Getting started with n8n.
n8n is the other screen for the same kind of flow. The links are not affiliate links.
Create the account, or install it
n8n Cloud starts at the official signup. In November 2026 the pricing page shows paid Cloud plans, a Cloud trial with no card (1,000 executions), and the Community Edition you install on your own server. There is no permanent free Cloud plan on that page.
n8n bills an execution: one run of the whole workflow, however many nodes it has. Make bills credits per action.
Workflow, node, and trigger
A workflow is the whole flow. A node is one block. The trigger is the node that starts it: a schedule, an email, or an incoming notice.
On an empty workflow, Add first step opens the trigger list. On a schedule runs at a time you pick. The + beside a node adds the next one.
Connect Google
On n8n Cloud, Sign in with Google on the credential screen is enough. You do not create a Google Cloud project.
If you installed n8n yourself, that button is not the whole story. n8n’s docs ask for a Google Cloud project, a Client ID, and a Client Secret, then Sign in with Google. That is a developer step. To try the product, Cloud is the short path.
Build it and run it
Left menu: Personal, then Create workflow. Add first step, On a schedule, and set Trigger at Hour. The + opens Search nodes. Search for Google Sheets and pick an operation such as Get Row(s) or Append Row.
Execute step runs that node. Execute, under the canvas, runs the workflow. For the schedule to run on its own, click Publish in the canvas header.
When it fails
The node turns red. Open the Executions tab, select the failed run, and click Debug in editor. n8n copies that run’s data onto the canvas.
Loading an old run is available on Cloud plans and, if you self-host, on Registered Community, Business, and Enterprise. Which runs you see depends on the workflow’s save settings.
Recipes for this
- Draft a Google review request when a job is marked done
- Log Shopify orders in Google Sheets and flag big ones in Slack
Where to build it
Official pages
- Build your first workflow
- Work with nodes
- Schedule Trigger
- Google OAuth in n8n
- Debug executions
- n8n pricing
Questions
- Is n8n an affiliate?
- No. Signup goes to n8n Cloud and the site link goes to n8n.io, with no affiliate id.
- Is there a forever free plan?
- In November 2026 the pricing page does not show a permanent free Cloud plan. There is a no-card trial and the Community Edition, which you install yourself.
- Do I need to code?
- Not for a first workflow on n8n Cloud. Add first step, On a schedule, and Execute are enough to try it.