Sync n8n Workflow JSON to GitHub Repo Files (Auto Update)

Keep your n8n workflows version-controlled automatically—export and sync JSON to GitHub on changes

This n8n automation workflow exports a selected n8n workflow as a formatted JSON file and keeps a GitHub repository in sync—creating the file if it doesn’t exist and updating it only when the workflow definition actually changes.

What this workflow does

• Runs when called by another n8n workflow and accepts a Workflow Id as input.
• Fetches the workflow definition from the n8n API using the provided workflow ID.
• Reduces the workflow to essential parts (including workflow name, nodes, connections, and settings) and converts it into a formatted JSON file.
• Checks GitHub for an existing file with the same name as the exported workflow.
• Creates or updates the GitHub file:
  • If the JSON file doesn’t exist, it creates it with an initial commit message.
  • If the file exists and the JSON content differs, it updates the file with a new commit.

Use cases

• GitOps-style workflow management: automatically track n8n workflow changes in a GitHub repo as JSON.
• Safe promotion between environments: export the “source of truth” from n8n and store it version-by-version in GitHub.
• Change auditing for automation engineers: capture updates whenever workflow definitions are modified.
• SaaS ops documentation: keep a consistent JSON snapshot of critical n8n workflows in GitHub.

Technical details

• Integrations/Credentials: n8n API credential for reading workflows; GitHub credential with read/write access to repository files.
• Node stack: if, n8n, set, github, sticky note, convert to file.
• Configuration: set the GitHub owner and repository (optionally adjust commit message patterns) and ensure the calling workflow passes a valid Workflow Id.