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Claude Plugin

The n8n-as-code Claude Code plugin adds the n8n-architect skill and turns Claude into an n8n workflow expert.

The important point is that this stays high-level for the user. The user does not need to think in terms of TypeScript decorators, n8nac skills search, or exact node schemas. Those are implementation details used by the agent behind the scenes.

Typical requests look like this:

  • Create a workflow that watches new Typeform responses and sends them to Slack
  • Add a Google Sheets node to the onboarding workflow
  • Fix the error in the invoice workflow
  • Update the AI agent workflow to use a memory node

Claude then guides the user through initialization if needed, and uses n8nac commands such as init, list, pull, push, and skills ... internally to do the work safely.

🎯 What This Plugin Adds​

Claude Code plugins can bundle skills, manifests, and marketplace metadata. In this case, the plugin provides:

  1. A plugin marketplace manifest in .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
  2. A slim installable plugin root in plugins/claude/n8n-as-code/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
  3. The n8n-architect skill in plugins/claude/n8n-as-code/skills/n8n-architect/SKILL.md

This lets users install the plugin directly from GitHub through Claude Code, while keeping the CLI alias n8nac for the underlying commands.

✨ What the User Experiences​

When installed, Claude can:

  • ✅ Understand high-level workflow requests in natural language
  • ✅ Guide the user through n8nac init if the workspace is not initialized yet
  • ✅ Pull the current workflow state before editing
  • ✅ Search exact nodes and schemas behind the scenes to avoid hallucinations
  • ✅ Push verified changes back to n8n after local edits
  • ✅ Fix existing workflow issues without making the user reason about internal TypeScript structure

🏗️ How It Works​

User: "Add a Slack notification step to the lead intake workflow"
         ↓
Claude detects n8n context and loads the n8n-architect skill
         ↓
Claude checks whether the project is initialized and guides the user if needed
         ↓
Claude runs: n8nac list / pull / skills search / node-info as needed
         ↓
Claude edits the local `.workflow.ts` file with the correct schema-backed config
         ↓
Claude validates and pushes the workflow back to n8n

The user stays at the level of intent. The TypeScript workflow representation is an implementation detail that helps the agent make safe, reviewable edits.

📦 Plugin Source of Truth​

The canonical public plugin repository is:

https://github.com/EtienneLescot/n8n-as-code

For marketplace and directory submissions, this is the correct Link to plugin field because the repository hosts both the marketplace manifest at the root and the installable plugin package in plugins/claude/n8n-as-code/.

The public documentation page for the plugin is:

https://etiennelescot.github.io/n8n-as-code/docs/usage/claude-skill/

This is the correct Plugin homepage field for submissions.

The public privacy policy page for submissions is:

https://etiennelescot.github.io/n8n-as-code/docs/usage/claude-plugin-privacy/

This is the correct Privacy policy URL field for marketplace submissions.

📦 Building the Plugin Assets​

From the monorepo root:

npm run build:claude-plugin

This builds the skills package and regenerates the distributable adapter under packages/skills/dist/adapters/claude/n8n-architect/, plus the committed plugin artifact under plugins/claude/n8n-as-code/skills/n8n-architect/.

🚀 Installation​

For Claude Code (Marketplace Install)​

/plugin marketplace add EtienneLescot/n8n-as-code
/plugin install n8n-as-code@n8nac-marketplace

This is the recommended install path for Claude Code.

For Claude.ai (Web)​

  1. Build and package:

npm run build:claude-plugin cd packages/skills/dist/adapters/claude zip -r n8n-architect-skill.zip n8n-architect/


2. **Upload to Claude:**
- Go to [claude.ai/settings/features](https://claude.ai/settings/features)
- Find "Custom Skills"
- Click "Upload Skill"
- Select `n8n-architect-skill.zip`

3. **Verify:**
Start a new chat and ask: "Can you help me with n8n?"

Claude should acknowledge the n8n context automatically.

### For Claude Code (Manual Install)

1. **Build and install:**
```bash
npm run build:claude-plugin

# Install globally
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r packages/skills/dist/adapters/claude/n8n-architect ~/.claude/skills/

  1. Restart Claude Code

  2. Verify: The skill loads automatically. Ask about n8n to test.

For Claude API​

When using the Claude API with the skills beta:

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';

const client = new Anthropic({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
});

const response = await client.messages.create({
  model: 'claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219',
  max_tokens: 4096,
  betas: [
    'code-execution-2025-08-25',
    'skills-2025-10-02',
    'files-api-2025-04-14'
  ],
  container: {
    type: 'code_execution_2025_01',
    skills: ['n8n-architect']
  },
  messages: [{
    role: 'user',
    content: 'Create a workflow with an HTTP Request node'
  }]
});

console.log(response.content);

✅ Example User Requests​

These are better examples than low-level schema questions, because they match how users actually talk to Claude.

Create a workflow​

"Create a workflow that reads new Stripe payments and posts a summary to Slack"

Expected: Claude guides initialization if needed, finds the right nodes, and creates the workflow.

Update an existing workflow​

"Add a Google Sheets node to the customer onboarding workflow"

Expected: Claude pulls the workflow if needed, edits the correct file, and updates routing safely.

Fix a broken workflow​

"Fix the error in the invoice reminder workflow"

Expected: Claude inspects the existing workflow, diagnoses invalid node config or AI wiring, and proposes or applies a fix.

Refactor an AI workflow​

"Update the support agent workflow to use memory and an OpenAI chat model"

Expected: Claude uses .uses() correctly for AI sub-nodes and keeps the workflow valid.

🔧 How the Plugin Works Internally​

The skill reuses content from @n8n-as-code/skills's AiContextGenerator:

// Same content as getAgentsContent() from skills
const skillContent = `
## 🎭 Role: Expert n8n Engineer
You manage n8n workflows as **clean, version-controlled JSON**.

### 🔬 Research Protocol (MANDATORY)
Do NOT hallucinate node parameters. Use these tools:
- npx n8nac skills search "<term>"
- npx n8nac skills node-info "<nodeName>"
...
`;

This ensures consistency between AGENTS.md for other coding agents and SKILL.md for Claude.

🔒 Security​

  • ✅ Runs 100% locally (no external servers)
  • ✅ Uses NPX to execute n8nac skills
  • ✅ Open-source and auditable

✅ Submission Guidance​

For the current plugin package, the safe marketplace submission choice is:

  • Claude Code: yes
  • Claude Cowork: only if you have explicitly tested and validated this plugin in Cowork

The repository and published docs currently describe a Claude Code plugin first. Do not claim Cowork support in the submission unless you have verified the install and runtime behavior there.

  • ⚠️ Requires Node.js and npm on the machine
  • ⚠️ First run downloads n8nac via NPX

📚 Related Documentation​

🐛 Troubleshooting​

Skill not loading​

Claude.ai:

  • Ensure you're on Pro/Team/Enterprise plan
  • Check Settings → Features for the skill
  • Try re-uploading the ZIP

Claude Code:

  • Verify folder exists: ls ~/.claude/skills/n8n-architect/
  • Check SKILL.md has YAML frontmatter
  • Restart Claude Code

NPX commands fail​

  • Install Node.js: https://nodejs.org/
  • Verify: npx --version
  • For Claude.ai: Check if code execution has network access in settings

Claude doesn't use the plugin as expected​

  • Be explicit: "Using n8n-architect skill, help me..."
  • Check the description field matches your use case
  • Ensure YAML frontmatter is valid (run npm run validate)

📖 Next Steps​