Working with APIs using the HTTP Request node in n8n lets you connect to almost any app or service, even if n8n does not have a ready-made integration node for it. An API is simply a way for one system to send or receive data from another system through a web address called an endpoint.
What you can do with HTTP Request
- Get data (example: fetch customer details, pull orders, read a list of tasks)
- Send data (example: create a new lead, post a message, create a support ticket)
- Update data (example: change status, update a record)
- Delete data (example: remove an old entry)
Key parts you configure
- Method: GET, POST, PUT/PATCH, DELETE
- URL: the endpoint you are calling
- Query parameters: extra filters like date range, page number, status
- Headers: commonly used for authentication and content type
- Body: the data you send in POST/PUT requests, usually JSON
Authentication basics
Most APIs require a token or key, such as:
- API key in headers
- Bearer token (Authorization header)
- OAuth (when the service requires login-based permission)
Handling the response
The response is often JSON. In n8n, you can:
- read fields from the response and map them to next nodes
- transform the response using Set, IF, or other data nodes
- handle lists of records (sometimes you need pagination)
Best practices for reliability
- Validate required fields before making the request
- Add error handling, retries, and alerts for failures
- Log important outputs so you can audit what happened
- Keep endpoints, tokens, and secrets secured using credentials
Once you learn HTTP Request well, you can automate workflows across almost any system that offers an API.
