n8n-nodes-rows

An n8n community node for integrating with the Rows API.

• Development Setup
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
  • Project Structure
• Implementation Details
  • Node Architecture
  • API Integration
  • Key Files
    • Rows.node.ts
    • operations/
    • utils/validation.ts
    • RowsApi.credentials.ts
• Development Workflow
  • Making Changes
  • Testing Locally
  • Debugging
• Publishing
• Resources
• Example workflows
  • Vision

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ and npm
• n8n installed globally: npm install n8n -g
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd n8n-nodes-rows

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Build the node:

   npm run build

4. Link for local development:

   npm link

5. Link in your n8n installation:

   cd ~/.n8n/custom
   npm link @rowshq/n8n-nodes-rows

In case you don't have the folder custom locally, you can create it with mkdir custom

6. Restart n8n to load the node

Project Structure

n8n-nodes-rows/
├── credentials/
│   └── RowsApi.credentials.ts    # API credential configuration
├── nodes/
│   └── Rows/
│       ├── operations/          # Operation-specific implementations
│       │   ├── appendData.ts    # Append Data operation
│       │   ├── overwriteData.ts # Overwrite Data operation
│       │   └── importVisionData.ts # Vision Import operation
│       ├── utils/                # Shared utilities
│       │   └── validation.ts    # File validation functions
│       ├── Rows.node.ts         # Main node implementation
│       ├── Rows.node.json       # Node codex metadata
│       └── rows.svg             # Node icon
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

Implementation Details

Node Architecture

The node implements three operations:

• Append Data: Uses the /values/{range}:append endpoint
• Overwrite Data: Uses the /cells/{range} endpoint
• Import Vision Data: Uses the /vision/import endpoint for extracting data from image files

All operations are extracted into standalone async functions in the operations/ directory:

• appendDataToTable: Appends data to a table
• overwriteDataInTable: Overwrites data in a table
• importVisionData: Processes a single item (one file per request)
• importVisionDataFromAllItems: Processes all items (multiple files in one request)

Shared utilities (file validation, constants) are in the utils/ directory.

API Integration

The node uses:

• httpRequestWithAuthentication for authenticated API calls
• Dynamic option loading for spreadsheets, tables, and folders
• Bearer token authentication via credentials
• Multipart form data for file uploads (vision import)

Key Files

Rows.node.ts

Main node implementation with:

• Node description and properties
• loadOptions methods for dynamic dropdowns (spreadsheets, tables, folders)
• execute method for processing workflow items
• Orchestrates calls to operation functions

operations/

Operation-specific implementations:

• appendData.ts: Append data to spreadsheet tables
• overwriteData.ts: Overwrite data in spreadsheet tables
• importVisionData.ts: Vision import with file handling and multipart form data

utils/validation.ts

Shared validation utilities:

• File type validation (png, jpg, jpeg, webp, pdf)
• File size validation (per file and total limits)
• Maximum number of files validation

RowsApi.credentials.ts

Defines the credential schema for Rows API key authentication.

Development Workflow

Making Changes

1. Edit the TypeScript files in nodes/ or credentials/
2. Run linter:

   npm run lint
   # or auto-fix issues:
   npm run lintfix

3. Rebuild:

   npm run build

Testing Locally

1. Start n8n in development mode:

   n8n start

2. Access n8n at http://localhost:5678

3. Create a workflow with the Rows node

Debugging

Enable n8n debug logging:

export N8N_LOG_LEVEL=debug
n8n start

Check logs for API request/response details.

Publishing

1. Update version in package.json
2. Build: npm run build
3. Publish to npm: npm publish
4. (Optional) Submit for n8n cloud verification: docs

Resources

• n8n node development docs
• Rows API documentation
• n8n community nodes
• npm package (this)

Example workflows

Vision

Read/Write files (file1) ──┐
                           ├──> Merge ──> Rows (Import Vision Data)
Read/Write files (file2) ──┘