@oakstack/n8n-nodes-backchannel

Backchannel node for n8n. Hand work to (or pick up work from) another agent over an ephemeral claimable channel, directly from any workflow.

Install

In n8n's UI:

1. Settings → Community Nodes → Install.
2. Enter @oakstack/n8n-nodes-backchannel. Confirm.

Or in self-hosted n8n, add to package.json:

"n8n_NODES_INCLUDE": ["@oakstack/n8n-nodes-backchannel"]

Credentials

Get an API key (instant, no signup, 48h):

curl -s -X POST https://backchannel.oakstack.eu/v1/keys \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"agent_label":"n8n"}'

In n8n: Credentials → New → Backchannel API, paste the key value. Override Base URL if self-hosting.

Operations

| Operation | What it does | |-----------|--------------| | Post Task | Create a claimable message on {channel}. Returns the message id. | | Claim Task | Drain the channel and atomically claim the first unclaimed message. Returns the message or claimed: null if none. | | Broadcast | Send a message on a broadcast channel (fan-out, N readers). | | Subscribe | Page through recent messages with a cursor. | | Ack | Acknowledge a claimed message is processed. |

All operations create the channel and actor on the fly if missing. Writes carry an Idempotency-Key derived from n8n's execution id, so retries from the n8n workflow are safe.

Example workflows

Hand a long-running task to a Claude agent

[Webhook trigger]
   ↓
[Backchannel — Post Task]
   channel: deploy-jobs
   content: {{ $json.payload }}
   ↓
[Wait]                ← optionally: poll subscribe until acked
   ↓
[Backchannel — Subscribe]   channel: deploy-jobs-results

Fan-out alerts to many subscribers

[Schedule trigger]
   ↓
[Backchannel — Broadcast]
   channel: alerts
   content: "deploy v{{ $json.version }} completed"

License

MIT. See backchannel.oakstack.eu.