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Set up the n8n MCP server

n8n serves its own MCP endpoint, so agents reach the workflows you expose without a separate server to deploy.

Prerequisites​

  • A MintMCP admin account
  • An n8n Cloud or self-hosted instance on 2.33.0 or later
  • An n8n instance owner or admin account, since only they can turn MCP on
  • A self-hosted instance needs to be reachable from MintMCP, or connected through a Private Network

Enable MCP access in n8n​

MCP stays off until an owner or admin turns it on, and workflows stay invisible to agents until you expose them individually.

  1. In n8n, go to Settings > Instance-level MCP.
n8n Settings menu with the Instance-level MCP item highlighted
  1. Select Enable MCP access.
Instance level MCP page with the Enable MCP access button
  1. Once MCP status shows Enabled, select Connect under Connection details.
Connection details showing MCP status Enabled and the Connect button
  1. In the Connect a client dialog, copy the Server URL. It ends in /mcp-server/http, so it looks like https://your-instance.app.n8n.cloud/mcp-server/http on n8n Cloud or https://n8n.example.com/mcp-server/http when self-hosted. This is not the URL of your n8n editor.
Connect a client dialog with the Server URL field and its copy button
  1. Expose the workflows agents may use, either from the workflow editor or in bulk under Access > Workflows exposed. Only published workflows with a webhook, form, schedule, or chat trigger are eligible.

Agents can preview every workflow a user can already see, but they can't read the full definition, run it, or edit it unless you exposed it.

Add n8n to MintMCP​

Each user signs in to n8n and approves the connection, so n8n applies that person's own permissions and lists the grant under Connected clients.

  1. In MintMCP, go to MCP store and open the Recommended servers tab.
  2. Select n8n to open its configuration panel.
  3. In Server URL, enter the URL you copied from n8n.
  4. Choose OAuth as the authentication method, then click Install.

When a user connects, n8n registers MintMCP automatically and shows a consent screen for MintMCP Client. They pick the scopes to grant (All, Read only, or Custom), check I recognize and trust this URL, and click Allow access.

n8n consent screen for MintMCP Client with the scope options, the trust URL checkbox, and the Allow access button

What agents can do​

The capabilities depend on your n8n version and whether your instance has the agents feature:

  • Find and inspect workflows, including previews of workflows a user can see and full definitions of the ones you exposed
  • Run and test workflows, then read the execution results
  • Build and edit workflows, with node lookup and config validation before anything is saved
  • Publish, unpublish, and archive workflows, and compare versions
  • Read and write data tables
  • Build and call n8n agents on instances that have the agents feature
  • List credential names so a generated workflow can reference existing credentials, without exposing the secrets themselves

Use tool customization to curate what reaches users, for example hiding the builder and agent tools so the connector can only search and run workflows you already approved.

Security considerations​

  • Exposure is opt-in per workflow, and previews are all an agent gets for anything you didn't expose.
  • Exposure is not per client: every connected client sees the same exposed set, so use MintMCP's tool customization and access policies to differentiate between groups.
  • Both auth methods are per-user, so n8n applies each person's permissions and MintMCP attributes every tool call to the user who made it.
  • Review and revoke OAuth clients under Settings > Instance-level MCP > Connected clients. API keys don't appear there, so rotate one by generating a new token, which revokes the previous value.
  • Running and building workflows changes state in n8n, so hide those tools if you want a read-only connector. With OAuth, users can also grant only the Read only scope on the consent screen.

Next steps​