n8n/packages/@n8n/instance-ai/docs/tools.md

Tool Reference

All tools the Instance AI agent has access to. Tools are organized into orchestration tools (used by the orchestrator for loop control) and domain tools (used by the orchestrator directly or delegated to sub-agents). Each tool defines its input/output schema via Zod.

Orchestration Tools

These tools are exclusive to the orchestrator agent. Sub-agents do not receive them. Some are conditional on context availability.

create-tasks

Persist a dependency-aware task plan for detached multi-step execution. For initial plan-worthy work, the orchestrator loads the planning skill, performs discovery with normal domain tools, then calls create-tasks with planningContext.source: "planning-skill". For <planned-task-follow-up type="replan"> turns, use planningContext.source: "replan" when multiple dependent tasks still need scheduling. Clear single-workflow builds, including new and one-off workflows, use workflow-builder, workspace file tools, and build-workflow directly. The plan is shown to the user for approval before execution starts.

Field	Type	Required	Description
tasks	array	yes	Dependency-aware execution plan (see schema below)
planningContext	object	yes	{ source: "planning-skill" | "replan", summary: string, assumptions?: string[] }

Task schema:

{
  id: string;          // Stable identifier used by dependency edges
  title: string;       // Short user-facing task title
  kind: 'delegate' | 'build-workflow' | 'checkpoint';
  spec: string;        // Detailed executor briefing for this task
  deps: string[];      // Task IDs that must succeed before this task can start
  tools?: string[];    // Required tool subset for delegate tasks
  workflowId?: string; // Existing workflow ID for the builder to hydrate before saving
  isSupportingWorkflow?: boolean; // Build task completes after saving a supporting sub-workflow
}

Returns: { result: string, taskCount: number }

Behavior:

• First call persists the plan, publishes tasks-update event, and suspends for user approval
• On approval: calls schedulePlannedTasks() to start detached execution
• On rejection: returns feedback for the LLM to revise the plan
• On denial: cancels the graph and blocks same-turn resubmission

Task kinds map to executors:

• build-workflow → orchestrator follow-up run using the workflow-builder skill
• delegate → custom sub-agent with orchestrator-specified tool subset
• checkpoint → exceptional orchestrator-executed semantic or cross-workflow check

Standalone data-table work is handled directly by the orchestrator with the data-table-manager skill and the data-tables / parse-file tools. Single workflow-local table requirements belong in the builder task spec; plan only when the table schema is shared, independently durable, or creates real dependency coordination.

delegate

Spawn a dynamically composed sub-agent to handle a focused subtask. The orchestrator specifies the role, instructions, and tool subset — there is no fixed taxonomy of sub-agent types.

Field	Type	Required	Description
role	string	yes	Free-form role description (e.g., "workflow builder")
instructions	string	yes	Task-specific system prompt for the sub-agent
tools	string[]	yes	Subset of registered native domain tool names
briefing	string	yes	The specific task to accomplish
artifacts	object	no	Relevant IDs, data, or context (workflow IDs, etc.)
conversationContext	string	no	Summary of what was discussed so far — prevents repeating what user already knows

Returns: { result: string } — the sub-agent's synthesized answer.

Behavior:

• Validates tools against registered native domain tool names
• Forbids orchestration tools (create-tasks, delegate) and MCP tools
• Creates a fresh agent with specified tools and low maxSteps (default 10)
• Sub-agent publishes events directly to the event bus
• Sub-agent has no memory — receives context only via the briefing
• Past failed attempts from iterationLog are appended to the briefing (if available)

discover-workflow-context

Preconfigured pre-build discovery. Spawns a focused, synchronous sub-agent (fixed role, prompt, and tool subset: nodes, credentials, research) that inventories the nodes and credential types a build needs and returns the relevant node type definitions verbatim — it selects which types are relevant rather than summarizing them. Unlike free-form delegate, the scout is fixed so discovery is consistent and testable. Call before loading workflow-builder for any build touching external services or unfamiliar nodes; act on the result in the same turn. Does not build, patch, or run workflows.

Field	Type	Required	Description
services	string[]	yes	External services as short node-search terms (e.g. ["Gmail", "OpenAI"])
categories	string[]	no	Workflow technique categories to anchor node suggestions
conversationContext	string	no	Build goal and user constraints to scope discovery

Returns: { result: string } — the scout's debrief: brief Nodes and Credentials bullets, the relevant node type definitions verbatim, and Gaps.

Behavior: Resolves the fixed tool subset from the orchestrator's domain tools, runs the sub-agent via the shared synchronous runner (same tracing and agent-spawned/agent-completed events as delegate), and returns the synthesized debrief. Returns an error string if the nodes tool is unavailable.

update-tasks

Update a visible task checklist for the user. Used for lightweight progress tracking during synchronous work.

Field	Type	Required	Description
tasks	array	yes	List of {id, description, status, detail?} items

Returns: { result: string }

Behavior: Saves to storage, publishes tasks-update event for live UI refresh.

cancel-background-task (conditional)

Cancel a running background task by its ID.

Field	Type	Required	Description
taskId	string	yes	Background task ID (from <running-tasks> context)

Returns: { result: "Background task {taskId} cancelled." }

Cancellation flow (three surfaces converge):

User clicks stop button  → POST /chat/:threadId/tasks/:taskId/cancel ─┐
User says "stop that"    → orchestrator calls cancel-background-task  ─┤
cancelRun (global stop)  → cancelBackgroundTasks(threadId)             ─┤
                                                                       ▼
                                           service.cancelBackgroundTask()

correct-background-task (conditional)

Send a course correction to a running background task.

Field	Type	Required	Description
taskId	string	yes	Background task ID
correction	string	yes	Correction message

Returns: { result: string } — 'queued', 'task-completed', or 'task-not-found'

verify-built-workflow (conditional)

Run a built workflow with per-execution pin data for verification (never persisted to the workflow). Destructive and user-action nodes — write operations, nodes with mocked credentials, mid-workflow Form pages, Wait nodes — are simulated: the build outcome carries a per-node execute-vs-simulate plan (nodeSimulationPlan, produced by a deterministic classifier plus an LLM pass at submit time) and LLM-generated mock output (simulationFixtures). Simulated nodes are pinned with their fixture, so verification never sends messages, writes rows, deletes data, or parks in waiting. The tool output marks simulated nodes (simulatedNodes, nodePreviews[].simulated, simulationNote), and the saved execution carries resultData.simulation so the editor can label simulated outputs. For build outcomes that carry a plan, a waiting result is a failure (an unsimulated user-action node); only legacy plan-less outcomes keep the waiting-with-output-as-success fallback.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workItemId	string	yes	Work item ID from build outcome
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID to execute
inputData	object	no	Trigger payload — shape depends on trigger type, see below
timeout	number	no	Max wait in ms (default 300000)

inputData shape by trigger type (the adapter's getPinDataForTrigger spreads or wraps based on type — passing the wrong shape produces null downstream values that look like an expression bug):

Trigger	Pass	Adapter emits on $json
Form Trigger	flat field map, e.g. {name: "Alice", email: "a@b.c"}	{ submittedAt, formMode: "instanceAi", name, email, ... } — matches production. Do NOT wrap in formFields.
Webhook	body payload, e.g. {event: "signup", userId: "..."}	{ headers, query, body: { event, userId, ... } }
Chat Trigger	{chatInput: "..."}	{ sessionId, action, chatInput }
Schedule	omit	synthetic timestamp fields

Writes on success/failure: the tool persists a structured verification record ({ attempted, success, executionId, status, evidence, verifiedAt }) onto the build outcome so workflow-verification follow-ups and exceptional checkpoint turns can reuse it without re-running verify.

Returns: { executionId?, success, status?, data?, error? }

report-verification-verdict (conditional)

Feed verification results into the deterministic workflow loop state machine.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workItemId	string	yes	Work item ID
verdict	enum	yes	verified, needs_patch, needs_rebuild, trigger_only, needs_user_input, failed_terminal
failureSignature	string	no	For repeated failure detection
failedNodeName	string	no	Node that failed
patch	string	no	For needs_patch verdict
diagnosis	string	no	Failure analysis

Returns: { guidance: string } — next action based on loop state machine.

apply-workflow-credentials (conditional)

Atomically apply real credentials to previously-mocked workflow nodes.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workItemId	string	yes	Work item ID from build outcome
credentials	object	yes	Real credential mapping

Returns: { updatedNodes: string[] }

Workflow Tools (10–14)

Core count is 10; up to 4 more are conditionally registered based on license.

list-workflows

List workflows accessible to the current user.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
query	string	no	—	Filter workflows by name
limit	number	no	50	Max results (1–100)
status	"active" | "archived" | "all"	no	"active"	Which workflows to list

Returns: { workflows: [{ id, name, activeVersionId, isArchived, createdAt, updatedAt }] }

activeVersionId is null when the workflow is unpublished.

get-workflow

Get full workflow definition including nodes, connections, and settings.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID

Returns: { id, name, activeVersionId, isArchived, nodes, connections, settings }

activeVersionId is null when the workflow is unpublished.

get-workflow-as-code

Get a workflow as TypeScript SDK code. Used by the builder agent to inspect an existing workflow when no workspace source file is already available. Existing workflow modifications should write the returned code to a workspace source file and call build-workflow with both filePath and the real n8n workflowId once; subsequent repairs can reuse only filePath.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID

Returns: TypeScript code string representing the workflow.

build-workflow

Compile, validate, and save a workspace workflow source file. Inline source and string patches are not accepted; edit the workspace file first and then call this tool with filePath.

Field	Type	Required	Description
filePath	string	yes	Workspace path to the .workflow.ts or WorkflowJSON source file
workflowId	string	no	Existing n8n workflow ID to bind to this file on the first update
projectId	string	no	Project ID to create the workflow in
name	string	no	Workflow name override for new workflows
workItemId	string	no	Work item hint for workflow-loop reporting
isSupportingWorkflow	boolean	no	Marks a saved sub-workflow as supporting

Returns: { success, workflowId?, workflowName?, workItemId?, filePath, sourceHash?, remediation?, errors?, warnings? }

Behavior: Reads the source file from the runtime workspace, compiles TypeScript sources through the sandbox tsx runner or parses WorkflowJSON directly, validates the resulting workflow JSON server-side, resolves credentials, saves by the workflow ID bound to the source file, and persists the latest source hash and workflow version in thread metadata. If the file has no saved workflow ID, the build creates a new workflow unless workflowId is provided to bind the file to an existing workflow. If the bound workflow no longer exists, the tool returns blocked remediation rather than creating a replacement.

delete-workflow

Archive a workflow (soft delete, deactivates if needed). This is reversible with unarchive-workflow.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow to archive

Returns: { success: boolean }

unarchive-workflow

Restore an archived workflow without publishing it.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Archived workflow to restore

Returns: { success: boolean }

setup-workflow

Open the UI for per-node credential and parameter setup. Uses a suspend/resume state machine where each node triggers a HITL confirmation for the user to configure it interactively.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow to set up

Returns: { completedNodes, skippedNodes, failedNodes }

publish-workflow

Publish a workflow version to production. Makes it active — it will run on triggers.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID
versionId	string	no	Specific version (omit for latest draft)

Returns: { success: boolean, activeVersionId?: string }

unpublish-workflow

Stop a workflow from running in production. The draft is preserved.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID

Returns: { success: boolean }

list-workflow-versions (conditional — requires license)

List version history for a workflow (metadata only).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
workflowId	string	yes	—	Workflow ID
limit	number	no	20	Max results (1–100)
skip	number	no	0	Results to skip

Returns: { versions: [{ versionId, name, description, authors, createdAt, autosaved, isActive, isCurrentDraft }] }

get-workflow-version (conditional — requires license)

Get full details of a specific workflow version including nodes and connections.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID
versionId	string	yes	Version ID

Returns: { versionId, name, description, authors, nodes, connections, ... }

restore-workflow-version (conditional — requires license)

Restore a workflow to a previous version (overwrites current draft). HITL approval required.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID
versionId	string	yes	Version to restore

Returns: { success: boolean }

update-workflow-version (conditional — requires feat:namedVersions license)

Update a version's name or description.

Field	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	string	yes	Workflow ID
versionId	string	yes	Version ID
name	string | null	no	New name
description	string | null	no	New description

Returns: { success: boolean }

---

Execution Tools (6)

list-executions

List recent workflow executions.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
workflowId	string	no	—	Filter by workflow
status	string	no	—	success, error, running, waiting
limit	number	no	20	Max results (1–100)

Returns: { executions: [{ id, workflowId, workflowName, status, startedAt, finishedAt, mode }] }

run-workflow

Execute a workflow, wait for completion (with timeout), and return the result. Default timeout: 5 minutes; max: 10 minutes. On timeout, execution is cancelled.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
workflowId	string	yes	—	Workflow to run
inputData	object	no	—	Data passed to the trigger node
timeout	number	no	300000	Max wait time in ms (max 600000)

Returns: { executionId, status, data?, error?, startedAt?, finishedAt? }

Type-aware pin data: Constructs proper pin data per trigger type:

• Chat trigger: { chatInput, sessionId, action }
• Form trigger: { submittedAt, formMode: 'instanceAi', ...inputData }
• Webhook trigger: { headers: {}, query: {}, body: inputData }
• Schedule trigger: current datetime information
• Unknown trigger: { json: inputData } (generic fallback)

get-execution

Get execution status without blocking.

Field	Type	Required	Description
executionId	string	yes	Execution ID

Returns: { executionId, status, data?, error?, startedAt?, finishedAt? }

debug-execution

Analyze a failed execution with structured diagnostics.

Field	Type	Required	Description
executionId	string	yes	Failed execution to debug

Returns: { executionId, status, failedNode?: { name, type, error, inputData? }, nodeTrace: [{ name, type, status }] }

get-node-output

Get the output data of a specific node from an execution.

Field	Type	Required	Description
executionId	string	yes	Execution ID
nodeName	string	yes	Node name to get output for

Returns: { nodeName, data?, error? }

stop-execution

Cancel a running execution.

Field	Type	Required	Description
executionId	string	yes	Execution to cancel

Returns: { success: boolean, message: string }

---

Credential Tools (6)

Security note: The agent never handles raw credential secrets. Credential creation and secret configuration is done through the n8n frontend UI (via setup-credentials) or Computer Use browser credential capture.

list-credentials

List credentials accessible to the current user. Never exposes secrets.

Field	Type	Required	Description
type	string	no	Filter by credential type (e.g., notionApi)

Returns: { credentials: [{ id, name, type, createdAt, updatedAt }] }

get-credential

Get credential metadata. Never returns decrypted secrets.

Field	Type	Required	Description
credentialId	string	yes	Credential ID

Returns: { id, name, type, createdAt, updatedAt, nodesWithAccess? }

delete-credential

Permanently delete a credential. Irreversible — HITL confirmation required.

Field	Type	Required	Description
credentialId	string	yes	Credential to delete

Returns: { success: boolean }

search-credential-types

Search available credential types by name or description.

Field	Type	Required	Description
query	string	yes	Search query (e.g., "slack", "oauth")

Returns: { credentialTypes: [{ name, displayName, description }] }

setup-credentials

Open the credential picker UI for the user to configure credentials securely. The LLM never sees secrets — the user interacts with the n8n frontend directly.

Field	Type	Required	Description
credentialType	string	yes	Credential type to set up

Returns: { credentialId, credentialType, needsBrowserSetup? }

HITL: Suspends execution and renders the credential setup UI. When needsBrowserSetup=true, the orchestrator should load the credential-setup-with-computer-use skill, use Computer Use browser_* tools directly, then call setup-credentials again to finalize.

test-credential

Test whether a credential is valid and can connect to its service.

Field	Type	Required	Description
credentialId	string	yes	Credential to test

Returns: { success: boolean, message?: string }

---

Node Discovery Tools (6)

list-nodes

List available node types in the n8n instance.

Field	Type	Required	Description
query	string	no	Filter by name or description

Returns: { nodes: [{ name, displayName, description, group, version }] }

get-node-description

Get detailed node description including properties, credentials, inputs, and outputs.

Field	Type	Required	Description
nodeType	string	yes	Node type (e.g., n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest)

Returns: { name, displayName, description, properties, credentials, inputs, outputs }

get-node-type-definition

Get the full JSON schema for a node type, including all parameter options and discriminators. Critical for understanding complex node configuration.

Field	Type	Required	Description
nodeType	string	yes	Node type

Returns: Full node type definition with all parameters.

search-nodes

Search nodes ranked by relevance with @builderHint annotations. Includes subnode requirements and discriminator values.

Field	Type	Required	Description
query	string	yes	Short search query (service names, not descriptions)

Returns: { nodes: SearchableNodeDescription[] }

get-suggested-nodes

Get curated node suggestions for common use cases.

Returns: Categorized node suggestions with descriptions.

explore-node-resources

Explore a node's dynamic resources (listSearch / loadOptions). Used to discover discriminator values like spreadsheet IDs, calendar names, etc.

Field	Type	Required	Description
nodeType	string	yes	Node type
resource	string	yes	Resource to explore
credentialId	string	no	Credential to use for authenticated resources

Returns: Dynamic resource list from the node's loadOptions/listSearch.

---

Data Table Tools (11)

Full CRUD suite for n8n data tables. System columns (id, createdAt, updatedAt) are reserved and auto-managed.

Table operations

Tool	Description
list-data-tables	List all data tables
create-data-table	Create a new data table with columns
delete-data-table	Delete a data table (HITL confirmation)
get-data-table-schema	Get table schema including all columns

Column operations

Tool	Description
add-data-table-column	Add a column to a table
delete-data-table-column	Remove a column from a table
rename-data-table-column	Rename a column

Row operations

Tool	Description
query-data-table-rows	Query rows with optional filters
insert-data-table-rows	Insert one or more rows
update-data-table-rows	Update rows matching criteria
delete-data-table-rows	Delete rows matching criteria (HITL confirmation)

---

Workspace Tools (up to 8, conditional)

Only registered when workspaceService is present. Folder tools additionally require workspaceService.listFolders.

Tool	Description
list-projects	List projects accessible to the user
tag-workflow	Apply tags to a workflow
list-tags	List available tags
cleanup-test-executions	Remove test execution data
list-folders	List folders (conditional)
create-folder	Create a new folder (conditional)
delete-folder	Delete a folder (conditional)
move-workflow-to-folder	Move a workflow to a folder (conditional)

---

Web Research Tools (2)

web-search (conditional — requires search provider)

Search the web and return ranked results. Provider priority: Brave > SearXNG > disabled.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
query	string	yes	—	Search query
maxResults	number	no	5	Max results (1–20)
includeDomains	string[]	no	—	Restrict to these domains

Returns: { query, results: [{ title, url, snippet, publishedDate? }] }

Results cached for 15 minutes (LRU, 100 entries).

fetch-url

Fetch a web page and extract content as markdown. Local pipeline (Readability + Turndown). SSRF protection and result caching.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
url	string	yes	—	URL to fetch
maxContentLength	number	no	30000	Max content chars (max 100000)

Returns: { url, finalUrl, title, content, truncated, contentLength, safetyFlags? }

Content routing: HTML → Readability + Turndown + GFM, PDF → pdf-parse, plain text / markdown → passthrough.

---

Filesystem Tools (dynamic, conditional)

Only registered when a localMcpServer (computer-use gateway) is connected. Tools are dynamically created from the MCP server's advertised capabilities. See docs/filesystem-access.md.

---

Knowledge Base (sandbox workspace)

Best-practices guides and curated workflow templates are materialized under <workspace_root>/knowledge-base/ when a builder sandbox is available. Agents read them with workspace tools — there is no dedicated get-best-practices or template-search tool.

Path	Description
knowledge-base/index.json	Combined catalog of technique guides and curated templates
knowledge-base/best-practices/index.json	Catalog of workflow technique guides
knowledge-base/best-practices/*.md	Best-practices documentation per technique
knowledge-base/templates/index.json	Catalog of curated SDK workflow examples
knowledge-base/templates/*.ts	Template workflow source files

Use workspace_read_file and workspace_grep (or shell equivalents in the sandbox) to consult these before planning or building non-trivial workflows.

---

Other Domain Tools

Tool	Description
ask-user	Suspend and request user input (single/multi-select or text)

---

Tool Distribution

Not all tools are available to all agents. The orchestrator has access to everything; sub-agents receive only what they need.

Tool Category	Orchestrator	Sub-Agents (delegate)	Background Agents
Orchestration tools (create-tasks, delegate, etc.)	✅	❌	❌
Workflow tools	✅	✅ (via delegate)	✅ (builder)
Execution tools	✅ (direct use)	✅ (via delegate)	❌
Credential tools	✅	✅ (via delegate)	✅ (builder — setup only)
Node discovery tools	✅	✅ (via delegate)	✅ (builder)
Data table tools	✅ (direct, via data-table-manager skill)	✅ (via delegate)	❌
Workspace tools	✅	✅ (via delegate)	❌
Filesystem tools	✅ (conditional)	✅ (via delegate)	❌
Web research tools	✅	✅ (via delegate)	❌
Knowledge base (best practices & templates via workspace)	✅	✅ (via delegate)	✅ (builder)
Sandbox-backed internals (build-workflow TypeScript compilation, materialize-node-type)	✅	✅ (via delegate)	✅ (builder)
MCP tools	✅	❌	❌
Computer Use browser tools	✅ (direct, via credential skill when setting up credentials)	❌	❌

---

Adding New Tools

1. Create a file in src/tools/<domain>/ following the naming convention <verb>-<noun>.tool.ts
2. Define input/output schemas with Zod (.describe() on fields — these are the LLM's parameter docs)
3. Export a factory function that takes the service context and returns an @n8n/agents tool
4. Register the tool in src/tools/index.ts (in createAllTools or createOrchestrationTools)
5. If the tool requires a new service method, add it to the interface in src/types.ts and implement it in the backend adapter
6. New native domain tools are automatically available for delegation — the orchestrator can include them in sub-agent tool subsets via delegate
7. For HITL tools, define suspendSchema and resumeSchema — @n8n/agents handles the suspension/resume lifecycle automatically