n8n Quick Reference

• General:

  /AGENTS.md

  - Architecture, commands, workflows
• Frontend:

  /packages/frontend/AGENTS.md

  - CSS variables, timing

Critical Rules (Must Follow)

• Never

  any

  → use

  unknown

• Prefer

  satisfies

  over

  as

  (except tests)
• Shared types in

  @n8n/api-types

import { UnexpectedError } from 'n8n-workflow';
throw new UnexpectedError('message', { extra: { context } });
// DON'T use deprecated ApplicationError

• Vue 3 Composition API (

  <script setup lang="ts">

  )
• CSS variables (never hardcode px) - see

  /packages/frontend/AGENTS.md

• All text via i18n (

  $t('key')

  )

• data-testid

  for E2E (single value, no spaces)

• Controller → Service → Repository
• Dependency injection via

  @n8n/di

• Config via

  @n8n/config

• Zod schemas for validation

• Vitest (unit), Playwright (E2E)
• Mock external dependencies
• Work from package directory:

  pushd packages/cli && pnpm test

• SQLite/PostgreSQL only (app DB)
• Exception: DB nodes (MySQL Node, etc.) can use DB-specific features

pnpm build > build.log 2>&1  # Always redirect
pnpm typecheck               # Before commit
pnpm lint                    # Before commit

Key Packages

packages/cli

packages/frontend/editor-ui

packages/@n8n/api-types

packages/@n8n/db

packages/workflow

Common Patterns

import { STORES } from '@n8n/stores';
export const useMyStore = defineStore(STORES.MY_STORE, () => {
  const state = shallowRef([]);
  return { state };
});

<script setup lang="ts">
type Props = { title: string };
const props = defineProps<Props>();
</script>

import { Service } from '@n8n/di';
import { Config } from '@n8n/config';

@Service()
export class MyService {
  constructor(private readonly config: Config) {}
}

/AGENTS.md

/packages/frontend/AGENTS.md