Automation Testing Guide
Strategies for testing n8n workflows, API integrations, and automated pipelines before and after they go live.
Testing Levels
Test individual Function nodes with sample inputs and expected outputs. Validate data transformations, filters, and conditional logic in isolation.
Test connections between nodes. Verify that webhooks receive correct payloads, API calls return expected data, and database writes succeed.
Run the complete workflow with realistic test data. Verify the entire chain from trigger to final action, including error paths.
Simulate production traffic volumes. Identify bottlenecks in webhook processing, API rate limits, and database write throughput.
Monitoring in Production
Execution Logs
n8n provides built-in execution history. Enable persistent logging to PostgreSQL for long-term analysis.
Health Checks
Implement a heartbeat workflow that runs every 5 minutes and pings your monitoring system.
Alerting
Send Slack/email alerts on workflow failures, timeouts, or unexpected output counts.
Metrics Dashboard
Track execution counts, success rates, average duration, and error rates in Grafana.
Testing Checklist
- Test with valid, invalid, and edge-case input data
- Verify error handler workflows trigger correctly on failures
- Confirm retry logic works with exponential backoff
- Test webhook signature validation if applicable
- Validate that rate limits are respected for external APIs
- Check that sensitive data is not logged in plain text
- Run a dry-run in production with monitoring before full activation
Need help testing your automation workflows? Get in touch and we will help you build a robust testing strategy.