n8n Dynamic Node

n8n-nodes-dynamic-node-connections lets you inject and execute any standard n8n node at runtime by pasting its workflow‑export JSON into a single wrapper node.

Installation

Community Nodes (Recommended)

For users on n8n v0.187+, your instance owner can install this node from Community Nodes.

1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes.
2. Select Install.
3. Enter n8n-nodes-dynamic-node-connections in Enter npm package name.
4. Agree to the risks of using community nodes: select I understand the risks of installing unverified code from a public source.
5. Select Install.

After installing the node, you can use it like any other node. n8n displays the node in search results in the Nodes panel.

Manual

1. In your n8n instance directory, install from npm:

   npm install n8n-nodes-dynamic-node-connections --save

2. Restart n8n.

3. You’ll now see Dynamic Node in the node picker.

For Docker-based deployments, add the following line before the font installation command in your n8n Dockerfile:

RUN cd /usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n && npm install n8n-nodes-dynamic-node-connections

Usage

1. Copy the node that you want to dynamically modify by selecting it and pressing Ctrl + C.

2. Wire up Select Dynamic Node from the list of n8n nodes and wire it up to emulate your copied node.

3. Switch the Node JSON field into Expression mode (click Fixed → Expression).

4. Paste your exported‑node JSON into the editor. For example, a simple Graph API call:

   • A direct paste might look like this, which the Dynamic Node should still be flexible enough to parse without modifying anything:

     {
       "nodes": [
         {
           "parameters": {
             "url": "=https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/{{ $json.id_msft }}?$select=accountEnabled,userPrincipalName,id",
             "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
             "genericAuthType": "oAuth2Api",
             "options": {}  // not required to run
           },
           "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
           "typeVersion": 4.2,  // will default to latest if not specified
           "position": [
             460,
             -520
           ],  // not required to run
           "id": "550e0f7c-8a0c-462d-948a-89556abe8e5b",  // not required to run
           "name": "Fetch Current Azure Status",
           "credentials": {
             "oAuth2Api": {
               "id": "q7iDizt7Jxoy2cKo",
               "name": "Microsoft Graph API Creds"  // not required to run
             }
           },
           "onError": "continueRegularOutput"
         }
       ],
       "connections": {  // everything below here is ignored
         "Fetch Current Azure Status": {
           "main": [
             [],
             []
           ]
         }
       },
       "pinData": {},
       "meta": {
         "templateCredsSetupCompleted": true,
         "instanceId": "j91cef9ee1e9ee17cc8d16efb7974d807be5ea0cbe8d1adfceb25249ee039v76"
       }
     }

   • You can add more expressions to parameterize any dynamic pieces and trim it down to the bare essentials:

     {
       "parameters": {
         "url": "{{ $json.dynamic_url }}",
         "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
         "genericAuthType": "oAuth2Api"
       },
       "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
       "name": "Fetch Current Azure Status",
       "credentials": {
         "oAuth2Api": {
           "id": "{{ $json.dynamic_credential }}"
         }
       }
     }

5. Click Test step. The node will:

   • Clone an internal Start → YOUR NODE mini‑workflow.
   • Evaluate any {{…}} expressions ($json, etc.).
   • Execute the underlying node with your credentials and input items.
   • Return its output as the Dynamic Node’s own output.

Note: More complex node options like pagination that rely on elements from $response don't seem to work since that is handled differently in sub-workflow/child execution contexts. You can still workaround that by doing a loop to manually handle pagination.

Tips & Troubleshooting

• Always use Expression mode when your JSON contains {{…}} placeholders.
• Ensure your pasted JSON is a true object (no wrapping quotes).
• Double‑check that your exported node JSON includes a name field.
  • Note: The Dynamic Node will append on " - Dynamic Node" to whatever name you've specified to make sure there aren't name collisions with whatever node you originally copied.
• If you see “Node JSON must be an object”, switch to Expression mode and remove stray quotes.

License

MIT

Happy automating with the world’s first Dynamic Node for n8n! 🚀