headers": {
      "content-type": "application/json",
      "x-request-id": "abc123"
    },
    "body": "raw response body string",
    "json": {
      "parsed": "response",
      "data": [...]
    }
  }
}

Field	Description
`statusCode`	HTTP status code
`headers`	Response headers
`body`	Raw response body
`json`	Parsed JSON (if Content-Type is JSON)

Authentication¶

API Key in Header¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
      "X-API-Key": "={{ $credentials.apiKey }}"
    }
  }
}

Bearer Token¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer {{ $credentials.token }}"
    }
  }
}

Basic Auth¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Basic {{ Buffer.from($credentials.username + ':' + $credentials.password).toString('base64') }}"
    }
  }
}

Error Handling¶

Check status codes with a Filter node:

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
  "parameters": {
    "conditions": [
      {
        "leftValue": "={{ $json.statusCode }}",
        "operator": "equals",
        "rightValue": 200
      }
    ]
  }
}

Common Patterns¶

Pagination Loop¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/items?page={{ $json.currentPage }}&limit=100",
    "method": "GET"
  }
}

Retry on Failure¶

Use the Code node to implement retry logic:

const maxRetries = 3;
let attempt = 0;

while (attempt < maxRetries) {
  try {
    // HTTP request logic
    break;
  } catch (error) {
    attempt++;
    if (attempt >= maxRetries) throw error;
  }
}

Batch Requests¶

Process multiple URLs:

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "url": "={{ $json.endpoint }}",
    "method": "GET"
  }
}

With input:

[
  {"json": {"endpoint": "https://api.example.com/item/1"}},
  {"json": {"endpoint": "https://api.example.com/item/2"}}
]

Best Practices¶

Use expressions for dynamic URLs - Build URLs from data
Set appropriate headers - Include Content-Type for POST/PUT
Handle errors - Check status codes with Filter node
Rate limiting - Use Split In Batches for bulk requests
Timeout handling - Set appropriate timeouts for slow APIs

Webhook - Receive HTTP requests
Filter - Check response status
Code - Custom request logic