OpenClaw + n8n Workflow Orchestration

How to use

API keys live in n8n's credential store; the agent only knows the webhook URL, so it never sees credentials.

Lock each workflow once it is built and tested, so the agent can't modify how it interacts with the API.

You can add validation, rate limiting, and approval gates in n8n before any external call executes.

Credential management in n8n is a manual, one-time setup per integration.

Lock after testing: the build → test → lock cycle is critical — without locking, the agent can silently modify workflows.

Letting your AI agent directly manage API keys and call external services is a recipe for security incidents: every new integration means another credential in .env.local and another surface for the agent to accidentally leak or misuse.

How it works:

Tell OpenClaw what you need (e.g., create a workflow that sends a Slack message when a new GitHub issue is labeled urgent), and the agent designs the workflow.

Open n8n's UI and manually add your Slack token / GitHub token.

Lock the workflow to prevent further modifications by the agent.

┌──────────────┐     webhook call      ┌─────────────────┐     API call     ┌──────────────┐
│   OpenClaw   │ ───────────────────→  │   n8n Workflow   │ ─────────────→  │  External    │
│   (agent)    │   (no credentials)    │  (locked, with   │  (credentials   │  Service     │
│              │                       │   API keys)      │   stay here)    │  (Slack, etc)│
└──────────────┘                       └─────────────────┘                  └──────────────┘

Option 1: Pre-configured Docker Stack

A community-maintained Docker Compose setup, openclaw-n8n-stack, pre-wires everything on a shared Docker network.

git clone https://github.com/caprihan/openclaw-n8n-stack.git
cd openclaw-n8n-stack
cp .env.template .env
# Add your Anthropic API key to .env
docker-compose up -d

1. Install n8n (npm install n8n -g or run via Docker).
2. Configure OpenClaw to know the n8n base URL.
3. Add the n8n Integration Pattern to your AGENTS.md.

## n8n Integration Pattern

When I need to interact with external APIs:

1. NEVER store API keys in my environment or skill files
2. Check if an n8n workflow already exists for this integration
3. If not, create one via n8n API with a webhook trigger
4. Notify the user to add credentials and lock the workflow
5. For all future calls, use the webhook URL with a JSON payload

Workflow naming: openclaw-{service}-{action}
Example: openclaw-slack-send-message

Webhook call format:
curl -X POST http://n8n:5678/webhook/{workflow-name} \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channel": "#general", "message": "Hello from OpenClaw"}'

Links

• n8n Documentation
• n8n Webhook Trigger Docs