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Skill

debugging-executions

debug failed n8n workflow executions

Published by n8n Updated Jun 30
Covers n8n Automation Debugging Workflow Automation

Description

Debug failed or wrong-output workflow executions using executions tools. Load when the user reports execution failures, unexpected node output, empty parameter values after a successful run, or a node showing a red or failed expression error.

SKILL.md

Debugging Executions

Use this skill when debugging workflow execution failures or successful runs with wrong or empty values.

When the user reports it still fails

Re-run the failing path with executions(action="run") (or verify-built-workflow) and inspect the real result before responding. Do not restate that the workflow is "fixed", "verified", or "working", and do not attribute the reported failure to a test-harness artifact, stale state, or "it works in production" without a re-run against the failing path. Treat live signals as real: an execution error, partial coverage (nodesNotReached), an empty node, or a missing node is a real defect to investigate, not something to explain away. If you genuinely cannot re-run the failing path, say so plainly and name what is unconfirmed instead of repeating a success claim.

Testing event-triggered workflows

Use executions(action="run") with inputData matching the trigger's output shape — do not rebuild the workflow with a Manual Trigger. For trigger inputData shapes, read knowledge-base/reference/trigger-input-data-shapes.md when a sandbox workspace is available.

Failed execution

executions(action="debug") already includes failedNode.resolvedParameters — start there. That bundle has parameters (raw, with expressions intact), resolved (substituted), failedExpressions (those that threw), and emptyResolutions (those that resolved to null/undefined/"" silently). The offending expression is usually visible without a follow-up call. Entries in either list tagged with reason: "unreconstructable-context" are NOT real bugs — they reference variables we don't reconstruct in replay ($vars, $secrets, $response, $request, $pageCount, $ai). The value existed at execution time; we just don't have it here.

Successful execution with wrong or empty value

When debug doesn't apply because nothing errored, call executions(action="get-resolved-node-parameters", executionId, nodeName) on the node whose output looks off — do this unprompted, don't ask the user for permission first. It's a cheap read-only inspection and the only reliable way to confirm whether an empty value came from an expression silently resolving to nullish. Check emptyResolutions first; most "this parameter is empty" cases are expressions resolving to null/undefined/"", not thrown errors.

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