Readable Workflow Export & Deployment Pipeline for Multi-Environment CI/CD

This n8n workflow template uses community nodes and is only compatible with the self-hosted version of n8n.

Export workflows with readable names, tagged for different environments

To ensure understandable workflow exports, ease of use in delivery pipelines, and a better developer experience, this workflow helps with exporting workflows.

Inner workings

• First, the workflow ensures that the directory structure for storing the workflows is correct.
• Exports all workflows.
• Next, it processes all workflow files and stores them with readable names.
• Based on tags, it will also export to dev and prod folders for easy commit and usage in a delivery pipeline.

Configration

No special setup is required for readable exporting.

Usage

Create a workflow and tag it with 'Auto deploy to dev'
Run the workflow, this will create the needed folders and workflows with readable names.
Commit these in your version control.
Have a CICD pipeline build an n8n container
—see the attached Dockerfile.

Check our Auto Starter workflow for auto-starting workflows after deployment.

CI/CD Bonus:

Attached are two nodes with some example configuration on building your own automated n8n deployment.

• A Dockerfile, to get the new entrypoint and exported workflows packaged in the container.
• An updated entrypoint to build your own container, import the workflows, and run the Auto Starter.

Set the following environment variables:

• STARTUP_WORKFLOWS_LOAD_LOCATION: to specify the folder to import from and distinguish between environments.
• STARTUP_WORKFLOW_ID: the ID of the workflow to run after starting n8n.

  Note: The 'Instance Started' n8n trigger won't work, as all workflows are disabled upon import.