Trigger Nodes¶

Trigger nodes start workflow execution based on external events or schedules.

Webhook Node¶

Receive HTTP requests to trigger workflows.

Type¶

n8n-nodes-base.webhook

Description¶

Creates an HTTP endpoint that triggers workflow execution when called. Supports various HTTP methods and authentication options.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`path`	string	Yes	-	Webhook endpoint path
`httpMethod`	string	No	`POST`	HTTP method to accept
`authentication`	string	No	`none`	Auth type
`headerName`	string	No	-	Header name for auth
`headerValue`	string	No	-	Expected header value

HTTP Methods¶

Method	Use Case
`GET`	Simple triggers, health checks
`POST`	Data submission (most common)
`PUT`	Resource updates
`DELETE`	Resource deletion
`PATCH`	Partial updates

Example¶

{
  "id": "webhook-1",
  "name": "Webhook",
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
  "position": [250, 300],
  "parameters": {
    "path": "/my-workflow",
    "httpMethod": "POST"
  }
}

Webhook URL¶

After creating a workflow with this webhook, the endpoint is:

http://localhost:8080/webhook/my-workflow

Triggering the Webhook¶

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/webhook/my-workflow \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "John", "action": "signup"}'

Output¶

The webhook node outputs request data:

{
  "json": {
    "headers": {
      "content-type": "application/json",
      "user-agent": "curl/7.68.0"
    },
    "params": {},
    "query": {},
    "body": {
      "name": "John",
      "action": "signup"
    }
  }
}

Field	Description
`headers`	HTTP request headers
`params`	URL path parameters
`query`	Query string parameters
`body`	Request body (parsed)

Authentication Options¶

No Authentication¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
  "parameters": {
    "path": "/public-webhook",
    "httpMethod": "POST",
    "authentication": "none"
  }
}

Header Authentication¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
  "parameters": {
    "path": "/secure-webhook",
    "httpMethod": "POST",
    "authentication": "headerAuth",
    "headerName": "X-API-Key",
    "headerValue": "your-secret-key"
  }
}

Call with:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/webhook/secure-webhook \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-secret-key" \
  -d '{"data": "value"}'

Basic Authentication¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
  "parameters": {
    "path": "/basic-auth-webhook",
    "httpMethod": "POST",
    "authentication": "basicAuth"
  }
}

Query Parameters¶

Access query string values:

POST /webhook/my-workflow?userId=123&action=update

Output:

{
  "json": {
    "query": {
      "userId": "123",
      "action": "update"
    }
  }
}

Use Cases¶

Use Case	Configuration
GitHub webhooks	POST, path: `/github`
Stripe events	POST, path: `/stripe`, header auth
Slack commands	POST, path: `/slack`
Form submissions	POST, path: `/form`
API endpoints	GET/POST, path: `/api/{resource}`

Cron Node¶

Trigger workflows on a schedule using cron expressions.

Type¶

n8n-nodes-base.cron

Description¶

Executes workflows at scheduled intervals using standard cron syntax.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`cronExpression`	string	Yes	Cron schedule expression

Cron Expression Format¶

┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday = 0)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Common Patterns¶

Expression	Description
`* * * * *`	Every minute
`/5 * * *`	Every 5 minutes
`0 * * * *`	Every hour
`0 9 * * *`	Daily at 9 AM
`0 9 * * MON`	Every Monday at 9 AM
`0 9 * * 1-5`	Weekdays at 9 AM
`0 0 1 * *`	First of each month
`0 0 * * 0`	Every Sunday at midnight

Example¶

{
  "id": "cron-1",
  "name": "Daily Report",
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
  "position": [250, 300],
  "parameters": {
    "cronExpression": "0 9 * * MON-FRI"
  }
}

Output¶

The Cron node outputs trigger metadata:

{
  "json": {
    "timestamp": "2024-01-26T09:00:00Z",
    "triggered": true
  }
}

Examples¶

Every Hour¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
  "parameters": {
    "cronExpression": "0 * * * *"
  }
}

Daily at Midnight¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
  "parameters": {
    "cronExpression": "0 0 * * *"
  }
}

Every 15 Minutes (Business Hours)¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
  "parameters": {
    "cronExpression": "*/15 9-17 * * 1-5"
  }
}

Monthly on the 1st¶

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
  "parameters": {
    "cronExpression": "0 0 1 * *"
  }
}

Use Cases¶

Use Case	Cron Expression
Backup database	`0 2 * * *` (2 AM daily)
Send daily digest	`0 9 * * *` (9 AM daily)
Cleanup old data	`0 0 * * 0` (Sunday midnight)
Check API status	`/5 * * *` (every 5 min)
Monthly report	`0 9 1 * *` (1st of month)

Timezone Handling¶

Schedules run in the server's timezone by default. Configure timezone in the scheduler settings.

Quick Reference¶

Node	Type	Trigger
Webhook	`n8n-nodes-base.webhook`	HTTP request
Cron	`n8n-nodes-base.cron`	Time schedule