feat: add n8n as a second workflow runtime alongside Node-RED by manihagh · Pull Request #38 · energywebfoundation/ewx-worker-node-server

manihagh · 2026-04-22T15:14:35Z

Solutions whose chain-declared executionEnvironment is N8nV1 are now
installed into an embedded n8n child process. Solutions declared
NodeRedV1 or with the field empty continue to run on Node-RED exactly
as before (no behavior change).

The n8n runtime:

Spawns n8n 2.17.4 as a managed child process bound to 127.0.0.1
Waits for n8n's end-of-boot stdout marker before authenticating
Authenticates via generated worker-internal owner credentials stored
at node-red-data/.n8n/owner-credentials.json
Creates workflows with embedded VCC tracking metadata
Activates via POST /rest/workflows/:id/activate with versionId
Deletes via archive-then-delete (n8n 2.17 requirement)

A new src/runtime/ directory introduces a Runtime interface with two
implementations (node-red, n8n). src/solution.ts, src/vote.ts,
src/worker-config.ts, and src/health.ts are now runtime-agnostic.

Includes:

Zod override to 3.25.67 to fix n8n api-types discriminated union
test-flows/vcc-1.json sanity flow
DEV_RUNTIME_OVERRIDES and DEV_LOCAL_FLOW_OVERRIDES for local iteration
RUNTIME-N8N.md with architecture, lifecycle, and operational notes

Verified end-to-end on mainnet: vcc-1 installed to n8n, scheduled
trigger fires every 30s, votes signed and settled on chain, confirmed
via VoteSubmitted event on workerNodePallet.

package-lock.json has ~43K lines of additions. This is expected from
introducing n8n as a dependency; no existing dependencies were removed
or downgraded.

No unit tests added - branch is verified by end-to-end testing.
Test scaffolding is a follow-up.

Solutions whose chain-declared executionEnvironment is N8nV1 are now installed into an embedded n8n child process. Solutions declared NodeRedV1 or with the field empty continue to run on Node-RED exactly as before (no behavior change). The n8n runtime: - Spawns n8n 2.17.4 as a managed child process bound to 127.0.0.1 - Waits for n8n's end-of-boot stdout marker before authenticating - Authenticates via generated worker-internal owner credentials stored at node-red-data/.n8n/owner-credentials.json - Creates workflows with embedded VCC tracking metadata - Activates via POST /rest/workflows/:id/activate with versionId - Deletes via archive-then-delete (n8n 2.17 requirement) A new src/runtime/ directory introduces a Runtime interface with two implementations (node-red, n8n). src/solution.ts, src/vote.ts, src/worker-config.ts, and src/health.ts are now runtime-agnostic. Includes: - Zod override to 3.25.67 to fix n8n api-types discriminated union - test-flows/vcc-1.json sanity flow - DEV_RUNTIME_OVERRIDES and DEV_LOCAL_FLOW_OVERRIDES for local iteration - RUNTIME-N8N.md with architecture, lifecycle, and operational notes Verified end-to-end on mainnet: vcc-1 installed to n8n, scheduled trigger fires every 30s, votes signed and settled on chain, confirmed via VoteSubmitted event on workerNodePallet. package-lock.json has ~43K lines of additions. This is expected from introducing n8n as a dependency; no existing dependencies were removed or downgraded. No unit tests added - branch is verified by end-to-end testing. Test scaffolding is a follow-up.

hejkerooo

I like the idea of running n8n as separate binary - wish we would've done the same for NodeRed if it's possible in current situation, it's something to be considered in future.

However this PR should've been created from this branch #34

It should be stable as of now, not sure why it's not merged yet.

hejkerooo · 2026-04-22T15:32:14Z

+    const raw: string = readFileSync(credentialsPath, 'utf8');
+
+    try {
+      return JSON.parse(raw) as OwnerCredentials;


use zod validation for this to make sure that file is compatible with OwnerCredentials

hejkerooo · 2026-04-22T15:41:19Z

+  };
+
+  writeFileSync(credentialsPath, JSON.stringify(credentials), { mode: 0o600 });
+  logger.info({ credentialsPath }, 'generated new n8n owner credentials');


I would suggest to remove n8n keyword as logger has N8nRuntime context

hejkerooo · 2026-04-22T16:41:54Z

+let baseUrl: string | null = null;
+
+/** Generate or load the encryption key n8n uses for its own credentials. */
+const ensureEncryptionKey = (n8nUserDir: string): string => {


Suggested change

const ensureEncryptionKey = (n8nUserDir: string): string => {

const createEncryptionKey = (n8nUserDir: string): string => {

hejkerooo · 2026-04-22T16:43:46Z

+};
+
+/** Resolve path to the n8n CLI binary inside node_modules. */
+const resolveN8nBinary = (): string => {


Suggested change

const resolveN8nBinary = (): string => {

const resolveN8nBinaryPath = (): string => {

hejkerooo · 2026-04-22T16:53:09Z

-  await deleteAll();
+  // Wipe any leftover installed flows from prior runs across every runtime
+  // that started successfully, so reconcile starts from a clean slate.
+  for (const rt of ALL_RUNTIMES) {


can we extract it as a function in runtime.ts?

hejkerooo · 2026-04-23T06:24:52Z

@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# n8n runtime


We should move this to docs/

hejkerooo · 2026-04-23T06:28:41Z

@@ -1,17 +1,9 @@
 import { type ApiPromise } from '@polkadot/api';


This file will be reviewed once merge with feat/auth occurs

hejkerooo · 2026-04-23T06:29:11Z

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+{


hejkerooo · 2026-04-23T06:32:07Z

+ * directly. Returns null if the identifier matches nothing known.
+ */
+const resolveSolutionNamespace = async (
+  noderedId: string | undefined,


can we extract it to interface? in case someone wanted to fetch with solutionId right now it would be

resolveSolutionNamespace(undefined, 'some-value');

which is not clear imo

hejkerooo · 2026-04-23T06:41:45Z

+    // Idempotency: same solutionId at the same workLogic is a no-op.
+    const existingWorkflowId: string | undefined = installedBySolutionId.get(input.solutionId);
+
+    if (existingWorkflowId != null) {


since it's shared behavior, can we create a function that is shared with NR and N8N? some sort of default implementation

Addresses all review comments from #38: - Move RUNTIME-N8N.md to docs/runtime-n8n.md - Extract runtime bootstrap loops into startAllRuntimes and deleteAllFromAllRuntimes helpers in registry.ts - Add getHealth() to the Runtime interface; remove NR special-casing in health.ts (which is now pure iteration over ALL_RUNTIMES) - Replace resolveSolutionNamespace and resolveSolutionDetails awkward (noderedId?, solutionId?) signatures with a discriminated SolutionIdentifier type that makes intent explicit at call sites Also cleans up lint issues surfaced during the refactor: nullish coalescing in red.ts, unused sleep import, Promise constructor param naming, type assertions in the flow-parse path. No behavior change. TypeScript and eslint pass clean.

azam-ismail · 2026-04-23T09:38:22Z

+    }, timeoutMs);
+  });
+
+  await Promise.race([n8nReadyPromise, timeout]);


need to clear timeout, when n8nReadyPromise are return before timeout

manihagh · 2026-04-23T11:12:45Z

Superseded by #41 — rebased onto v1.7.0 after #34 landed. All review feedback addressed in the new PR. Closing this one.

manihagh added 2 commits April 22, 2026 17:00

chore: revert accidental prettier formatting of workflow file

9f4d55f

manihagh requested a review from hejkerooo as a code owner April 22, 2026 15:14

manihagh requested review from azam-ismail, dwojno and kim-energyweb and removed request for dwojno April 22, 2026 15:15

hejkerooo requested changes Apr 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

manihagh requested a review from hejkerooo April 23, 2026 09:12

azam-ismail reviewed Apr 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

manihagh mentioned this pull request Apr 23, 2026

feat: add n8n as a second workflow runtime alongside Node-RED #41

Open

manihagh closed this Apr 23, 2026

	const ensureEncryptionKey = (n8nUserDir: string): string => {
	const createEncryptionKey = (n8nUserDir: string): string => {

	const resolveN8nBinary = (): string => {
	const resolveN8nBinaryPath = (): string => {

		@@ -1,17 +1,9 @@
		import { type ApiPromise } from '@polkadot/api';

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manihagh commented Apr 22, 2026

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manihagh commented Apr 23, 2026

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