n8n-validation-expert

Name: n8n-validation-expert
Author: czlonkowski

4.8kinstalls983forks

How to install n8n-validation-expert?

czlonkowski/n8n-skills/n8n-validation-expert

$npx -y skills add czlonkowski/n8n-skills --skill n8n-validation-expert

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Interpret validation errors and guide fixing them. Use when encountering validation errors, validation warnings, false positives, operator structure issues, or need help understanding validation results. Also use when asking about validation profiles, error types, the validation

Files · 1

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SKILL.md

1	# n8n Validation Expert
2
3	Expert guide for interpreting and fixing n8n validation errors.
4
5	---
6
7	## Validation Philosophy
8
9	Validate early, validate often
10
11	Validation is typically iterative:
12	- Expect validation feedback loops
13	- Usually 2-3 validate → fix cycles
14	- Average: 23s thinking about errors, 58s fixing them
15
16	Key insight: Validation is an iterative process, not one-shot!
17
18	---
19
20	## Error Severity Levels
21
22	### 1. Errors (Must Fix)
23	Blocks workflow execution - Must be resolved before activation
24
25	Types:
26	- `missing_required` - Required field not provided
27	- `invalid_value` - Value doesn't match allowed options
28	- `type_mismatch` - Wrong data type (string instead of number)
29	- `invalid_reference` - Referenced node doesn't exist
30	- `invalid_expression` - Expression syntax error
31
32	Example:
33	```json
34	{
35	"type": "missing_required",
36	"property": "channel",
37	"message": "Channel name is required",
38	"fix": "Provide a channel name (lowercase, no spaces, 1-80 characters)"
39	}
40	```
41
42	### 2. Warnings (Should Fix)
43	Doesn't block execution - Workflow can be activated but may have issues
44
45	Types:
46	- `best_practice` - Recommended but not required — surfaces under `ai-friendly` / `strict` only
47	- `deprecated` - Using old API/feature — surfaces under every profile
48	- `security` - Hardcoded secrets, unauthenticated webhooks — surfaces under every profile
49	- `performance` - Potential performance issue — advisory, `ai-friendly` / `strict`
50
51	Example (best-practice — appears under `ai-friendly` / `strict`):
52	```json
53	{
54	"type": "warning",
55	"nodeName": "Slack",
56	"message": "Slack API can have rate limits and transient failures"
57	}
58	```
59
60	### 3. Suggestions (Optional)
61	Nice to have - Improvements that could enhance workflow
62
63	Types:
64	- `optimization` - Could be more efficient
65	- `alternative` - Better way to achieve same result
66
67	---
68
69	## The Validation Loop
70
71	### Pattern from Telemetry
72	7,841 occurrences of this pattern:
73
74	```
75	1. Configure node
76	↓
77	2. validate_node (23 seconds thinking about errors)
78	↓
79	3. Read error messages carefully
80	↓
81	4. Fix errors
82	↓
83	5. validate_node again (58 seconds fixing)
84	↓
85	6. Repeat until valid (usually 2-3 iterations)
86	```
87
88	### Example
89	```javascript
90	// Iteration 1
91	let config = {
92	resource: "channel",
93	operation: "create"
94	};
95
96	const result1 = validate_node({
97	nodeType: "nodes-base.slack",
98	config,
99	profile: "runtime"
100	});
101	// → Error: Missing "name"
102
103	// ⏱️ 23 seconds thinking...
104
105	// Iteration 2
106	config.name = "general";
107
108	const result2 = validate_node({
109	nodeType: "nodes-base.slack",
110	config,
111	profile: "runtime"
112	});
113	// → Error: Missing "text"
114
115	// ⏱️ 58 seconds fixing...
116
117	// Iteration 3
118	config.text = "Hello!";
119
120	const result3 = validate_node({
121	nodeType: "nodes-base.slack",
122	config,
123	profile: "runtime"
124	});
125	// → Valid! ✅
126	```
127
128	This is normal! Don't be discouraged by multiple iterations.
129
130	---
131
132	## Validation Profiles
133
134	The four profiles are cumulative (n8n-mcp ≥ 2.63.0): each surfaces everything the lower one does, plus more. The dividing line is best-practice advisories — `minimal` and `runtime` withhold them; `ai-friendly` and `strict` add them. Errors are the same across every profile except that `minimal` skips a few config-level checks (e.g. enum validation of an explicit `operation`). Security and deprecation warnings surface under every profile.
135
136	### minimal
137	Use when: Quick structural checks while wiring a workflow together.
138
139	Surfaces: hard errors that would stop execution (missing required fields, empty code, broken connections). Skips enum checks and all advisories.
140
141	Fastest and most permissive.
142
143	### runtime (RECOMMENDED default)
144	Use when: Ongoing validation as you build; the everyday profile.
145
146	Surfaces: errors (required fields, value types, allowed values, dependencies, broken references) plus security and deprecation warnings. No best-practice advisories.
147
148	Balanced — catches everything that breaks, stays quiet about style.
149
150	### ai-friendly
151	Use when: You want the best-practice advice before deploying.
152
153	Surfaces: everything `runtime` does, plus best-practice advisories — per-node "without error handling" suggestions, "webhook should always send a response", rate-limit notes, outdated-`typeVersion` suggestions, `cachedResultName` and long-chain hints.
154
155	Note: `ai-friendly` is stricter than `runtime`, not looser. (Older docs described it as reducing false positives — that was true only

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n8n-validation-expert

4.8kinstalls983forks

View on GitHub

How to install n8n-validation-expert?

czlonkowski/n8n-skills/n8n-validation-expert

$npx -y skills add czlonkowski/n8n-skills --skill n8n-validation-expert

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# n8n Validation Expert
2
3	Expert guide for interpreting and fixing n8n validation errors.
4
5	---
6
7	## Validation Philosophy
8
9	Validate early, validate often
10
11	Validation is typically iterative:
12	- Expect validation feedback loops
13	- Usually 2-3 validate → fix cycles
14	- Average: 23s thinking about errors, 58s fixing them
15
16	Key insight: Validation is an iterative process, not one-shot!
17
18	---
19
20	## Error Severity Levels
21
22	### 1. Errors (Must Fix)
23	Blocks workflow execution - Must be resolved before activation
24
25	Types:
26	- `missing_required` - Required field not provided
27	- `invalid_value` - Value doesn't match allowed options
28	- `type_mismatch` - Wrong data type (string instead of number)
29	- `invalid_reference` - Referenced node doesn't exist
30	- `invalid_expression` - Expression syntax error
31
32	Example:
33	```json
34	{
35	"type": "missing_required",
36	"property": "channel",
37	"message": "Channel name is required",
38	"fix": "Provide a channel name (lowercase, no spaces, 1-80 characters)"
39	}
40	```
41
42	### 2. Warnings (Should Fix)
43	Doesn't block execution - Workflow can be activated but may have issues
44
45	Types:
46	- `best_practice` - Recommended but not required — surfaces under `ai-friendly` / `strict` only
47	- `deprecated` - Using old API/feature — surfaces under every profile
48	- `security` - Hardcoded secrets, unauthenticated webhooks — surfaces under every profile
49	- `performance` - Potential performance issue — advisory, `ai-friendly` / `strict`
50
51	Example (best-practice — appears under `ai-friendly` / `strict`):
52	```json
53	{
54	"type": "warning",
55	"nodeName": "Slack",
56	"message": "Slack API can have rate limits and transient failures"
57	}
58	```
59
60	### 3. Suggestions (Optional)
61	Nice to have - Improvements that could enhance workflow
62
63	Types:
64	- `optimization` - Could be more efficient
65	- `alternative` - Better way to achieve same result
66
67	---
68
69	## The Validation Loop
70
71	### Pattern from Telemetry
72	7,841 occurrences of this pattern:
73
74	```
75	1. Configure node
76	↓
77	2. validate_node (23 seconds thinking about errors)
78	↓
79	3. Read error messages carefully
80	↓
81	4. Fix errors
82	↓
83	5. validate_node again (58 seconds fixing)
84	↓
85	6. Repeat until valid (usually 2-3 iterations)
86	```
87
88	### Example
89	```javascript
90	// Iteration 1
91	let config = {
92	resource: "channel",
93	operation: "create"
94	};
95
96	const result1 = validate_node({
97	nodeType: "nodes-base.slack",
98	config,
99	profile: "runtime"
100	});
101	// → Error: Missing "name"
102
103	// ⏱️ 23 seconds thinking...
104
105	// Iteration 2
106	config.name = "general";
107
108	const result2 = validate_node({
109	nodeType: "nodes-base.slack",
110	config,
111	profile: "runtime"
112	});
113	// → Error: Missing "text"
114
115	// ⏱️ 58 seconds fixing...
116
117	// Iteration 3
118	config.text = "Hello!";
119
120	const result3 = validate_node({
121	nodeType: "nodes-base.slack",
122	config,
123	profile: "runtime"
124	});
125	// → Valid! ✅
126	```
127
128	This is normal! Don't be discouraged by multiple iterations.
129
130	---
131
132	## Validation Profiles
133
134	The four profiles are cumulative (n8n-mcp ≥ 2.63.0): each surfaces everything the lower one does, plus more. The dividing line is best-practice advisories — `minimal` and `runtime` withhold them; `ai-friendly` and `strict` add them. Errors are the same across every profile except that `minimal` skips a few config-level checks (e.g. enum validation of an explicit `operation`). Security and deprecation warnings surface under every profile.
135
136	### minimal
137	Use when: Quick structural checks while wiring a workflow together.
138
139	Surfaces: hard errors that would stop execution (missing required fields, empty code, broken connections). Skips enum checks and all advisories.
140
141	Fastest and most permissive.
142
143	### runtime (RECOMMENDED default)
144	Use when: Ongoing validation as you build; the everyday profile.
145
146	Surfaces: errors (required fields, value types, allowed values, dependencies, broken references) plus security and deprecation warnings. No best-practice advisories.
147
148	Balanced — catches everything that breaks, stays quiet about style.
149
150	### ai-friendly
151	Use when: You want the best-practice advice before deploying.
152
153	Surfaces: everything `runtime` does, plus best-practice advisories — per-node "without error handling" suggestions, "webhook should always send a response", rate-limit notes, outdated-`typeVersion` suggestions, `cachedResultName` and long-chain hints.
154
155	Note: `ai-friendly` is stricter than `runtime`, not looser. (Older docs described it as reducing false positives — that was true only

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6 picks

Type