Automate with n8n

The n8n recipe runs n8n on one briq: workflows that start on a webhook, a schedule or a message, then call the services n8n knows. The agent builds them through n8n's API; you check them in the editor.

briq_run({ recipe: "n8n", expose: "public" })
→ bq_… n8n (n8nio/n8n:latest) running · url: https://n8n-k3x9.briq.run/ · cost so far … · sleeps at 18:42 UTC unless used
  outputs:
    N8N_OWNER_EMAIL=owner@n8n.local
    N8N_OWNER_PASSWORD=…
    URL=https://n8n-k3x9.briq.run/

What happens:

1. briq makes n8n's owner before n8n starts. The editor asks for a sign-in from the first visit.
2. n8n knows its URL: its webhooks are under https://n8n-k3x9.briq.run/webhook/.
3. Workflows, credentials and runs are kept in SQLite on the briq's volume.

Build a workflow

A workflow is JSON: its nodes and how they connect. This one answers a webhook:

{
  "name": "Echo",
  "nodes": [
    { "name": "Webhook", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook", "typeVersion": 2, "position": [0, 0],
      "parameters": { "httpMethod": "POST", "path": "echo", "responseMode": "responseNode" } },
    { "name": "Reply", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.respondToWebhook", "typeVersion": 1, "position": [300, 0],
      "parameters": { "respondWith": "json", "responseBody": "={{ { \"got\": $json.body.text } }}" } }
  ],
  "connections": { "Webhook": { "main": [[{ "node": "Reply", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] } },
  "settings": {}
}

Create it, then activate it:

briq_exec({ briq: "bq_…", cmd: ["node", "/briq/n8n-api.mjs", "POST", "/workflows", "-"], stdin: "<the workflow>" })
→ {"id":"O3YAE75kPu683zmH","name":"Echo","active":false,…}

briq_exec({ briq: "bq_…", cmd: ["node", "/briq/n8n-api.mjs", "POST", "/workflows/O3YAE75kPu683zmH/activate"] })
→ {"id":"O3YAE75kPu683zmH","name":"Echo","active":true,…}

Call it from anywhere:

curl -s https://n8n-k3x9.briq.run/webhook/echo -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"text":"hello"}'

{"got":"hello"}

• n8n-api.mjs takes any path of n8n's public API after /api/v1: GET /workflows, GET /executions?workflowId=…, PUT /workflows/{id}.
• Its first call signs in as the owner and makes an API key, kept on the volume for the next calls.
• - reads the body from stdin, so the agent never escapes JSON on a command line.

Sign in to the editor

Open the URL and sign in with N8N_OWNER_EMAIL and N8N_OWNER_PASSWORD. Add credentials there (Credentials → Add): a WhatsApp account, a Gmail sign-in, an API key. n8n keeps them encrypted on the volume, and a workflow names them by id. The agent then uses them without holding them.

WhatsApp and Messenger

n8n's WhatsApp Trigger node starts a workflow on each message, and its WhatsApp Business Cloud node replies. Meta sends messages to a public HTTPS URL: the briq's. Add the Meta app's credentials in the editor, then activate the workflow. For Messenger, or to write the bot as your own code, see Run a webhook bot.

With a database

Put a Postgres in the same stack, for the data your workflows keep:

briq_run({ recipe: "postgres", stack: "shop" })
briq_run({ recipe: "n8n", stack: "shop", expose: "public" })

In n8n's Postgres credential, use PGHOST, PGUSER, PGPASSWORD and PGDATABASE from the postgres outputs, with SSL off: the stack's private network has no TLS.

Schedules

A Schedule Trigger runs only while the briq is awake. A webhook wakes it; a timer cannot. A workflow on a schedule needs sleep: "never" (Pro plan), or a window longer than the time between two runs. See Lifecycle and sleep.

When it does not work

• The requested webhook "POST echo" is not registered: the workflow is not active, or was activated less than a second ago. /webhook-test/ paths answer only while the editor listens.
• Webhook URLs start with https://localhost/: the briq was created without expose. n8n reads its URL at boot: destroy the briq and run it again with expose: "public".
• 401 from a sender: the URL is private. A webhook sender cannot pass its token: use expose: "public".
• The first request after a while is slower: the briq was asleep and woke for it.

Good to know

• small at least: n8n uses about 700 MB once started.
• The owner's password comes from briq at every start, so it cannot be changed in the editor.
• The Code node runs JavaScript. Python is not in the image.
• n8n deletes runs older than 14 days by default (EXECUTIONS_DATA_MAX_AGE, in hours).
• Each run is a webhook visit, so a busy workflow keeps the briq awake, and billed.