Workflows API Validation Testing Guide

Workflows API Validation Testing Guide

**Story 2.1: Validate & Test Workflows API**

This guide explains how to run comprehensive validation tests for all 8 Workflows API methods against a live n8n instance.

Prerequisites

1. Live n8n Instance

You need access to a running n8n instance (v1.82.3 or later) with:

• API access enabled
• Valid API key with workflow management permissions
• Network accessibility from your test environment

2. Project Setup

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

3. Configuration

Option A: Using .config.json (Multi-Instance)

Create or update `.config.json` in the project root:

{
  "environments": {
    "production": {
      "n8n_host": "https://your-n8n-instance.com",
      "n8n_api_key": "your_api_key_here"
    },
    "staging": {
      "n8n_host": "https://staging-n8n.com",
      "n8n_api_key": "staging_api_key"
    }
  },
  "defaultEnv": "production"
}

Option B: Using .env (Single Instance)

Create `.env` file in project root:

N8N_HOST=https://your-n8n-instance.com
N8N_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
MCP_PORT=3456

**Important**: Provide the base URL without `/api/v1`. The server automatically appends `/api/v1`.

Running Validation Tests

1. Start MCP Server

In one terminal:

npm start

The server should start on `http://localhost:3456` (or your configured `MCP_PORT`).

Verify health:

curl http://localhost:3456/health

Expected response:

{"status":"ok"}

2. Run Validation Tests

In another terminal:

node test-workflows-validation.js

3. Test Execution Options

Edit `test-workflows-validation.js` to control which tests run:

const testFlags = {
  runListWorkflowsTests: true,      // GET /workflows
  runGetWorkflowTests: true,         // GET /workflows/{id}
  runCreateWorkflowTests: true,      // POST /workflows
  runUpdateWorkflowTests: true,      // PUT /workflows/{id}
  runDeleteWorkflowTests: true,      // DELETE /workflows/{id}
  runActivateWorkflowTests: true,    // PUT /workflows/{id}/activate
  runDeactivateWorkflowTests: true,  // PUT /workflows/{id}/deactivate
  runExecuteWorkflowTests: true,     // Execute workflow
  runMultiInstanceTests: false,      // Requires multi-instance config
  runErrorHandlingTests: true,       // Error scenarios
  runCleanup: true                   // Delete test workflows after
};

4. Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging:

DEBUG=true node test-workflows-validation.js

Test Coverage

The validation suite includes **54+ comprehensive tests**:

Task 2: list_workflows (7 tests)

• ✓ List all workflows without filters
• ✓ Response structure validation
• ✓ Filter by active=true
• ✓ Filter by active=false
• ✓ Pagination with limit parameter
• ✓ Multi-instance routing
• ✓ Error handling (401, malformed params)

Task 3: get_workflow (5 tests)

• ✓ Retrieve existing workflow by ID
• ✓ Compl