User manual

1. What trig8n is

trig8n is the AI build toolkit for n8n: a library of thousands of ready-made n8n automations, and Claude to adapt, build and fix them. When a workflow is ready, trig8n puts it straight into your own n8n, with the logins connected and a watch on it.

The automations come from several large n8n libraries (among them the n8n.io gallery and community collections). Duplicates are removed and every workflow is cleaned of personal data (credential IDs, test data). New workflows, MCP servers and skills are checked every night. The current numbers are on the Overview page.

2. Your account: free and member

Sign up at trig8n.com with Google or with your email. No card is needed.

A bar at the top of the app shows how many free uses are left. Upgrade in the menu opens the plans: monthly, yearly, or yearly paid month by month. Payment runs through Stripe; prices include VAT. Members manage their plan and cancellation under Subscription.

3. Quick start (10 minutes)

1. Connect your n8n. In Settings enter your n8n address and an n8n API key (n8n → Settings → n8n API). n8n Cloud and your own server both work.
2. Find a workflow. Type a task in the search field, e.g. invoice pdf airtable, or open Categories. Nothing fits? Use Describe it.
3. Make it yours. On the automation page press Make it mine and write what should be different. Check the changes Claude lists.
4. Send it. Press Send to my n8n. trig8n creates and publishes the workflow in your n8n.
5. Connect the logins. Open Set up logins, link the logins you already have and add the missing ones.
6. Watch it. On the Error doctor page switch on the Watchtower. You get an email if a run fails.

4. Overview page

The top row shows the size of the library: unique automations, how many use AI, how many come with notes from the original author, and how many apps are involved.

The possibility map

A grid of what an automation does (rows) against the build stage where it helps most (columns). The darker the cell, the more automations exist for that combination. Click a number to open exactly those automations.

Example: most scraping automations help you discover (market research); most content automations help you grow.

Below the map you find the automations grouped by AI engine and by business area, a selection of well-documented AI automations, and your latest projects.

5. Browse and search

Searching

Type words for the task, the app or the AI: claude support email, shopify order, youtube summary. Search finds words in titles, summaries, apps, categories and the authors' notes, also word beginnings (invo finds invoice), and works in all four languages. The quick search in the sidebar shows the first matches while you type; press Enter to see all. A search without results offers Describe it.

Filters (left column)

Inside one filter group, ticked values are combined with OR; different groups with AND. The numbers show how many results you get.

Two quick switches sit above the filters: Uses AI and Has author notes. Active filters appear as chips above the results; click a chip to remove it, or Clear all.

Sorting and saving

Sort by Best match, Best documented, Simplest first, Most steps or A–Z. Click the star on any card to save it; Saved in the menu lists your collection.

6. The automation page

The simulation

The diagram shows the workflow as it looks in n8n. Colours tell you the kind of step:

• Trigger – what starts the run (schedule, webhook, form, chat, new email …)
• AI step – an AI agent or prompt that reads, decides or writes
• AI model / tool / memory – dashed boxes that plug into an AI step
• App action – reads or writes data in an app (Sheets, Gmail, CRM …)
• Logic & data – conditions, loops, merges, small scripts

Press Simulate run: the steps light up in the order n8n runs them and the panel on the right explains the current step. Step goes one step at a time, Reset starts again. Nothing is executed and no app is contacted.

7. Getting a workflow into n8n

When trig8n sends a workflow it also fixes known problems on the way: retired AI model names are replaced with a current model, settings that newer models refuse are removed, and email triggers are set so attachments come through. Logins that your n8n does not know yet are kept as open places; Set up logins fills them later and publishes the workflow again.

After import by hand: open every node with a warning sign and choose your own login, read the setup notes, run it once with Test workflow, then activate it.

8. Set up logins

Set up logins (in the menu, on a project, an automation page or after sending a workflow) lists every account your automations need, with where to get the key and what to fill in.

1. Already in your n8n: trig8n looks for the logins you already have in n8n and shows them in a green box. Press one to link it to all workflows that need it.
2. New login: open the card, follow the short guide (for example "Telegram: create a bot with BotFather") and fill the fields. Every field has a hint; rarely needed fields are under More settings (optional).
3. Sign-in logins (Google, Microsoft and others) are created in n8n with one click there; paste their link and trig8n connects them.

trig8n creates the login in your n8n and connects it to every workflow that uses it; workflows you send later arrive already connected. A card shows Ready when everything is linked.

9. Make it mine and Describe it

Make it mine

On every automation page, Make it mine changes the workflow for you. Write what should be different (for example use Outlook instead of Gmail and send a Telegram message at the end). Claude rewrites the workflow with real steps from the library, trig8n checks it and shows every change. Download it or send it to your n8n, and change it again as often as you like; each version is kept.

Describe it: a new automation from your words

When nothing fits, open Describe it and write what should happen, when it should start and which apps it uses (for example when a PDF invoice arrives by email, save amount and supplier in Airtable and send me a Telegram message). trig8n gives Claude the most similar real workflow as a pattern; the new workflow gets a trigger, the steps and a sticky Setup note. Read it in plain words, change it further, download it or send it to your n8n.

10. When something breaks: Error doctor and Watchtower

Error doctor

Error doctor lists the failed runs from your n8n, newest first. Diagnose lets Claude explain the error in plain words: what went wrong, why, and the steps to fix it. Each case is labelled: login, data, setting, outside n8n, code, or unclear. If the workflow itself is the problem, Fix it for me makes a corrected copy; you see exactly what changed and can send it to your n8n. The original is never changed.

Claude only gets the error, the settings of the failed step (never its login) and a short sample of its input with private values masked.

Watchtower

Switch on the Watchtower at the top of the Error doctor page. Every hour trig8n checks your n8n and emails you when an automation fails, at most one email every 3 hours. If your n8n cannot be reached three checks in a row you get one separate email. The first check only remembers where it starts, so old errors never flood your inbox.

11. Idea Studio and projects

Describe the idea

Write two to five sentences: who uses it, what should happen, and which apps or AI are involved. App names (HubSpot, Gmail, Telegram, Shopify …) make the matching much better.

Optionally choose a project name, the AI engine and how many automations per stage you want (3, 4 or 5).

What trig8n does

1. Analyses the text: apps, AI engines, business area and key words.
2. Matches automations for each of the ten build stages and explains each pick.
3. Flags gaps: a stage marked gap has no fitting automation – plan a custom workflow there.
4. Claude writes a product brief (pitch, problem, users, MVP features) and keeps the best picks.

The ten build stages

The project board

Each stage is a column with a goal, a checklist and its automation cards. Set each card to To do, In progress, Done or Skip; the progress bar updates at once. Add more cards from any automation page (Add to a project) and rename the project by clicking its title. All workflows (ZIP) downloads every workflow sorted by stage (members); Plan (Markdown) exports the plan as a checklist.

Starter kit for Claude Code and Cursor

Create starter kit turns the plan into a ready project folder (ZIP): README, rules for the AI agent (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, Cursor rules), architecture, database schema, API endpoints, an ordered TASKS.md, the project automations as n8n files, MCP configs, a skills setup script and .env.example. Choose a stack or let trig8n pick one. If the kit stops half way (for example when you close the page), Continue it picks up where it left off.

Handover document and cost estimate

Handover document writes everything the next person needs: what each automation does, how it starts, which logins it needs and where to renew them, how to test it and whether it runs in n8n. Claude can write the overview and the tests; print it or save it as PDF or Markdown. Cost estimate shows executions per month, AI cost and the n8n plan that fits; change any number and it updates at once.

12. Builder: build the project with Claude

Open Builder in the menu, or Open in Builder next to a project's starter kit. Your project files are on the left, an editor in the middle and Claude on the right.

1. Ask for a change in your own words. Claude reads the open file and picks the other files it needs.
2. Claude proposes changes as a list (new, edit, delete), each with a line-by-line comparison.
3. Tick the ones you want and press Accept selected. Undo puts the files back.

You can edit and save files yourself (Ctrl+S). Download ZIP gives you the whole project, and a workflow file can go straight to your n8n with Send to n8n. Claude does not run code here: run and test the project on your computer or server.

13. Finders: skills, MCP servers and your AI tools

Skills Finder

Skills are add-ons for AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor …): a folder with a SKILL.md and optional scripts that teaches the agent a new ability. The Skills Finder searches GitHub, ClawHub and SkillsMP at the same time, merges duplicates, ranks by relevance, popularity and trust, and shows a ready install command. Results are cached for 6 hours; Refresh live searches again.

MCP Finder

MCP servers are ready-made tool connections for Claude and other AI assistants (HubSpot, Postgres, Slack, a browser …). The MCP Finder searches GitHub, Smithery and the official MCP Registry live, sorted into 17 categories, with a rating of 1 to 5 stars and badges (official, verified, remote, Popular, Editor's pick). Copy the Connector URL into Claude, or the Claude Code command into your terminal. In a project, MCP servers for this project searches for the apps of that plan.

Set up my AI tools

Set up my AI tools turns the MCP servers and skills you saved into the exact config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code or Windsurf, with the file path on macOS, Windows and Linux. Copy it, or download one setup script that adds everything at once.

14. Developer agent (MCP and API)

Dock trig8n to your own AI developer. The agent then searches the library, opens automations, finds MCP servers and skills and creates build plans by itself. Members only.

1. In Settings → Agent tokens create a token and copy it (it is shown only once).
2. Open Developer agent and copy the connection command, e.g. for Claude Code:
   claude mcp add --transport http trig8n https://trig8n.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
3. Paste the system prompt from the same page into the agent's instructions.
4. Ask the agent: "Plan my idea: …".

The agent has eleven tools: catalogue_overview, list_categories, list_platforms, plan_software_idea, search_automations, get_automation, find_mcp_servers, find_skills, request_approval, check_approval and use_platform_key. Scripts can use the REST API (/agent/v1/…, described as OpenAPI). Limit: 300 calls per 5 minutes per user; every call is logged. Revoke a token in Settings at any time.

15. Access Center: let the agent work on its own

The Access Center decides what your developer agent may do on other platforms. The agent works on its own with API keys inside your limits and asks you only where a person is needed: opening an account and paying.

1. Add your platforms: name, link, the email you use there, and whether the account exists. Never enter passwords or card numbers.
2. Paste an API key where the agent should work, with only the rights it needs. trig8n stores it encrypted and shows only the last 4 characters.
3. Set the permissions with Yes / No: read data, create things, publish or deploy, send messages, use the API key. Spending money always needs your approval.
4. Answer the approval inbox. A red number in the menu shows waiting requests; press Yes, approve or No, optionally with a note.

16. Settings

• n8n connection: your n8n address (e.g. https://yourname.app.n8n.cloud) and an n8n API key. trig8n tests the connection before saving and stores the key encrypted. On n8n Cloud the API needs a paid plan.
• Sign-in: with Google, or email and password (at least 10 characters with letters and numbers).
• Agent tokens: create, see last use, revoke.
• Emails: choose which tips and notices trig8n may send you.
• Language: EN / TR / DE / RU at the bottom of the menu; emails follow your choice.
• Light / dark mode: the moon button next to your name.

17. Administration

• Users: invite, change roles, disable (blocks at once, keeps projects).
• Library updates: every night new workflows, MCP servers and skills are fetched from the sources. In the mode I review first they wait in Admin → Library updates until you publish them.
• System monitor: every hour the server log is checked; fatal or repeated errors, a stopped library update or failing emails are emailed to the admins. A daily report goes out in the morning; Send report now sends one at once.
• Member flow in n8n: Deploy to my n8n installs the member lifecycle workflow (welcome tips, reminders) in the admin's n8n; Send test event checks it.
• Activity log: sign-ins, downloads, n8n pushes, agent calls and admin actions.

18. Security and privacy

• Repeated wrong passwords lock the sign-in for 15 minutes; new sign-ins are confirmed by email code.
• Passwords are stored only as secure hashes; n8n and platform API keys are encrypted; agent tokens are stored only as fingerprints.
• Logins for your automations are kept in your n8n, not in trig8n.
• What goes to Claude is limited to what the task needs; private values in error samples are masked.
• Workflow files are cleaned of the original authors' credential IDs and test data.

19. Questions and problems

20. Glossary

n8n

Open-source automation platform; workflows are built from connected steps (nodes).

Workflow / automation

A sequence of steps that runs automatically.

Node

One step in a workflow (e.g. "read Google Sheet", "send Slack message").

Trigger

The first node; decides when the workflow starts.

Login (credential)

A stored login or API key that a node uses to access an app.

Publish

Makes the latest version of a workflow the one that runs in n8n.

AI agent

An AI step that decides itself which tools to use to reach a goal.

RAG / knowledge base

The AI answers from your own documents, stored in a vector database.

MCP

Model Context Protocol – the standard that lets AI assistants use external tools such as trig8n.

Skill

An installable ability for an AI coding agent (SKILL.md + scripts).

Webhook

A URL that starts a workflow when another system calls it.