n8n-nodes-simple-toon

This is an n8n community node for working with TOON (Token-Oriented Object Notation) - a compact data format designed to reduce LLM token consumption by 30-60% compared to JSON while maintaining lossless conversion.

n8n is a fair-code licensed workflow automation platform.

Features

• Parse (TOON → JSON): Convert TOON format strings to JSON objects
• Stringify (JSON → TOON): Convert JSON objects to TOON format strings
• Validate: Check if a string is valid TOON format
• Auto-Detect and Convert: Automatically detect format and convert bidirectionally

Installation

Follow the installation guide in the n8n community nodes documentation.

Community Node Installation

1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes
2. Select Install
3. Enter n8n-nodes-simple-toon in Enter npm package name
4. Agree to the risks of using community nodes
5. Select Install

After installation the TOON node will be available in your n8n instance.

Operations

Parse (TOON → JSON)

Converts TOON format strings to JSON objects.

Input:

users[2]{id,name,active}:
  1,Alice,true
  2,Bob,false

Output:

{
  "users": [
    {"id": 1, "name": "Alice", "active": true},
    {"id": 2, "name": "Bob", "active": false}
  ]
}

Stringify (JSON → TOON)

Converts JSON objects to TOON format strings.

Input:

{
  "users": [
    {"id": 1, "name": "Alice", "active": true}
  ]
}

Output:

users[1]{id,name,active}:
  1,Alice,true

Validate

Checks if a string is valid TOON format.

Output:

{
  "valid": true,
  "format": "toon",
  "error": null
}

Auto-Detect and Convert

Automatically detects whether the input is TOON or JSON and converts it to the opposite format.

Output:

{
  "output": "...",
  "detectedFormat": "toon",
  "convertedFrom": "toon",
  "convertedTo": "json"
}

Usage Examples

Example 1: Convert API Response to TOON for LLM Processing

1. HTTP Request node fetches user data from API (JSON)
2. TOON node (Stringify operation) converts to TOON format
3. OpenAI node processes the compact TOON data (saves tokens!)
4. TOON node (Parse operation) converts result back to JSON

Example 2: Validate TOON Data Before Processing

1. Webhook node receives TOON data
2. TOON node (Validate operation) checks format
3. IF node branches based on validation result
4. TOON node (Parse operation) processes valid data

Example 3: Smart Format Conversion

1. Code node or webhook receives data in unknown format
2. TOON node (Auto-Detect and Convert) automatically handles conversion
3. Continue workflow with converted data

TOON Format Overview

TOON is optimized for uniform arrays of objects (tabular/semi-structured data):

Syntax

arrayName[count]{field1,field2,field3}:
  value1,value2,value3
  value1,value2,value3

Key Features

• Compact: 30-60% fewer tokens than JSON
• Lossless: Perfect round-trip conversion (JSON ↔ TOON)
• Type-aware: Automatically infers numbers, booleans, null
• Readable: YAML-style indentation + CSV-style data rows

Best For

• User lists, analytics events, logs
• Tabular data with uniform structure
• LLM-based workflows where token count matters

Not Ideal For

• Deeply nested non-uniform data
• Small objects (JSON may be more efficient)

Compatibility

• n8n version: 0.187.0 or later
• Node.js version: 14.0.0 or later

Resources

• n8n community nodes documentation
• TOON Python Package
• TOON Specification

Development

Building the Node

npm install
npm run build

Testing Locally

# Link the package
npm link

# In your n8n installation
cd ~/.n8n/nodes
npm link n8n-nodes-toon

# Restart n8n

Linting and Formatting

npm run lint
npm run format

License

MIT

Version History

0.1.0 (Initial Release)

• Parse TOON to JSON
• Stringify JSON to TOON
• Validate TOON format
• Auto-detect and convert

Support

For issues, questions, or contributions, please visit the GitHub repository.