n8n Workflow: Basic Chat Trigger with Email and HTTP Request

This n8n workflow demonstrates a foundational setup for interacting with a chat system, processing messages, and then sending an email or making an HTTP request based on the chat input. It serves as a starting point for building more complex conversational AI applications or integrating chat interactions with other services.

What it does

This workflow outlines a basic structure for:

1. Receiving Chat Messages: It starts by listening for incoming chat messages.
2. Processing Chat Data: It includes nodes to manipulate and transform the incoming chat message data.
3. Conditional Actions: It provides placeholders for taking actions like sending an email or making an HTTP request, which can be triggered based on the content of the chat message (though the specific logic for this is not fully defined in the provided JSON).

Prerequisites/Requirements

• n8n Instance: An active n8n instance to host and run the workflow.
• Chat Service Integration: A chat service configured to send messages to the "Chat Trigger" node (e.g., a custom chat application, a messaging platform with a webhook integration).
• Email Account (for Send Email node): An SMTP server configured as an n8n credential for sending emails.
• API Endpoint (for HTTP Request node): An external API or webhook endpoint if you intend to use the HTTP Request node.

Setup/Usage

1. Import the Workflow:

   • Copy the provided JSON code.
   • In your n8n instance, click "New" to create a new workflow.
   • Go to the "Workflow" menu (three dots in the top right) and select "Import from JSON".
   • Paste the JSON code and click "Import".

2. Configure the Chat Trigger:

   • Locate the "When chat message received" (Chat Trigger) node.
   • You will need to configure this node to connect to your specific chat service. This typically involves setting up a webhook URL in your chat service that points to the n8n webhook provided by this node.

3. Configure Credentials (if using Send Email or HTTP Request):

   • Send Email: Click on the "Send Email" node. You will need to select or create an SMTP credential. Provide your SMTP server details (host, port, user, password, etc.).
   • HTTP Request: Click on the "HTTP Request" node. Configure the URL, method (GET, POST, etc.), headers, and body as required by the API you intend to call. If the API requires authentication, you will need to set up appropriate credentials (e.g., API Key, OAuth2) within n8n.

4. Customize Data Transformation:

   • The "Edit Fields" (Set), "Code", "Aggregate", and "Split Out" nodes are included for data manipulation. You will need to configure these nodes based on how you want to process the incoming chat message data and prepare it for subsequent actions.
     • Edit Fields (Set): Use this to add, modify, or remove fields from the incoming data.
     • Code: For advanced JavaScript logic to transform or analyze the chat message.
     • Aggregate / Split Out: Useful for handling lists of items or structuring data for batch processing.

5. Define Conditional Logic:

   • Currently, the "Send Email" and "HTTP Request" nodes are not directly connected in a conditional flow. You would typically add a "Switch" node or "IF" node after the data processing steps to route the workflow based on the content of the chat message (e.g., if the message contains "email", send an email; if it contains "request", make an HTTP call).

6. Activate the Workflow:

   • Once configured, save the workflow and activate it by toggling the "Active" switch in the top right corner of the n8n editor.