Ai Chat With Any Data Source (Using The N8N Workflow Tool)

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About this recipe

A recipe for Ai Chat With Any Data Source (Using The N8N Workflow Tool)

Recipe Template

{
    "meta": {
        "instanceId": "cb484ba7b742928a2048bf8829668bed5b5ad9787579adea888f05980292a4a7"
    },
    "nodes": [
        {
            "id": "4c52efcf-039b-4550-8a63-3d3d4dde488b",
            "name": "On new manual Chat Message",
            "type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.manualChatTrigger",
            "position": [
                740,
                300
            ],
            "parameters": [],
            "typeVersion": 1.1
        },
        {
            "id": "adb528f1-b87b-4bb2-99e1-776fd839522e",
            "name": "Execute Workflow Trigger",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger",
            "position": [
                680,
                940
            ],
            "parameters": [],
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "092cf737-5b53-4fc8-82f5-c775b77ea0bd",
            "name": "Hacker News",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.hackerNews",
            "position": [
                900,
                940
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "limit": 50,
                "resource": "all",
                "additionalFields": []
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "a0805137-630c-4065-826e-88afa000660f",
            "name": "Clean up data",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
            "position": [
                1120,
                940
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "fields": {
                    "values": [
                        {
                            "name": "title",
                            "stringValue": "={{ $json._highlightResult.title.value }}"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "points",
                            "type": "numberValue",
                            "numberValue": "={{ $json.points }}"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "url",
                            "stringValue": "={{ $json.url }}"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "created_at",
                            "stringValue": "={{ $json.created_at }}"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "author",
                            "stringValue": "={{ $json.author }}"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "include": "none",
                "options": []
            },
            "typeVersion": 3.2
        },
        {
            "id": "e1b255f4-e970-42d6-9870-4e302bf2da83",
            "name": "AI Agent",
            "type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent",
            "position": [
                960,
                300
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "options": {
                    "maxIterations": 10
                }
            },
            "typeVersion": 1.1
        },
        {
            "id": "91e3391e-909e-4d63-9649-ff62781dbba9",
            "name": "OpenAI Chat Model",
            "type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi",
            "position": [
                960,
                520
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "options": []
            },
            "credentials": {
                "openAiApi": {
                    "id": "VQtv7frm7eLiEDnd",
                    "name": "OpenAi account 7"
                }
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "cd1f0028-635e-48eb-ac38-4c6fb25ed63e",
            "name": "Stringify",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
            "position": [
                1340,
                940
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "jsCode": "return {\n 'response': JSON.stringify($input.all().map(x => x.json))\n}"
            },
            "typeVersion": 2
        },
        {
            "id": "7df241eb-67d3-4724-8b32-4b53561ed55f",
            "name": "Sticky Note",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
            "position": [
                880,
                820
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "color": 7,
                "width": 150,
                "height": 293,
                "content": "### Replace me\nwith any other service, e.g. fetching your own data"
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "270845df-7c2d-4035-9ac0-e41d418b3026",
            "name": "Sticky Note1",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
            "position": [
                600,
                738.125
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "color": 7,
                "width": 927.5,
                "height": 406.875,
                "content": "### Sub-workflow: Custom tool\nThis can be called by the agent above. This example fetches the top 50 posts ever on Hacker News"
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "1d796a86-45d1-4fc4-8245-893525505d1f",
            "name": "Sticky Note2",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
            "position": [
                600,
                200
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "color": 7,
                "width": 927.5,
                "height": 486.5625,
                "content": "### Main workflow: AI agent using custom tool\nTry it out by clicking 'Chat' and entering 'What is the 5th most popular post ever on Hacker News?'"
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "38ff64b5-6f47-4d2d-9051-caab418bb0e8",
            "name": "Sticky Note3",
            "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
            "position": [
                440,
                300
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "width": 185.9375,
                "height": 218,
                "content": "## Try me out\n\nClick the 'Chat' button and enter:\n\n_What is the 5th most popular post ever on Hacker News?_"
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        },
        {
            "id": "3532e461-bd74-48f7-93e1-96d608c88688",
            "name": "Custom tool to call the wf below",
            "type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolWorkflow",
            "position": [
                1120,
                520
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "name": "hn_tool",
                "workflowId": "={{ $workflow.id }}",
                "description": "Returns a list of the most popular posts ever on Hacker News, in json format"
            },
            "typeVersion": 1
        }
    ],
    "pinData": [],
    "connections": {
        "Hacker News": {
            "main": [
                [
                    {
                        "node": "Clean up data",
                        "type": "main",
                        "index": 0
                    }
                ]
            ]
        },
        "Clean up data": {
            "main": [
                [
                    {
                        "node": "Stringify",
                        "type": "main",
                        "index": 0
                    }
                ]
            ]
        },
        "OpenAI Chat Model": {
            "ai_languageModel": [
                [
                    {
                        "node": "AI Agent",
                        "type": "ai_languageModel",
                        "index": 0
                    }
                ]
            ]
        },
        "Execute Workflow Trigger": {
            "main": [
                [
                    {
                        "node": "Hacker News",
                        "type": "main",
                        "index": 0
                    }
                ]
            ]
        },
        "On new manual Chat Message": {
            "main": [
                [
                    {
                        "node": "AI Agent",
                        "type": "main",
                        "index": 0
                    }
                ]
            ]
        },
        "Custom tool to call the wf below": {
            "ai_tool": [
                [
                    {
                        "node": "AI Agent",
                        "type": "ai_tool",
                        "index": 0
                    }
                ]
            ]
        }
    }
}

How to Use an n8n Template

1

Create a New Workflow

Click "New Workflow" in your n8n dashboard to get started.

2

Copy & Paste Template

First, copy this template: Click here to copy the JSON .
Then, in n8n, click the three dots (···) → "Import from file" and paste the JSON code.

3

Customize the Nodes

Go through each node in the workflow to update inputs like spreadsheet IDs, email addresses, or message content. Adjust field mappings to match your data.

4

Grant Access

For nodes that connect to external apps (like Google Sheets or Slack), you'll need to grant access. Connect your accounts using OAuth or an API key and save the credentials in the node.

5

Test It

Run the workflow by clicking "Execute Node" for each step or "Run Once" for the whole thing. Check the right sidebar to inspect data and debug any errors (they'll show up in red).

6

Activate Workflow

Once everything works as expected, click the "Activate" toggle to turn your workflow on. You're all set!