Most questions have a fixed answer, so they are below. If yours is not here, write to us and a person will reply.
What is a node, exactly?
A block you can drag into an n8n workflow. It wraps one API so the person using it fills in a form instead of building an HTTP request. You describe the API here and get a package n8n installs, with no TypeScript and no build step.
What is the difference between a resource and an operation?
A resource is a kind of thing the API knows about: a post, a customer, an issue. An operation is something you can do to it: get one, list them, create one. Inside n8n they are the first two dropdowns in the node, in that order. The builder calls them what it is about and what it can do, and works out the first from the address you type, so you rarely have to think about it.
Should I build one node or several?
One node per service is the normal shape, however many kinds of things it deals with: a GitHub node handles repositories, issues and users, and is still one node and one package. Split only when two kinds are really two separate tools. The builder shows you the shape as you go and offersMake its own node for any kind, so the choice is yours and never made by accident. One publish is included free, for good: a node taken down later does not give it back. Publishing more is part of Pro.
Can I build a trigger, or a webhook?
Not yet. Every node built here is an action node: something a workflow calls, not something that starts one. This is the most common thing people arrive wanting, so it is worth knowing before you spend time on it.
Which kinds of authentication work?
An API key, sent either as a header or as a query parameter, and HTTP basic auth. OAuth2 is not supported yet; it is deliberately absent until it can be generated and tested properly rather than nearly working.
Where does my API key go?
Nowhere near our servers. Keys you type while testing a call stay in your browser for that session. The node you build stores the shape of its authentication, that it needs a key and where the key goes, never a key itself. Whoever installs the node supplies their own inside their own n8n.
Can one node talk to two different hosts?
Not currently. Every operation in a node shares one address, so an API split across a data host and a separate CDN host needs two nodes today.
What happens when I ask to publish?
It goes to a person for review before it reaches npm. Nothing is published without your say-so, and nothing is published automatically.
I deleted a node by mistake.
It is not gone. Deleted nodes sit in
your deleted nodes and can be put back for 30 days, along with every version you kept.