n8n Workflow: Basic Error Handling with Conditional Logic

This n8n workflow demonstrates a fundamental pattern for handling errors within a workflow, specifically by allowing a workflow to proceed even if an error occurs, unless the error is of a known, critical type. It provides a starting point for implementing more robust retry and error management strategies.

What it does

This workflow showcases how to conditionally stop a workflow with an error based on a specific condition.

1. Manual Trigger: The workflow starts when manually executed.
2. Edit Fields (Set): This node is intended to simulate an operation that might produce an error. In a real-world scenario, this would be where an actual task (e.g., API call, data processing) takes place.
3. If: This node evaluates a condition. If the condition is met (simulating a "known error"), the workflow branches to the "Stop and Error" path.
4. No Operation, do nothing: If the "If" condition is not met (simulating a successful operation or an unknown/ignorable error), the workflow proceeds through this path, effectively doing nothing further in this example.
5. Wait: This node introduces a delay, simulating a pause before a retry or further processing.
6. Stop and Error: If the "If" node evaluates to true (i.e., a "known error" is detected), this node is executed, causing the entire workflow execution to stop and report an error.
7. Sticky Note: Provides a comment within the workflow for documentation.

Prerequisites/Requirements

• An n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud).

Setup/Usage

1. Import the workflow:
   • Copy the provided JSON code.
   • In your n8n instance, click "New Workflow" or open an existing one.
   • Go to "Workflow Settings" (the gear icon in the top right).
   • Select "Import from JSON" and paste the copied JSON.
2. Configure the Edit Fields (Set) node:
   • In a real-world scenario, you would replace this node with the actual operation that might fail.
   • For demonstration purposes, you can add a field here, e.g., error_type with a value of known_error to test the "If" condition, or any other value to test the "No Operation" path.
3. Configure the If node:
   • The If node is currently empty. You will need to define the condition that determines whether an error is "known" and should stop the workflow.
   • Example Condition: If you added an error_type field in the Edit Fields (Set) node, you could configure the If node to check: {{ $json.error_type === 'known_error' }}.
   • Connect the True output of the If node to the Stop and Error node.
   • Connect the False output of the If node to the No Operation, do nothing node.
4. Activate the workflow: Once configured, activate the workflow by toggling the "Active" switch in the top right corner.
5. Execute the workflow: Click "Execute Workflow" to test the different paths based on the data you feed into the Edit Fields (Set) node or the results of a real operation.