n8n Tutorial for Beginners: Build Your First Automation in 30 Minutes

n8n is the most powerful open-source workflow automation tool available. It lets you connect apps, automate tasks, and build AI-powered workflows without writing code — while giving developers the full flexibility of code when they need it. This tutorial gets you from zero to your first working automation.

MJK Supplies · Jun 18, 2026 · 10 min read

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n8n Tutorial for Beginners: Build Your First Automation in 30 Minutes

What Is n8n?

n8n is a workflow automation platform that connects apps and services. You build workflows in a visual node-based editor — drag nodes onto a canvas, connect them with edges, configure each node's settings.

Unlike Zapier or Make.com, n8n is:

Open-source — run it yourself on any server
Code-optional — built-in Function and Code nodes let you write JavaScript when needed
More powerful — complex branching, looping, error handling that other tools can't match
More affordable — self-hosted is free; cloud plans are competitive

n8n has 400+ native integrations (Google, Slack, HubSpot, Airtable, MySQL, etc.) plus HTTP and webhook nodes for anything else.

Installation

Quickest option — n8n Cloud: Sign up at n8n.io. No installation required. Start building in minutes.

Self-hosted with npm:

npm install -g n8n n8n start

n8n starts on port 5678. Open http://localhost:5678.

Self-hosted with Docker (recommended for production):

docker run -it --rm \ --name n8n \ -p 5678:5678 \ -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \ n8nio/n8n

Self-hosted with Docker Compose:

version: '3.8' services: n8n: image: n8nio/n8n ports: - "5678:5678" volumes: - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n environment: - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=your-password restart: unless-stopped volumes: n8n_data:

Your First Workflow

Let's build a simple workflow: every time a new row is added to a Google Sheet, send an email notification.

Step 1: Create a new workflow Click "+" → "New Workflow". You'll see an empty canvas.

Step 2: Add a trigger Every workflow starts with a trigger. Click the "+" on the canvas. Search for "Google Sheets" → select "Google Sheets Trigger."

Configure:

Authentication: Add your Google account
Spreadsheet: select your spreadsheet
Sheet Name: select your sheet
Trigger On: Row Added

Step 3: Add an email node Click "+" after the trigger. Search "Gmail" → select "Gmail" → Action: Send Email.

Configure:

To: your email address
Subject: New row added: {{$json.Name}}
Message: New entry: {{$json}}

The {{$json.fieldName}} syntax accesses data from the previous node.

Step 4: Test and activate Click "Execute Workflow" to test with real data. Fix any issues. Click the toggle to "Active."

Your workflow now runs automatically whenever a new row is added.

Understanding Node Types

Trigger nodes: Start a workflow. Examples: Schedule, Webhook, Gmail, Google Sheets, Airtable, HTTP (for receiving webhooks).

Action nodes: Do something. Examples: Send email, Create HubSpot contact, Insert database row, HTTP Request.

Logic nodes: Control flow. Examples: IF (conditional), Switch (multi-branch), Loop, Merge.

Data nodes: Transform data. Examples: Set (set fields), Function (JavaScript code), Code (more powerful JS), JSON Parse.

Core nodes: Built-in utilities. Examples: Wait, Stop and Error, Execute Workflow (run another workflow).

Expressions and Data

n8n passes data between nodes as JSON objects. Access previous node data with expressions:

{{$json.fieldName}} — field from previous node {{$json["field name"]}} — field with spaces in name {{$node["NodeName"].json.field}} — field from specific named node {{$now}} — current timestamp {{$today}} — today's date

Use expressions in any node configuration field to make values dynamic.