refactor(core): Remove NodeExecutionOutput. Add execution hints directly to the context (#13111)

packages/core/src/execution-engine/__tests__/workflow-execute.test.ts

@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ import {
 	ApplicationError,
 	createDeferredPromise,
 	NodeConnectionType,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
 	NodeHelpers,
 	Workflow,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
@@ -246,18 +245,6 @@ describe('WorkflowExecute', () => {
 		}
 	});
 
-	test('WorkflowExecute, NodeExecutionOutput type test', () => {
-		//TODO Add more tests here when execution hints are added to some node types
-		const nodeExecutionOutput = new NodeExecutionOutput(
-			[[{ json: { data: 123 } }]],
-			[{ message: 'TEXT HINT' }],
-		);
-
-		expect(nodeExecutionOutput).toBeInstanceOf(NodeExecutionOutput);
-		expect(nodeExecutionOutput[0][0].json.data).toEqual(123);
-		expect(nodeExecutionOutput.getHints()[0].message).toEqual('TEXT HINT');
-	});
-
 	describe('runPartialWorkflow2', () => {
 		//                Dirty         ►
 		// ┌───────┐1     ┌─────┐1     ┌─────┐

packages/core/src/execution-engine/node-execution-context/execute-context.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import type {
 	IRunExecutionData,
 	ITaskDataConnections,
 	IWorkflowExecuteAdditionalData,
+	NodeExecutionHint,
 	Result,
 	Workflow,
 	WorkflowExecuteMode,
@@ -51,6 +52,8 @@ export class ExecuteContext extends BaseExecuteContext implements IExecuteFuncti
 
 	readonly getNodeParameter: IExecuteFunctions['getNodeParameter'];
 
+	readonly hints: NodeExecutionHint[] = [];
+
 	constructor(
 		workflow: Workflow,
 		node: INode,
@@ -210,4 +213,8 @@ export class ExecuteContext extends BaseExecuteContext implements IExecuteFuncti
 	getParentCallbackManager(): CallbackManager | undefined {
 		return this.additionalData.parentCallbackManager;
 	}
+
+	addExecutionHints(...hints: NodeExecutionHint[]) {
+		this.hints.push(...hints);
+	}
 }

packages/core/src/execution-engine/workflow-execute.ts

@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ import {
 	NodeHelpers,
 	NodeConnectionType,
 	ApplicationError,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
 	sleep,
 	ExecutionCancelledError,
 	Node,
@@ -1101,7 +1100,7 @@ export class WorkflowExecute {
 				});
 			}
 
-			return { data };
+			return { data, hints: context.hints };
 		} else if (nodeType.poll) {
 			if (mode === 'manual') {
 				// In manual mode run the poll function
@@ -1507,10 +1506,8 @@ export class WorkflowExecute {
 									tryIndex++;
 								}
 
-								if (nodeSuccessData instanceof NodeExecutionOutput) {
-									const hints = (nodeSuccessData as NodeExecutionOutput).getHints();
-
-									executionHints.push(...hints);
+								if (runNodeData.hints?.length) {
+									executionHints.push(...runNodeData.hints);
 								}
 
 								if (nodeSuccessData && executionData.node.onError === 'continueErrorOutput') {

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

@@ -165,7 +165,8 @@ export class Code implements INodeType {
 				standardizeOutput(item.json);
 			}
 
-			return addPostExecutionWarning(items, inputDataItems?.length);
+			addPostExecutionWarning(this, items, inputDataItems?.length);
+			return [items];
 		}
 
 		// ----------------------------------
@@ -201,6 +202,7 @@ export class Code implements INodeType {
 			}
 		}
 
-		return addPostExecutionWarning(returnData, inputDataItems?.length);
+		addPostExecutionWarning(this, returnData, inputDataItems?.length);
+		return [returnData];
 	}
 }

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Code/test/utils.test.ts

@@ -1,49 +1,46 @@
-import type { INodeExecutionData } from 'n8n-workflow';
-import { NodeExecutionOutput } from 'n8n-workflow';
+import { mock } from 'jest-mock-extended';
+import type { IExecuteFunctions, INodeExecutionData } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 import { addPostExecutionWarning } from '../utils';
 
 describe('addPostExecutionWarning', () => {
+	const context = mock<IExecuteFunctions>();
 	const inputItemsLength = 2;
 
-	it('should return a NodeExecutionOutput warning when returnData length differs from inputItemsLength', () => {
+	beforeEach(() => jest.resetAllMocks());
+
+	it('should add execution hints when returnData length differs from inputItemsLength', () => {
 		const returnData: INodeExecutionData[] = [{ json: {}, pairedItem: 0 }];
 
-		const result = addPostExecutionWarning(returnData, inputItemsLength);
+		addPostExecutionWarning(context, returnData, inputItemsLength);
 
-		expect(result).toBeInstanceOf(NodeExecutionOutput);
-		expect((result as NodeExecutionOutput)?.getHints()).toEqual([
-			{
-				message:
-					'To make sure expressions after this node work, return the input items that produced each output item. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.n8n.io/data/data-mapping/data-item-linking/item-linking-code-node/">More info</a>',
-				location: 'outputPane',
-			},
-		]);
+		expect(context.addExecutionHints).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+			message:
+				'To make sure expressions after this node work, return the input items that produced each output item. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.n8n.io/data/data-mapping/data-item-linking/item-linking-code-node/">More info</a>',
+			location: 'outputPane',
+		});
 	});
 
-	it('should return a NodeExecutionOutput warning when any item has undefined pairedItem', () => {
+	it('should add execution hints when any item has undefined pairedItem', () => {
 		const returnData: INodeExecutionData[] = [{ json: {}, pairedItem: 0 }, { json: {} }];
 
-		const result = addPostExecutionWarning(returnData, inputItemsLength);
+		addPostExecutionWarning(context, returnData, inputItemsLength);
 
-		expect(result).toBeInstanceOf(NodeExecutionOutput);
-		expect((result as NodeExecutionOutput)?.getHints()).toEqual([
-			{
-				message:
-					'To make sure expressions after this node work, return the input items that produced each output item. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.n8n.io/data/data-mapping/data-item-linking/item-linking-code-node/">More info</a>',
-				location: 'outputPane',
-			},
-		]);
+		expect(context.addExecutionHints).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+			message:
+				'To make sure expressions after this node work, return the input items that produced each output item. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.n8n.io/data/data-mapping/data-item-linking/item-linking-code-node/">More info</a>',
+			location: 'outputPane',
+		});
 	});
 
-	it('should return returnData array when all items match inputItemsLength and have defined pairedItem', () => {
+	it('should not add execution hints when all items match inputItemsLength and have defined pairedItem', () => {
 		const returnData: INodeExecutionData[] = [
 			{ json: {}, pairedItem: 0 },
 			{ json: {}, pairedItem: 1 },
 		];
 
-		const result = addPostExecutionWarning(returnData, inputItemsLength);
+		addPostExecutionWarning(context, returnData, inputItemsLength);
 
-		expect(result).toEqual([returnData]);
+		expect(context.addExecutionHints).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
 	});
 });

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Code/utils.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import type { INodeExecutionData, IDataObject } from 'n8n-workflow';
-import { NodeExecutionOutput } from 'n8n-workflow';
+import type { INodeExecutionData, IDataObject, IExecuteFunctions } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 export function isObject(maybe: unknown): maybe is { [key: string]: unknown } {
 	return (
@@ -39,24 +38,18 @@ export function standardizeOutput(output: IDataObject) {
 }
 
 export const addPostExecutionWarning = (
+	context: IExecuteFunctions,
 	returnData: INodeExecutionData[],
 	inputItemsLength: number,
-) => {
+): void => {
 	if (
 		returnData.length !== inputItemsLength ||
 		returnData.some((item) => item.pairedItem === undefined)
 	) {
-		return new NodeExecutionOutput(
-			[returnData],
-			[
-				{
-					message:
-						'To make sure expressions after this node work, return the input items that produced each output item. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.n8n.io/data/data-mapping/data-item-linking/item-linking-code-node/">More info</a>',
-					location: 'outputPane',
-				},
-			],
-		);
+		context.addExecutionHints({
+			message:
+				'To make sure expressions after this node work, return the input items that produced each output item. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.n8n.io/data/data-mapping/data-item-linking/item-linking-code-node/">More info</a>',
+			location: 'outputPane',
+		});
 	}
-
-	return [returnData];
 };

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Google/Calendar/GoogleCalendar.node.ts

@@ -10,12 +10,7 @@ import type {
 	JsonObject,
 	NodeExecutionHint,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
-import {
-	NodeConnectionType,
-	NodeApiError,
-	NodeOperationError,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
-} from 'n8n-workflow';
+import { NodeConnectionType, NodeApiError, NodeOperationError } from 'n8n-workflow';
 import { v4 as uuid } from 'uuid';
 
 import { calendarFields, calendarOperations } from './CalendarDescription';
@@ -811,7 +806,7 @@ export class GoogleCalendar implements INodeType {
 		}
 
 		if (hints.length) {
-			return new NodeExecutionOutput([nodeExecutionData], hints);
+			this.addExecutionHints(...hints);
 		}
 
 		return [nodeExecutionData];

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Google/Calendar/test/node/event.getAll.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { MockProxy } from 'jest-mock-extended';
 import { mock } from 'jest-mock-extended';
-import type { INode, IExecuteFunctions, IDataObject, NodeExecutionOutput } from 'n8n-workflow';
+import type { INode, IExecuteFunctions, IDataObject } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 import * as genericFunctions from '../../GenericFunctions';
 import { GoogleCalendar } from '../../GoogleCalendar.node';
@@ -207,15 +207,13 @@ describe('Google Calendar Node', () => {
 				},
 			];
 
-			const result = await googleCalendar.execute.call(mockExecuteFunctions);
+			await googleCalendar.execute.call(mockExecuteFunctions);
 
-			expect((result as NodeExecutionOutput).getHints()).toEqual([
-				{
-					message:
-						"Some events repeat far into the future. To return less of them, add a 'Before' date or change the 'Recurring Event Handling' option.",
-					location: 'outputPane',
-				},
-			]);
+			expect(mockExecuteFunctions.addExecutionHints).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+				message:
+					"Some events repeat far into the future. To return less of them, add a 'Before' date or change the 'Recurring Event Handling' option.",
+				location: 'outputPane',
+			});
 		});
 	});
 });

packages/nodes-base/nodes/HttpRequest/V3/HttpRequestV3.node.ts

@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import type {
 import {
 	BINARY_ENCODING,
 	NodeApiError,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
 	NodeConnectionType,
 	NodeOperationError,
 	jsonParse,
@@ -1002,16 +1001,11 @@ export class HttpRequestV3 implements INodeType {
 			returnItems[0].json.data &&
 			Array.isArray(returnItems[0].json.data)
 		) {
-			return new NodeExecutionOutput(
-				[returnItems],
-				[
-					{
-						message:
-							'To split the contents of ‘data’ into separate items for easier processing, add a ‘Split Out’ node after this one',
-						location: 'outputPane',
-					},
-				],
-			);
+			this.addExecutionHints({
+				message:
+					'To split the contents of ‘data’ into separate items for easier processing, add a ‘Split Out’ node after this one',
+				location: 'outputPane',
+			});
 		}
 
 		return [returnItems];

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Merge/v3/actions/mode/combineByPosition.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 import merge from 'lodash/merge';
-import {
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
-	type IExecuteFunctions,
-	type INodeExecutionData,
-	type INodeProperties,
-	type IPairedItemData,
+import type {
+	IExecuteFunctions,
+	INodeExecutionData,
+	INodeProperties,
+	IPairedItemData,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 import { updateDisplayOptions } from '@utils/utilities';
@@ -82,15 +81,10 @@ export async function execute(
 	} else {
 		numEntries = Math.min(...inputsData.map((input) => input.length), preferred.length);
 		if (numEntries === 0) {
-			return new NodeExecutionOutput(
-				[returnData],
-				[
-					{
-						message:
-							'Consider enabling "Include Any Unpaired Items" in options or check your inputs',
-					},
-				],
-			);
+			this.addExecutionHints({
+				message: 'Consider enabling "Include Any Unpaired Items" in options or check your inputs',
+			});
+			return [returnData];
 		}
 	}
 

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Postgres/v2/actions/router.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { IExecuteFunctions, INodeExecutionData } from 'n8n-workflow';
-import { NodeExecutionOutput, NodeOperationError } from 'n8n-workflow';
+import { NodeOperationError } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 import * as database from './database/Database.resource';
 import type { PostgresType } from './node.type';
@@ -54,15 +54,10 @@ export async function router(this: IExecuteFunctions): Promise<INodeExecutionDat
 	}
 
 	if (operation === 'select' && items.length > 1 && !node.executeOnce) {
-		return new NodeExecutionOutput(
-			[returnData],
-			[
-				{
-					message: `This node ran ${items.length} times, once for each input item. To run for the first item only, enable 'execute once' in the node settings`,
-					location: 'outputPane',
-				},
-			],
-		);
+		this.addExecutionHints({
+			message: `This node ran ${items.length} times, once for each input item. To run for the first item only, enable 'execute once' in the node settings`,
+			location: 'outputPane',
+		});
 	}
 
 	return [returnData];

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Transform/Aggregate/Aggregate.node.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import {
 	type IPairedItemData,
 	NodeConnectionType,
 	type NodeExecutionHint,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 import { addBinariesToItem } from './utils';
@@ -432,7 +431,9 @@ export class Aggregate implements INodeType {
 				}
 			}
 
-			if (hints.length) return new NodeExecutionOutput([[returnData]], hints);
+			if (hints.length) {
+				this.addExecutionHints(...hints);
+			}
 		}
 
 		return [[returnData]];

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Transform/RemoveDuplicates/v2/RemoveDuplicatesV2.node.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,4 @@
-import {
-	NodeConnectionType,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
-	NodeOperationError,
-	tryToParseDateTime,
-} from 'n8n-workflow';
+import { NodeConnectionType, NodeOperationError, tryToParseDateTime } from 'n8n-workflow';
 import type {
 	INodeTypeBaseDescription,
 	IExecuteFunctions,
@@ -126,13 +121,12 @@ export class RemoveDuplicatesV2 implements INodeType {
 						);
 
 						if (maxEntriesNum > 0 && processedDataCount / maxEntriesNum > 0.5) {
-							return new NodeExecutionOutput(returnData, [
-								{
-									message: `Some duplicates may be not be removed since you're approaching the maximum history size (${maxEntriesNum} items). You can raise this limit using the ‘history size’ option.`,
-									location: 'outputPane',
-								},
-							]);
-						} else return returnData;
+							this.addExecutionHints({
+								message: `Some duplicates may be not be removed since you're approaching the maximum history size (${maxEntriesNum} items). You can raise this limit using the ‘history size’ option.`,
+								location: 'outputPane',
+							});
+						}
+						return returnData;
 					} else if (logic === 'removeItemsUpToStoredIncrementalKey') {
 						if (!['node', 'workflow'].includes(scope)) {
 							throw new NodeOperationError(

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Transform/SplitOut/SplitOut.node.ts

@@ -1,11 +1,6 @@
 import get from 'lodash/get';
 import unset from 'lodash/unset';
-import {
-	NodeOperationError,
-	deepCopy,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
-	NodeConnectionType,
-} from 'n8n-workflow';
+import { NodeOperationError, deepCopy, NodeConnectionType } from 'n8n-workflow';
 import type {
 	IBinaryData,
 	IDataObject,
@@ -281,7 +276,9 @@ export class SplitOut implements INodeType {
 				}
 			}
 
-			if (hints.length) return new NodeExecutionOutput([returnData], hints);
+			if (hints.length) {
+				this.addExecutionHints(...hints);
+			}
 		}
 
 		return [returnData];

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Transform/Summarize/Summarize.node.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import {
 	type INodeExecutionData,
 	type INodeType,
 	type INodeTypeDescription,
-	NodeExecutionOutput,
 	type NodeExecutionHint,
 	type IDataObject,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
@@ -345,6 +344,10 @@ export class Summarize implements INodeType {
 			}
 		}
 
+		if (fieldsNotFound.length) {
+			this.addExecutionHints(...fieldsNotFound);
+		}
+
 		if (options.outputFormat === 'singleItem') {
 			const executionData: INodeExecutionData = {
 				json: aggregationResult,
@@ -352,7 +355,7 @@ export class Summarize implements INodeType {
 					item: index,
 				})),
 			};
-			return new NodeExecutionOutput([[executionData]], fieldsNotFound);
+			return [[executionData]];
 		} else {
 			if (!fieldsToSplitBy.length) {
 				const { pairedItems, ...json } = aggregationResult;
@@ -362,7 +365,7 @@ export class Summarize implements INodeType {
 						item: index,
 					})),
 				};
-				return new NodeExecutionOutput([[executionData]], fieldsNotFound);
+				return [[executionData]];
 			}
 			let returnData: IDataObject[] = [];
 			if (nodeVersion > 1) {
@@ -379,7 +382,7 @@ export class Summarize implements INodeType {
 					})),
 				};
 			});
-			return new NodeExecutionOutput([executionData], fieldsNotFound);
+			return [executionData];
 		}
 	}
 }

packages/nodes-base/nodes/Transform/Summarize/test/unitTests/execute.test.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import type { MockProxy } from 'jest-mock-extended';
 import { mock } from 'jest-mock-extended';
 import type { IExecuteFunctions } from 'n8n-workflow';
-import { NodeExecutionOutput, NodeOperationError } from 'n8n-workflow';
+import { NodeOperationError } from 'n8n-workflow';
 
 import { Summarize } from '../../Summarize.node';
 import type { Aggregations } from '../../utils';
@@ -43,14 +43,11 @@ describe('Test Summarize Node, execute', () => {
 
 		const result = await summarizeNode.execute.call(mockExecuteFunctions);
 
-		expect(result).toBeInstanceOf(NodeExecutionOutput);
 		expect(result).toEqual([[{ json: { sum_nonexistentField: 0 }, pairedItem: [{ item: 0 }] }]]);
-		expect((result as NodeExecutionOutput).getHints()).toEqual([
-			{
-				location: 'outputPane',
-				message: "The field 'nonexistentField' does not exist in any items",
-			},
-		]);
+		expect(mockExecuteFunctions.addExecutionHints).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+			location: 'outputPane',
+			message: "The field 'nonexistentField' does not exist in any items",
+		});
 	});
 
 	it('should throw error if node version is < 1.1 and fields not found', async () => {

packages/workflow/src/Interfaces.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import type { URLSearchParams } from 'url';
 
 import type { CODE_EXECUTION_MODES, CODE_LANGUAGES, LOG_LEVELS } from './Constants';
 import type { IDeferredPromise } from './DeferredPromise';
-import { ApplicationError, type ExecutionCancelledError } from './errors';
+import type { ExecutionCancelledError } from './errors';
 import type { ExpressionError } from './errors/expression.error';
 import type { NodeApiError } from './errors/node-api.error';
 import type { NodeOperationError } from './errors/node-operation.error';
@@ -398,7 +398,8 @@ export interface INodeTypeNameVersion {
 }
 
 export interface IRunNodeResponse {
-	data: INodeExecutionData[][] | NodeExecutionOutput | null | undefined;
+	data: INodeExecutionData[][] | null | undefined;
+	hints?: NodeExecutionHint[];
 	closeFunction?: CloseFunction;
 }
 
@@ -918,6 +919,8 @@ export type IExecuteFunctions = ExecuteFunctions.GetNodeParameterFn &
 			metadata?: ITaskMetadata,
 		): void;
 
+		addExecutionHints(...hints: NodeExecutionHint[]): void;
+
 		nodeHelpers: NodeHelperFunctions;
 		helpers: RequestHelperFunctions &
 			BaseHelperFunctions &
@@ -1553,28 +1556,6 @@ export interface SupplyData {
 	closeFunction?: CloseFunction;
 }
 
-export class NodeExecutionOutput extends Array<INodeExecutionData[]> {
-	constructor(data: INodeExecutionData[][], hints: NodeExecutionHint[] = []) {
-		super();
-		// TODO: This is a temporary solution for NODE-1740, until we move away from extending native Array class
-		Object.defineProperty(data, 'getHints', {
-			value: () => hints,
-			enumerable: false,
-			writable: false,
-			configurable: false,
-		});
-		return data as NodeExecutionOutput;
-	}
-
-	static [Symbol.hasInstance](instance: unknown) {
-		return Array.isArray(instance) && 'getHints' in instance;
-	}
-
-	getHints(): NodeExecutionHint[] {
-		throw new ApplicationError('This should not have been called');
-	}
-}
-
 export interface INodeType {
 	description: INodeTypeDescription;
 	supplyData?(this: ISupplyDataFunctions, itemIndex: number): Promise<SupplyData>;