n8n Tutorial #7 - Create your own Custom Node

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AI Summary

Summary of Custom n8n Node Creation Video

Introduction

• The video provides a step-by-step guide on creating a custom n8n node.
• It addresses the issue of outdated resources for building custom n8n nodes.
• The custom node created in the video queries the Open Weather Map API for city weather data.

Reasons for Creating a Custom Node

• No native or community node available for a specific use case.
• Custom nodes are easy to integrate and use.
• They can be shared as community nodes or kept private.
• Custom nodes allow for user-specific UI and credential management.

Types of Custom Nodes

• Declarative: Used for most nodes and is more future-proof.
• Programmatic: Used for trigger nodes, non-REST APIs, data transformation, and full versioning.

Steps to Create a Custom Declarative Node

1. Download or clone the n8n-nodes-starter template from GitHub.
2. Delete example nodes and credentials from the template.
3. Create new files for the custom node and credentials.
4. Copy and modify the code from the n8n tutorial, adjusting for the specific API and parameters.
5. Set up authentication by editing the credentials file.
6. Add node metadata in the .json file.
7. Update the NPM package details, reverting to a version before the switch to PNPM if necessary.

Testing the Custom Node

• Install n8n if not already installed.
• Run npm install and npm run build in the custom node directory.
• Use npm link to install the node into the local n8n instance.
• Create a custom directory in the n8n installation if it doesn’t exist and run npm init.
• Test the node in the n8n UI and make any necessary adjustments.

Publishing the Custom Node (Optional)

• The video does not cover publishing to the NPM registry but mentions it as an optional step.

Tips and Final Thoughts

• Utilize n8n’s GitHub source code as a reference for building custom nodes.
• The custom node code used in the video is available in the AI integrators community.
• The creator offers consulting and custom node building services.

Additional Resources

• The video and description provide links to the n8n-nodes-starter template and other relevant resources.

(Note: No specific CLI commands, website URLs, or detailed instructions were provided in the text for extraction.)