n8n-nodes-safe-exec

This is an n8n community node that allows you to execute shell commands on the host machine running your n8n instance.

This node is a replacement for the deprecated ExecuteCommand node that was removed in n8n v2.

Installation

Follow the installation guide in the n8n community nodes documentation.

Community Nodes (Recommended)

1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes
2. Select Install
3. Enter n8n-nodes-safe-exec in Enter npm package name
4. Agree to the risks and select Install

Manual installation

To get started install the package in your n8n root directory:

npm install n8n-nodes-safe-exec

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-safe-exec

Node Reference

Safe Execute Command

Execute shell commands on the machine hosting your n8n instance.

Operations

• Execute Once: Run the command only once (default)
• Execute for Each Item: Run the command for each input item

Parameters

• Command (required): The shell command to execute

Output

• exitCode: The exit code of the command
• stdout: Standard output from the command
• stderr: Standard error output from the command

Security Warning

⚠️ Use this node with extreme caution!

This node executes arbitrary shell commands on your host system. Malicious commands could:

• Delete files
• Expose sensitive data
• Compromise your system security
• Affect other running processes

Best Practices:

• Never execute commands from untrusted sources
• Validate and sanitize all command inputs
• Use the principle of least privilege
• Consider running n8n in a containerized or sandboxed environment
• Review all workflows using this node carefully

Usage Examples

Example 1: Simple Echo Command

echo "Hello from n8n!"

Output:

{
  "exitCode": 0,
  "stdout": "Hello from n8n!",
  "stderr": ""
}

Example 2: File Operations

ls -la /path/to/directory

Example 3: Run a Script

bash /path/to/your/script.sh

Example 4: Python Script

python3 /path/to/script.py

Compatibility

• n8n version 1.0.0 and above
• Node.js 18.10 or above

Resources

• n8n community nodes documentation
• Original ExecuteCommand documentation

License

MIT

Support

If you have any issues or questions, please open an issue on GitHub.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.