8 n8n Workflow Examples You Can Import and Run Today

Last verified: August 2026

The fastest way to learn n8n is to import a working workflow and take it apart. Below are eight patterns that cover most of what people actually automate, each one described in enough detail to rebuild in a few minutes, with two given as copy-paste JSON you can import directly.

These are patterns, not products. The value is in the shape of each one; swap the apps for whatever you already use.

How to import an n8n workflow template

Copy the JSON to your clipboard, open n8n, create a new workflow, then use the workflow menu (⋮) and choose Import from Clipboard. The nodes appear wired together. You will still need to add credentials for any node that talks to a service. Imported workflows never carry credentials, which is exactly what you want.

The same import works for anything you find in n8n's own workflow template library or shared on the n8n community forum. Read what a downloaded workflow does before you point it at real credentials. An import is code, not a document.

1. Form submission to spreadsheet, CRM and Slack

The most common automation there is. A Webhook node receives the form post, a Set node normalises the field names, then three branches run in parallel: append a row to Google Sheets, create the contact in your CRM, and post a notification to Slack.

The detail that matters: put the Set node in before the branches, not after. Form vendors change their field names without telling you, and one Set node is a far smaller repair than three broken destinations.

2. Scheduled backup of your own n8n workflows

A Schedule Trigger fires nightly, an HTTP Request node calls the n8n public REST API to list all workflows, and a loop writes each one as a JSON file to storage or commits it to a private Git repo.

This is the workflow people wish they had built before they needed it. If you self-host, your workflows live in one database on one server, see self-hosting n8n for what that means for backups generally.

3. RSS to a daily digest email

Here it is as importable JSON. An RSS Feed Read node pulls a feed, a Code node builds an HTML list from the items, and the result goes out as one email instead of an alert per article.

{
  "name": "Daily RSS Digest",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "rule": { "interval": [{ "field": "days", "triggerAtHour": 7 }] }
      },
      "name": "Every Morning",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [240, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": { "url": "https://example.com/feed.xml", "options": {} },
      "name": "Read Feed",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.rssFeedRead",
      "typeVersion": 1.1,
      "position": [460, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "const items = $input.all().slice(0, 10);\nconst html = items.map(i => `
${i.json.title}
`).join('');\nreturn [{ json: { html: `
${html}
`, count: items.length } }];"
      },
      "name": "Build Digest",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [680, 300]
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Every Morning": { "main": [[{ "node": "Read Feed", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] },
    "Read Feed": { "main": [[{ "node": "Build Digest", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] }
  }
}

Add your email node of choice after Build Digest and map {{ $json.html }} into the body. Change the hour in the Schedule Trigger to whatever time you read email.

4. Invoice reminders from a database

A Schedule Trigger runs each morning, a database node selects invoices past due, an IF node splits them by how overdue they are, and each branch sends a differently worded email. Thirty days late should not read the same as three days late.

Set the database node's On Error to Stop Workflow. A partial run here means some customers get chased and others silently do not, see n8n error handling for why that setting matters.

5. New file in cloud storage to processed and filed

A storage trigger fires on upload, an HTTP Request or extraction node reads the contents, and a Switch node routes the file by type: invoices to one folder, contracts to another, everything else to a review queue with a Slack ping.

6. AI summarisation of long inbound text

Trigger on a new email, support ticket or form response, pass the body to OpenAI with a short prompt, and post the summary where people will see it. Keep the prompt specific: "summarise in three bullets, flag anything urgent" produces something usable; "summarise this" produces a shorter version of the same wall of text.

Watch the cost here. Every execution is an API call, and a busy inbox is a lot of executions.

7. A webhook that answers with real data

Most webhook workflows only receive. This one replies. A Webhook node with response mode set to "Using Respond to Webhook node" takes the request, a middle section does the lookup, and a Respond to Webhook node returns JSON, turning n8n into a small internal API.

{
  "name": "Lookup API",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "httpMethod": "POST",
        "path": "lookup",
        "responseMode": "responseNode",
        "options": {}
      },
      "name": "Webhook",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [240, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "const id = $input.first().json.body.id;\nreturn [{ json: { id, status: 'found', checkedAt: new Date().toISOString() } }];"
      },
      "name": "Do The Lookup",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [460, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": { "respondWith": "allIncomingItems", "options": {} },
      "name": "Respond",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.respondToWebhook",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [680, 300]
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Webhook": { "main": [[{ "node": "Do The Lookup", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] },
    "Do The Lookup": { "main": [[{ "node": "Respond", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] }
  }
}

Replace the Code node with whatever the real lookup is. Full details on both nodes are in the n8n webhook guide.

8. Sync between two systems, one direction only

A Schedule Trigger polls the source every fifteen minutes for records changed since the last run, and an upsert writes them to the destination.

Two rules keep this from becoming a nightmare. Pick one system as the source of truth and never sync back the other way. Bidirectional sync in a workflow tool is how you get infinite loops and overwritten data. And filter by a modified-since timestamp rather than pulling everything, or your execution count climbs for no reason.

Which n8n use case to build first

Start with one that solves something irritating you this week. A workflow you actually needed gets maintained; a clever one built to try the tool gets switched off in a month.

Running several of these on a schedule adds up to real execution volume, which is where the pricing question starts to matter, the n8n cost calculator will tell you whether that lands you on a paid cloud plan or points you toward self-hosting with Docker.