
debugging-executions
โ 195,330by n8n-io ยท part of n8n-io/n8n
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.
This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates โ you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.
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 โ 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 โ
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 โ
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 โ 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.
npx skills add https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n --skill debugging-executionsRun this in your project โ your agent picks the skill up automatically.
No common issues documented yet. If you hit a problem, the repository's GitHub Issues page is the best place to look.