feat(Execute Workflow Trigger Node): Add JSON-based input modes and dropdown (#11946)

packages/nodes-base/nodes/ExecuteWorkflowTrigger/ExecuteWorkflowTrigger.node.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { json as generateSchemaFromExample, type SchemaObject } from 'generate-schema';
+import type { JSONSchema7 } from 'json-schema';
 import {
 	type INodeExecutionData,
 	NodeConnectionType,
@@ -7,96 +9,16 @@ import {
 	type INodeTypeDescription,
 	validateFieldType,
 	type FieldType,
+	jsonParse,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
+const INPUT_SOURCE = 'inputSource';
 const WORKFLOW_INPUTS = 'workflowInputs';
 const INPUT_OPTIONS = 'inputOptions';
 const VALUES = 'values';
-
+const JSON_EXAMPLE = 'jsonExample';
-type ValueOptions = { name: string; value: FieldType };
+const JSON_SCHEMA = 'jsonSchema';
-
+const TYPE_OPTIONS: Array<{ name: string; value: FieldType | 'any' }> = [
-const DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER = null;
-
-export class ExecuteWorkflowTrigger implements INodeType {
-	description: INodeTypeDescription = {
-		displayName: 'Execute Workflow Trigger',
-		name: 'executeWorkflowTrigger',
-		icon: 'fa:sign-out-alt',
-		group: ['trigger'],
-		version: [1, 1.1],
-		description:
-			'Helpers for calling other n8n workflows. Used for designing modular, microservice-like workflows.',
-		eventTriggerDescription: '',
-		maxNodes: 1,
-		defaults: {
-			name: 'Execute Workflow Trigger',
-			color: '#ff6d5a',
-		},
-
-		inputs: [],
-		outputs: [NodeConnectionType.Main],
-		properties: [
-			{
-				displayName: `When an ‘Execute Workflow’ node calls this workflow, the execution starts here.<br><br>
-Specified fields below will be output by this node with values provided by the calling workflow.<br><br>
-If you don't provide fields, all data passed into the 'Execute Workflow' node will be passed through instead.`,
-				name: 'notice',
-				type: 'notice',
-				default: '',
-			},
-			{
-				displayName: 'Events',
-				name: 'events',
-				type: 'hidden',
-				noDataExpression: true,
-				options: [
-					{
-						name: 'Workflow Call',
-						value: 'worklfow_call',
-						description: 'When called by another workflow using Execute Workflow Trigger',
-						action: 'When Called by Another Workflow',
-					},
-				],
-				default: 'worklfow_call',
-			},
-			{
-				displayName: 'Workflow Inputs',
-				name: WORKFLOW_INPUTS,
-				placeholder: 'Add Field',
-				type: 'fixedCollection',
-				description:
-					'Define expected input fields. If no inputs are provided, all data from the calling workflow will be passed through.',
-				typeOptions: {
-					multipleValues: true,
-					sortable: true,
-				},
-				displayOptions: {
-					show: { '@version': [{ _cnd: { gte: 1.1 } }] },
-				},
-				default: {},
-				options: [
-					{
-						name: VALUES,
-						displayName: 'Values',
-						values: [
-							{
-								displayName: 'Name',
-								name: 'name',
-								type: 'string',
-								default: '',
-								placeholder: 'e.g. fieldName',
-								description: 'Name of the field',
-								noDataExpression: true,
-							},
-							{
-								displayName: 'Type',
-								name: 'type',
-								type: 'options',
-								description: 'The field value type',
-								// eslint-disable-next-line n8n-nodes-base/node-param-options-type-unsorted-items
-								options: [
-									// This is not a FieldType type, but will
-									// hit the default case in the type check function
 	{
 		name: 'Allow Any Type',
 		value: 'any',
@@ -122,7 +44,265 @@ If you don't provide fields, all data passed into the 'Execute Workflow' node wi
 		value: 'object',
 	},
 	// Intentional omission of `dateTime`, `time`, `string-alphanumeric`, `form-fields`, `jwt` and `url`
-								] as ValueOptions[],
+];
+const SUPPORTED_TYPES = TYPE_OPTIONS.map((x) => x.value);
+
+const DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER = null;
+
+type ValueOptions = { name: string; type: FieldType | 'any' };
+
+function parseJsonSchema(schema: JSONSchema7): ValueOptions[] | string {
+	if (!schema?.properties) {
+		return 'Invalid JSON schema. Missing key `properties` in schema';
+	}
+
+	if (typeof schema.properties !== 'object') {
+		return 'Invalid JSON schema. Key `properties` is not an object';
+	}
+
+	const result: ValueOptions[] = [];
+	for (const [name, v] of Object.entries(schema.properties)) {
+		if (typeof v !== 'object') {
+			return `Invalid JSON schema. Value for property '${name}' is not an object`;
+		}
+
+		const type = v?.type;
+
+		if (type === 'null') {
+			result.push({ name, type: 'any' });
+		} else if (Array.isArray(type)) {
+			// Schema allows an array of types, but we don't
+			return `Invalid JSON schema. Array of types for property '${name}' is not supported by n8n. Either provide a single type or use type 'any' to allow any type`;
+		} else if (typeof type !== 'string') {
+			return `Invalid JSON schema. Unexpected non-string type ${type} for property '${name}'`;
+		} else if (!SUPPORTED_TYPES.includes(type as never)) {
+			return `Invalid JSON schema. Unsupported type ${type} for property '${name}'. Supported types are ${JSON.stringify(SUPPORTED_TYPES, null, 1)}`;
+		} else {
+			result.push({ name, type: type as FieldType });
+		}
+	}
+	return result;
+}
+
+function parseJsonExample(context: IExecuteFunctions): JSONSchema7 {
+	const jsonString = context.getNodeParameter(JSON_EXAMPLE, 0, '') as string;
+	const json = jsonParse<SchemaObject>(jsonString);
+
+	return generateSchemaFromExample(json) as JSONSchema7;
+}
+
+function getFieldEntries(context: IExecuteFunctions): ValueOptions[] {
+	const inputSource = context.getNodeParameter(INPUT_SOURCE, 0) as string;
+	let result: ValueOptions[] | string = 'Internal Error: Invalid input source';
+	try {
+		if (inputSource === WORKFLOW_INPUTS) {
+			result = context.getNodeParameter(`${WORKFLOW_INPUTS}.${VALUES}`, 0, []) as Array<{
+				name: string;
+				type: FieldType;
+			}>;
+		} else if (inputSource === JSON_SCHEMA) {
+			const schema = context.getNodeParameter(JSON_SCHEMA, 0, '{}') as string;
+			result = parseJsonSchema(jsonParse<JSONSchema7>(schema));
+		} else if (inputSource === JSON_EXAMPLE) {
+			const schema = parseJsonExample(context);
+			result = parseJsonSchema(schema);
+		}
+	} catch (e: unknown) {
+		result =
+			e && typeof e === 'object' && 'message' in e && typeof e.message === 'string'
+				? e.message
+				: `Unknown error occurred: ${JSON.stringify(e)}`;
+	}
+
+	if (Array.isArray(result)) {
+		return result;
+	}
+	throw new NodeOperationError(context.getNode(), result);
+}
+
+// This intentionally doesn't catch any potential errors, e.g. an invalid json example
+// This way they correctly end up exposed to the user.
+// Otherwise we'd have to return true on error here as we short-circuit on false
+function hasFields(context: IExecuteFunctions): boolean {
+	const entries = getFieldEntries(context);
+	return entries.length > 0;
+}
+
+export class ExecuteWorkflowTrigger implements INodeType {
+	description: INodeTypeDescription = {
+		displayName: 'Execute Workflow Trigger',
+		name: 'executeWorkflowTrigger',
+		icon: 'fa:sign-out-alt',
+		group: ['trigger'],
+		version: [1, 1.1],
+		description:
+			'Helpers for calling other n8n workflows. Used for designing modular, microservice-like workflows.',
+		eventTriggerDescription: '',
+		maxNodes: 1,
+		defaults: {
+			name: 'Workflow Input Trigger',
+			color: '#ff6d5a',
+		},
+		inputs: [],
+		outputs: [NodeConnectionType.Main],
+		hints: [
+			{
+				message:
+					'We strongly recommend defining your input fields explicitly.<br>If no inputs are provided, all data from the calling workflow will be available, and issues will be more difficult to debug later on.',
+				// This condition checks if we have no input fields, which gets a bit awkward:
+				// For WORKFLOW_INPUTS: keys() only contains `VALUES` if at least one value is provided
+				// For JSON_EXAMPLE: We remove all whitespace and check if we're left with an empty object. Note that we already error if the example is not valid JSON
+				// For JSON_SCHEMA: We check if we have '"properties":{}' after removing all whitespace. Otherwise the schema is invalid anyway and we'll error out elsewhere
+				displayCondition:
+					`={{$parameter['${INPUT_SOURCE}'] === '${WORKFLOW_INPUTS}' && !$parameter['${WORKFLOW_INPUTS}'].keys().length ` +
+					`|| $parameter['${INPUT_SOURCE}'] === '${JSON_EXAMPLE}' && $parameter['${JSON_EXAMPLE}'].toString().replaceAll(' ', '').replaceAll('\\n', '') === '{}' ` +
+					`|| $parameter['${INPUT_SOURCE}'] === '${JSON_SCHEMA}' && $parameter['${JSON_SCHEMA}'].toString().replaceAll(' ', '').replaceAll('\\n', '').includes('"properties":{}') }}`,
+				whenToDisplay: 'always',
+				location: 'ndv',
+			},
+
+			{
+				message:
+					'n8n does not support items types on Array fields. These entries will have no effect.',
+				// This is only best effort, but few natural use cases should trigger false positives here
+				displayCondition: `={{$parameter["${INPUT_SOURCE}"] === '${JSON_SCHEMA}' && $parameter["${JSON_SCHEMA}"].toString().includes('"items":') && $parameter["${JSON_SCHEMA}"].toString().includes('"array"')  }}`,
+				whenToDisplay: 'always',
+				location: 'ndv',
+			},
+		],
+		properties: [
+			{
+				displayName: `When an ‘Execute Workflow’ node calls this workflow, the execution starts here.<br><br>
+Specified fields below will be output by this node with values provided by the calling workflow.<br><br>
+If you don't provide fields, all data passed into the 'Execute Workflow' node will be passed through instead.`,
+				name: 'notice',
+				type: 'notice',
+				default: '',
+			},
+			{
+				displayName: 'Events',
+				name: 'events',
+				type: 'hidden',
+				noDataExpression: true,
+				options: [
+					{
+						name: 'Workflow Call',
+						value: 'worklfow_call',
+						description: 'When called by another workflow using Execute Workflow Trigger',
+						action: 'When Called by Another Workflow',
+					},
+				],
+				default: 'worklfow_call',
+			},
+			{
+				displayName: 'Input Source',
+				name: INPUT_SOURCE,
+				type: 'options',
+				options: [
+					{
+						name: 'Using Fields Below',
+						value: WORKFLOW_INPUTS,
+						description: 'Provide via UI',
+					},
+					{
+						name: 'Using JSON Example',
+						value: JSON_EXAMPLE,
+						description: 'Infer JSON schema via JSON example output',
+					},
+					{
+						name: 'Using JSON Schema',
+						value: JSON_SCHEMA,
+						description: 'Provide JSON Schema',
+					},
+				],
+				default: WORKFLOW_INPUTS,
+				noDataExpression: true,
+			},
+			{
+				displayName:
+					'Provide an example object to infer fields and their types.<br>To allow any type for a given field, set the value to null.',
+				name: `${JSON_EXAMPLE}_notice`,
+				type: 'notice',
+				default: '',
+				displayOptions: {
+					show: { '@version': [{ _cnd: { gte: 1.1 } }], inputSource: [JSON_EXAMPLE] },
+				},
+			},
+			{
+				displayName: 'JSON Example',
+				name: JSON_EXAMPLE,
+				type: 'json',
+				default: JSON.stringify(
+					{
+						aField: 'a string',
+						aNumber: 123,
+						thisFieldAcceptsAnyType: null,
+						anArray: [],
+					},
+					null,
+					2,
+				),
+				noDataExpression: true,
+				displayOptions: {
+					show: { '@version': [{ _cnd: { gte: 1.1 } }], inputSource: [JSON_EXAMPLE] },
+				},
+			},
+			{
+				displayName: 'JSON Schema',
+				name: JSON_SCHEMA,
+				type: 'json',
+				default: JSON.stringify(
+					{
+						properties: {
+							aField: { type: 'number' },
+							anotherField: { type: 'array' },
+							thisFieldAcceptsAnyType: { type: 'any' },
+						},
+					},
+					null,
+					2,
+				),
+				noDataExpression: true,
+				displayOptions: {
+					show: { '@version': [{ _cnd: { gte: 1.1 } }], inputSource: [JSON_SCHEMA] },
+				},
+			},
+			{
+				displayName: 'Workflow Inputs',
+				name: WORKFLOW_INPUTS,
+				placeholder: 'Add Field',
+				type: 'fixedCollection',
+				description:
+					'Define expected input fields. If no inputs are provided, all data from the calling workflow will be passed through.',
+				typeOptions: {
+					multipleValues: true,
+					sortable: true,
+				},
+				displayOptions: {
+					show: { '@version': [{ _cnd: { gte: 1.1 } }], inputSource: [WORKFLOW_INPUTS] },
+				},
+				default: {},
+				options: [
+					{
+						name: VALUES,
+						displayName: 'Values',
+						values: [
+							{
+								displayName: 'Name',
+								name: 'name',
+								type: 'string',
+								default: '',
+								placeholder: 'e.g. fieldName',
+								description: 'Name of the field',
+								noDataExpression: true,
+							},
+							{
+								displayName: 'Type',
+								name: 'type',
+								type: 'options',
+								description: 'The field value type',
+								// eslint-disable-next-line n8n-nodes-base/node-param-options-type-unsorted-items
+								options: TYPE_OPTIONS,
 								default: 'string',
 								noDataExpression: true,
 							},
@@ -184,15 +364,7 @@ If you don't provide fields, all data passed into the 'Execute Workflow' node wi
 		if (this.getNode().typeVersion < 1.1) {
 			return [inputData];
 		} else {
-			// Need to mask type due to bad `getNodeParameter` typing
+			if (!hasFields(this)) {
-			const marker = Symbol() as unknown as object;
-			const hasFields =
-				inputData.length >= 0 &&
-				inputData.some(
-					(_x, i) => this.getNodeParameter(`${WORKFLOW_INPUTS}.${VALUES}`, i, marker) !== marker,
-				);
-
-			if (!hasFields) {
 				return [inputData];
 			}
 
@@ -229,27 +401,20 @@ If you don't provide fields, all data passed into the 'Execute Workflow' node wi
 					pairedItem: { item: itemIndex },
 				};
 				try {
-					const newParams = this.getNodeParameter(
+					const newParams = getFieldEntries(this);
-						`${WORKFLOW_INPUTS}.${VALUES}`,
+
-						itemIndex,
-						[],
-					) as Array<{
-						name: string;
-						type: FieldType;
-					}>;
 					for (const { name, type } of newParams) {
 						if (!item.json.hasOwnProperty(name)) {
 							newItem.json[name] = DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER;
 							continue;
 						}
 
-						// We always parse strings rather than blindly accepting anything as a string
+						const result =
-						// Which is the behavior of this function
+							type === 'any'
-						// Also note we intentionally pass `any` in here for `type`, which hits a
+								? ({ valid: true, newValue: item.json[name] } as const)
-						// permissive default case in the function
+								: validateFieldType(name, item.json[name], type, {
-						const result = validateFieldType(name, item.json[name], type, {
 										strict: !attemptToConvertTypes,
-							parseStrings: true,
+										parseStrings: true, // Default behavior is to accept anything as a string, this is a good opportunity for a stricter boundary
 									});
 
 						if (!result.valid) {

packages/nodes-base/nodes/ExecuteWorkflowTrigger/test/ExecuteWorkflowTrigger.node.test.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import type { IExecuteFunctions, INode, INodeExecutionData } from 'n8n-workflow'
 import { ExecuteWorkflowTrigger } from '../ExecuteWorkflowTrigger.node';
 
 describe('ExecuteWorkflowTrigger', () => {
-	it('should return its input data', async () => {
+	it('should return its input data on V1', async () => {
 		const mockInputData: INodeExecutionData[] = [
 			{ json: { item: 0, foo: 'bar' } },
 			{ json: { item: 1, foo: 'quz' } },

packages/nodes-base/package.json

@@ -864,6 +864,7 @@
     "fast-glob": "catalog:",
     "fflate": "0.7.4",
     "get-system-fonts": "2.0.2",
+    "generate-schema": "2.6.0",
     "gm": "1.25.0",
     "html-to-text": "9.0.5",
     "iconv-lite": "0.6.3",

packages/nodes-base/tsconfig.build.json

@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
 		"credentials/**/*.ts",
 		"nodes/**/*.ts",
 		"nodes/**/*.json",
-		"credentials/translations/**/*.json"
+		"credentials/translations/**/*.json",
+		"types/**/*.ts"
 	],
 	"exclude": ["nodes/**/*.test.ts", "credentials/**/*.test.ts", "test/**"]
 }

packages/nodes-base/tsconfig.json

@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@
 		"noImplicitReturns": false,
 		"useUnknownInCatchVariables": false
 	},
-	"include": ["credentials/**/*.ts", "nodes/**/*.ts", "test/**/*.ts", "utils/**/*.ts"],
+	"include": [
+		"credentials/**/*.ts",
+		"nodes/**/*.ts",
+		"test/**/*.ts",
+		"utils/**/*.ts",
+		"types/**/*.ts"
+	],
 	"references": [
 		{ "path": "../@n8n/imap/tsconfig.build.json" },
 		{ "path": "../workflow/tsconfig.build.json" },

packages/nodes-base/types/generate-schema.d.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+declare module 'generate-schema' {
+	export interface SchemaObject {
+		$schema: string;
+		title?: string;
+		type: string;
+		properties?: {
+			[key: string]: SchemaObject | SchemaArray | SchemaProperty;
+		};
+		required?: string[];
+		items?: SchemaObject | SchemaArray;
+	}
+
+	export interface SchemaArray {
+		type: string;
+		items?: SchemaObject | SchemaArray | SchemaProperty;
+		oneOf?: Array<SchemaObject | SchemaArray | SchemaProperty>;
+		required?: string[];
+	}
+
+	export interface SchemaProperty {
+		type: string | string[];
+		format?: string;
+	}
+
+	export function json(title: string, schema: SchemaObject): SchemaObject;
+	export function json(schema: SchemaObject): SchemaObject;
+}

pnpm-lock.yaml

@@ -1111,7 +1111,7 @@ importers:
     dependencies:
       '@langchain/core':
         specifier: 'catalog:'
-        version: 0.3.15(openai@4.69.0(zod@3.23.8))
+        version: 0.3.15(openai@4.69.0(encoding@0.1.13)(zod@3.23.8))
       '@n8n/client-oauth2':
         specifier: workspace:*
         version: link:../@n8n/client-oauth2
@@ -1662,6 +1662,9 @@ importers:
       fflate:
         specifier: 0.7.4
         version: 0.7.4
+      generate-schema:
+        specifier: 2.6.0
+        version: 2.6.0
       get-system-fonts:
         specifier: 2.0.2
         version: 2.0.2
@@ -1939,7 +1942,7 @@ importers:
     devDependencies:
       '@langchain/core':
         specifier: 'catalog:'
-        version: 0.3.15(openai@4.69.0)
+        version: 0.3.15(openai@4.69.0(encoding@0.1.13)(zod@3.23.8))
       '@types/deep-equal':
         specifier: ^1.0.1
         version: 1.0.1
@@ -14657,38 +14660,6 @@ snapshots:
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - openai
 
-  '@langchain/core@0.3.15(openai@4.69.0(zod@3.23.8))':
-    dependencies:
-      ansi-styles: 5.2.0
-      camelcase: 6.3.0
-      decamelize: 1.2.0
-      js-tiktoken: 1.0.12
-      langsmith: 0.2.3(openai@4.69.0(zod@3.23.8))
-      mustache: 4.2.0
-      p-queue: 6.6.2
-      p-retry: 4.6.2
-      uuid: 10.0.0
-      zod: 3.23.8
-      zod-to-json-schema: 3.23.3(zod@3.23.8)
-    transitivePeerDependencies:
-      - openai
-
-  '@langchain/core@0.3.15(openai@4.69.0)':
-    dependencies:
-      ansi-styles: 5.2.0
-      camelcase: 6.3.0
-      decamelize: 1.2.0
-      js-tiktoken: 1.0.12
-      langsmith: 0.2.3(openai@4.69.0)
-      mustache: 4.2.0
-      p-queue: 6.6.2
-      p-retry: 4.6.2
-      uuid: 10.0.0
-      zod: 3.23.8
-      zod-to-json-schema: 3.23.3(zod@3.23.8)
-    transitivePeerDependencies:
-      - openai
-
   '@langchain/google-common@0.1.1(@langchain/core@0.3.15(openai@4.69.0(encoding@0.1.13)(zod@3.23.8)))(zod@3.23.8)':
     dependencies:
       '@langchain/core': 0.3.15(openai@4.69.0(encoding@0.1.13)(zod@3.23.8))
@@ -20420,7 +20391,7 @@ snapshots:
       isstream: 0.1.2
       jsonwebtoken: 9.0.2
       mime-types: 2.1.35
-      retry-axios: 2.6.0(axios@1.7.4(debug@4.3.7))
+      retry-axios: 2.6.0(axios@1.7.4)
       tough-cookie: 4.1.3
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - supports-color
@@ -21451,28 +21422,6 @@ snapshots:
     optionalDependencies:
       openai: 4.69.0(encoding@0.1.13)(zod@3.23.8)
 
-  langsmith@0.2.3(openai@4.69.0(zod@3.23.8)):
-    dependencies:
-      '@types/uuid': 10.0.0
-      commander: 10.0.1
-      p-queue: 6.6.2
-      p-retry: 4.6.2
-      semver: 7.6.0
-      uuid: 10.0.0
-    optionalDependencies:
-      openai: 4.69.0(zod@3.23.8)
-
-  langsmith@0.2.3(openai@4.69.0):
-    dependencies:
-      '@types/uuid': 10.0.0
-      commander: 10.0.1
-      p-queue: 6.6.2
-      p-retry: 4.6.2
-      semver: 7.6.0
-      uuid: 10.0.0
-    optionalDependencies:
-      openai: 4.69.0(zod@3.23.8)
-
   lazy-ass@1.6.0: {}
 
   ldapts@4.2.6:
@@ -22807,22 +22756,6 @@ snapshots:
       - encoding
       - supports-color
 
-  openai@4.69.0(zod@3.23.8):
-    dependencies:
-      '@types/node': 18.16.16
-      '@types/node-fetch': 2.6.4
-      abort-controller: 3.0.0
-      agentkeepalive: 4.2.1
-      form-data-encoder: 1.7.2
-      formdata-node: 4.4.1
-      node-fetch: 2.7.0(encoding@0.1.13)
-    optionalDependencies:
-      zod: 3.23.8
-    transitivePeerDependencies:
-      - encoding
-      - supports-color
-    optional: true
-
   openapi-sampler@1.5.1:
     dependencies:
       '@types/json-schema': 7.0.15
@@ -23807,9 +23740,9 @@ snapshots:
 
   ret@0.1.15: {}
 
-  retry-axios@2.6.0(axios@1.7.4(debug@4.3.7)):
+  retry-axios@2.6.0(axios@1.7.4):
     dependencies:
-      axios: 1.7.4(debug@4.3.7)
+      axios: 1.7.4
 
   retry-request@7.0.2(encoding@0.1.13):
     dependencies: