Automated n8n Workflow Backup to GitHub Repository

Overview

This workflow automatically backs up every workflow in your n8n instance to a dedicated GitHub repository. It runs on a configurable schedule (or manually) and ensures that all your workflow JSON files are version-controlled and safely stored in a structured folder. The backup process intelligently handles both new workflows (creates a file) and existing ones (updates the file), making it ideal for disaster recovery, collaboration, or tracking changes over time.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown

1. Schedule Trigger (No additional auth) — Triggers the workflow on a recurring interval. By default it runs hourly, but you can customize the schedule (e.g., daily at midnight) to suit your needs. Also supports manual execution via the Manual Trigger node.
2. Manual Trigger (No auth) — Provides a manual button to run the backup immediately, useful for testing or on-demand backups.
3. Get many workflows (Internal n8n API, no external credentials) — Fetches a list of all workflows from your n8n instance using the built-in n8n node. No separate API key is required; it uses the same authentication as your n8n session.
4. Loop Over Items (No auth) — Iterates over each workflow in the list one at a time. This node processes workflows sequentially, preventing race conditions.
5. Getafile (GitHub, OAuth2 / Personal Access Token) — Attempts to retrieve the existing workflow file from your GitHub repository at the path workflows/{workflow-name}.json. If the file does not exist (i.e., a new workflow), the node’s error output is triggered. The expression in filePath sanitizes the workflow name by replacing invalid characters (<>:"|?*), converting -> to to, and normalizing spaces.
6. Convert to File1 (No auth) — Converts the retrieved GitHub file’s binary data back to a JSON object so it can be compared or overwritten.
7. Extract from File1 (No auth) — Extracts the JSON content from the binary file, preparing it for an update operation.
8. Edit a file (GitHub, OAuth2 / Personal Access Token) — If the workflow already exists on GitHub, this node updates the file with the latest JSON from your n8n instance. The commit message is dynamically generated (e.g., MyWorkflow-updated).
9. Convert to File (No auth) — Converts the current n8n workflow JSON into a binary file (.json) with the workflow’s name as the filename.
10. Create a file (GitHub, OAuth2 / Personal Access Token) — If the workflow is new (i.e., Getafile error output), this node creates a new file in the workflows/ folder. The commit message includes the workflow name and -update.

The workflow loops back to the Loop Over Items node to process the next workflow. The Sticky Note at the top serves as a comment.

Setup Instructions

• GitHub account — You need a GitHub account and a repository (e.g., n8n-backup) to store the backups. Create an empty repository or use an existing one.
• GitHub credential in n8n — Add a GitHub OAuth2 or Personal Access Token credential in n8n under Credentials > GitHub. Ensure the token has repo scope (or at least contents: write and contents: read).
• Configure the nodes —
  • In Get many workflows, no changes needed.
  • In Getafile, Create a file, and Edit a file, update the owner and repository fields to match your GitHub username and repo name.
  • Optionally adjust the Schedule Trigger interval (set hours/minutes as desired).
• Error handling — The workflow references an external error workflow (nkikA5CaVjEKdIIR). If you don’t have that, you should either create a simple error handler or remove the errorWorkflow setting in the workflow settings.

Use Cases & Adaptations

• Disaster recovery — Restore all workflows by downloading the JSON files from GitHub and importing them back into n8n.
• Version history — Track changes to workflows over time via GitHub commits and diffs.
• Multi-instance sync — Modify the workflow to run on multiple n8n instances, pushing to the same repo (be cautious with conflicts).
• Selective backup — Add a filter node after Get many workflows to only backup workflows with a specific tag or name pattern.
• Notification — Insert a Slack or email node after the loop to notify you when a backup completes or if an error occurs.

{
  "name": "All Workflow Backup to GitHub",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -160,
        336
      ],
      "id": "b91b0ed2-380f-49f7-b8fa-7596cd0c68e7",
      "name": "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "filters": {},
        "requestOptions": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.n8n",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        64,
        288
      ],
      "id": "0230a4c7-6bb8-4a80-8ba8-4c070d1e21d0",
      "name": "Get many workflows"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "rule": {
          "interval": [
            {}
          ]
        }
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        -160,
        144
      ],
      "id": "76af76ea-b753-4447-9ee9-cf980b85bf12",
      "name": "Schedule Trigger"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitInBatches",
// ... truncated (copy to see full JSON)