Executing Workflows¶

Learn how to run workflows and manage executions.

Execution Methods¶

Method	Description
CLI	Run from command line
API	Execute via REST API
Webhook	Trigger via HTTP request
Schedule	Automatic cron-based

CLI Execution¶

Run from File¶

m9m run workflow.json

Run by ID¶

m9m run 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Run by Name¶

m9m run "Daily Report"

With Input Data¶

# Inline JSON
m9m run workflow.json --input '{"name": "John"}'

# From file
m9m run workflow.json --input @input.json

Raw Output¶

m9m run workflow.json --raw

API Execution¶

Synchronous¶

Wait for completion:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/workflows/{id}/execute \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"inputData": [{"json": {"key": "value"}}]}'

Response:

{
  "id": "exec-123",
  "status": "success",
  "data": [{"json": {"result": "..."}}]
}

Asynchronous¶

Return immediately:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/workflows/{id}/execute-async \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"inputData": [{"json": {"key": "value"}}]}'

Response:

{
  "jobId": "job-456",
  "status": "pending"
}

Then check status:

curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/jobs/job-456

Webhook Execution¶

Configure a webhook node and call it:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/webhook/my-endpoint \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "user_signup", "data": {...}}'

Scheduled Execution¶

Workflows with Cron nodes run automatically:

{
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
  "parameters": {
    "cronExpression": "0 9 * * MON-FRI"
  }
}

Manage via API:

# Create schedule
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "workflowId": "wf-123",
    "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *"
  }'

Execution Status¶

Status	Description
`pending`	Queued, waiting
`running`	Currently executing
`success`	Completed successfully
`failed`	Completed with error
`cancelled`	Manually stopped

Monitoring Executions¶

List Executions¶

m9m execution list

Or via API:

curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/executions

Get Execution Details¶

m9m execution get exec-123

Watch in Real-Time¶

m9m execution watch

Handling Failures¶

View Error Details¶

m9m execution get exec-123

Shows:

Status: failed
Error:
  Node: HTTP Request
  Message: Connection timeout

Retry Failed Execution¶

m9m execution retry exec-123

Or via API:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/executions/exec-123/retry

Cancel Running Execution¶

m9m execution cancel exec-123

Or via API:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/executions/exec-123/cancel

Input Data¶

Structure¶

{
  "inputData": [
    {
      "json": {
        "field1": "value1",
        "field2": 123
      }
    }
  ]
}

Multiple Items¶

{
  "inputData": [
    {"json": {"id": 1}},
    {"json": {"id": 2}},
    {"json": {"id": 3}}
  ]
}

Access in Workflow¶

First node receives input data:

{{ $json.field1 }}  // "value1"

Execution Output¶

Success Output¶

{
  "id": "exec-123",
  "status": "success",
  "data": [
    {
      "json": {
        "result": "processed",
        "count": 5
      }
    }
  ],
  "duration": 1234
}

Failed Output¶

{
  "id": "exec-124",
  "status": "failed",
  "error": {
    "message": "HTTP request failed",
    "node": "Fetch Data"
  }
}

Best Practices¶

Test with sample data before production
Use async for long-running workflows
Monitor failures and set up alerts
Add timeouts for external calls
Log important data for debugging