This workflow follows the Executecommand → HTTP Request recipe pattern — see all workflows that pair these two integrations.
The workflow JSON
Copy or download the full n8n JSON below. Paste it into a new n8n workflow, add your credentials, activate. Full import guide →
{
"meta": {
"templateCredsSetupCompleted": true
},
"nodes": [
{
"id": "4377c764-07f3-4304-8105-d3f009925917",
"name": "On clicking 'execute'",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
"position": [
1780,
520
],
"parameters": {},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "10f6ea70-c2cb-4463-972c-e2fdef3e837a",
"name": "Sticky Note",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1339.5461279763795,
900
],
"parameters": {
"color": 6,
"width": 2086.845881354743,
"height": 750.8363163824032,
"content": "## Subworkflow"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d22236c2-578c-400b-b3e5-354498620c39",
"name": "Return",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
"position": [
3220,
1100
],
"parameters": {
"options": {},
"assignments": {
"assignments": [
{
"id": "8d513345-6484-431f-afb7-7cf045c90f4f",
"name": "Done",
"type": "boolean",
"value": true
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 3.3
},
{
"id": "943eed85-d4cd-4ec5-b278-d143b0f6bd15",
"name": "Get File",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
"position": [
2320,
980
],
"parameters": {
"url": "={{ $json.download_url }}",
"options": {}
},
"typeVersion": 4.2
},
{
"id": "124ebdd7-c2c1-4fec-89d3-596f034e0fe7",
"name": "If file too large",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
"position": [
2120,
1000
],
"parameters": {
"options": {},
"conditions": {
"options": {
"version": 1,
"leftValue": "",
"caseSensitive": true,
"typeValidation": "strict"
},
"combinator": "and",
"conditions": [
{
"id": "45ce825e-9fa6-430c-8931-9aaf22c42585",
"operator": {
"type": "string",
"operation": "empty",
"singleValue": true
},
"leftValue": "={{ $json.content }}",
"rightValue": ""
},
{
"id": "9619a55f-7fb1-4f24-b1a7-7aeb82365806",
"operator": {
"type": "string",
"operation": "notExists",
"singleValue": true
},
"leftValue": "={{ $json.error }}",
"rightValue": ""
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "751621b4-4f99-4178-a691-40fc7488874b",
"name": "Merge Items",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.merge",
"position": [
2120,
1260
],
"parameters": {},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "8892eb02-0e8e-4617-85e6-e6f188361f95",
"name": "isDiffOrNew",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"position": [
2320,
1260
],
"parameters": {
"jsCode": "const orderJsonKeys = (jsonObj) => {\n const ordered = {};\n Object.keys(jsonObj).sort().forEach(key => {\n ordered[key] = jsonObj[key];\n });\n return ordered;\n}\n\n// Check if file returned with content\nif (Object.keys($input.all()[0].json).includes(\"content\")) {\n // Decode base64 content and parse JSON\n const origWorkflow = JSON.parse(Buffer.from($input.all()[0].json.content, 'base64').toString());\n const n8nWorkflow = $input.all()[1].json;\n \n // Order JSON objects\n const orderedOriginal = orderJsonKeys(origWorkflow);\n const orderedActual = orderJsonKeys(n8nWorkflow);\n\n // Determine difference\n if (JSON.stringify(orderedOriginal) === JSON.stringify(orderedActual)) {\n $input.all()[0].json.github_status = \"same\";\n } else {\n $input.all()[0].json.github_status = \"different\";\n $input.all()[0].json.n8n_data_stringy = JSON.stringify(orderedActual, null, 2);\n }\n $input.all()[0].json.content_decoded = orderedOriginal;\n// No file returned / new workflow\n} else if (Object.keys($input.all()[0].json).includes(\"data\")) {\n const origWorkflow = JSON.parse($input.all()[0].json.data);\n const n8nWorkflow = $input.all()[1].json;\n \n // Order JSON objects\n const orderedOriginal = orderJsonKeys(origWorkflow);\n const orderedActual = orderJsonKeys(n8nWorkflow);\n\n // Determine difference\n if (JSON.stringify(orderedOriginal) === JSON.stringify(orderedActual)) {\n $input.all()[0].json.github_status = \"same\";\n } else {\n $input.all()[0].json.github_status = \"different\";\n $input.all()[0].json.n8n_data_stringy = JSON.stringify(orderedActual, null, 2);\n }\n $input.all()[0].json.content_decoded = orderedOriginal;\n\n} else {\n // Order JSON object\n const n8nWorkflow = $input.all()[1].json;\n const orderedActual = orderJsonKeys(n8nWorkflow);\n \n // Proper formatting\n $input.all()[0].json.github_status = \"new\";\n $input.all()[0].json.n8n_data_stringy = JSON.stringify(orderedActual, null, 2);\n}\n\n// Return items\nreturn $input.all();"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "bfddb2a2-c149-4710-bd77-b368d641114d",
"name": "Check Status",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.switch",
"position": [
2540,
1260
],
"parameters": {
"rules": {
"rules": [
{
"value2": "same"
},
{
"output": 1,
"value2": "different"
},
{
"output": 2,
"value2": "new"
}
]
},
"value1": "={{$json.github_status}}",
"dataType": "string"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "681e54af-b916-416d-9801-ac38a5882bcf",
"name": "Same file - Do nothing",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.noOp",
"position": [
2760,
1100
],
"parameters": {},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "38b2041d-1d56-436f-aa04-79d7241dcc74",
"name": "File is different",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.noOp",
"position": [
2760,
1260
],
"parameters": {},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "ae33280d-10d5-4882-be9b-7972394357e1",
"name": "File is new",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.noOp",
"position": [
2760,
1420
],
"parameters": {},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "bea3995f-9f34-4119-a6cf-20281e70d685",
"name": "Create new file",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.github",
"position": [
2980,
1420
],
"parameters": {
"owner": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "name",
"value": "={{ $('Globals').item.json.repo.owner }}"
},
"filePath": "={{ $('Globals').item.json.repo.path }}{{$('Execute Workflow Trigger').first().json.id}}.json",
"resource": "file",
"repository": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "name",
"value": "={{ $('Globals').item.json.repo.name }}"
},
"fileContent": "={{$('isDiffOrNew').item.json[\"n8n_data_stringy\"]}}",
"commitMessage": "={{$('Execute Workflow Trigger').first().json.name}} ({{$json.github_status}})"
},
"credentials": {
"githubApi": {
"name": "<your credential>"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9172af3-55f8-4b99-b462-3e6e718b5a77",
"name": "Edit existing file",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.github",
"position": [
2980,
1240
],
"parameters": {
"owner": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "name",
"value": "={{ $('Globals').item.json.repo.owner }}"
},
"filePath": "={{ $('Globals').item.json.repo.path }}{{$('Execute Workflow Trigger').first().json.id}}.json",
"resource": "file",
"operation": "edit",
"repository": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "name",
"value": "={{ $('Globals').item.json.repo.name }}"
},
"fileContent": "={{$('isDiffOrNew').item.json[\"n8n_data_stringy\"]}}",
"commitMessage": "={{$('Execute Workflow Trigger').first().json.name}} ({{$json.github_status}})"
},
"credentials": {
"githubApi": {
"name": "<your credential>"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9589e32-ed20-46e7-9427-1680c6222406",
"name": "Loop Over Items",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitInBatches",
"position": [
2380,
620
],
"parameters": {
"options": {}
},
"typeVersion": 3
},
{
"id": "e1530650-aa76-4ab3-b5bb-cd6b805ea656",
"name": "Schedule Trigger",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
"position": [
1780,
720
],
"parameters": {
"rule": {
"interval": [
{
"field": "hours",
"hoursInterval": 2
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 1.2
},
{
"id": "79910589-f40f-46fa-a704-eaa65157a17a",
"name": "Sticky Note1",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1340,
278.28654385738866
],
"parameters": {
"color": 4,
"width": 365.19481715599653,
"height": 596.4810912485963,
"content": "## Backup to GitHub \nThis workflow will backup all instance credentials to GitHub.\n\nThe files are saved `ID.json` for the filename.\n\n### Setup\nOpen `Globals` node and update the values below \ud83d\udc47\n\n- **repo.owner:** your Github username\n- **repo.name:** the name of your repository\n- **repo.path:** the folder to use within the repository. If it doesn't exist it will be created.\n\n\nIf your username was `john-doe` and your repository was called `n8n-backups` and you wanted the credentials to go into a `credentials` folder you would set:\n\n- repo.owner - john-doe\n- repo.name - n8n-backups\n- repo.path - credentials/\n\n\nThe workflow calls itself using a subworkflow, to help reduce memory usage."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "e16c9874-1a35-41c4-8410-0c42efe17770",
"name": "Sticky Note2",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1740,
440
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 1028.7522287279464,
"height": 434.88564057365943,
"content": "## Main workflow loop"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "a1464b91-516a-4fd9-9235-20de50e74cb2",
"name": "Get file data",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.github",
"position": [
1920,
1000
],
"parameters": {
"owner": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "name",
"value": "={{ $json.repo.owner }}"
},
"filePath": "={{ $json.repo.path }}{{ $('Execute Workflow Trigger').item.json.id }}.json",
"resource": "file",
"operation": "get",
"repository": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "name",
"value": "={{ $json.repo.name }}"
},
"asBinaryProperty": false,
"additionalParameters": {}
},
"credentials": {
"githubApi": {
"name": "<your credential>"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1,
"continueOnFail": true,
"alwaysOutputData": true
},
{
"id": "eb2fe87f-f3af-4215-ac1f-7c2b45e8aff6",
"name": "Globals",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
"position": [
1720,
1160
],
"parameters": {
"options": {},
"assignments": {
"assignments": [
{
"id": "6cf546c5-5737-4dbd-851b-17d68e0a3780",
"name": "repo.owner",
"type": "string",
"value": "john-doe"
},
{
"id": "452efa28-2dc6-4ea3-a7a2-c35d100d0382",
"name": "repo.name",
"type": "string",
"value": "n8n-backup"
},
{
"id": "81c4dc54-86bf-4432-a23f-22c7ea831e74",
"name": "repo.path",
"type": "string",
"value": "credentials/"
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 3.4
},
{
"id": "f4498ab4-1760-4849-9fe1-ecfcd7baa9f3",
"name": "Execute Command",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand",
"position": [
2000,
620
],
"parameters": {
"command": "npx n8n export:credentials --all --decrypted"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d453a000-40ef-43f5-b108-5eb30422d1a3",
"name": "JSON formatting",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"position": [
2180,
620
],
"parameters": {
"jsCode": "// Function to beautify JSON\nfunction beautifyJson(jsonString) {\n try {\n // Parse the JSON string\n const jsonObject = JSON.parse(jsonString);\n\n // Format the JSON with indentation\n return jsonObject; // Return the parsed object directly\n } catch (error) {\n // Return the error message if JSON is invalid\n return `Invalid JSON: ${error.message}`;\n }\n}\n\n// Retrieve the JSON object from the input data\nconst input = $input.all()[0].json;\n\n// Extract the JSON string from the stdout field\nconst jsonString = input.stdout.match(/\\[{.*}\\]/s);\n\n// Check if a valid JSON string is found\nif (!jsonString) {\n return {\n json: {\n error: \"No valid JSON string found in stdout.\"\n }\n };\n}\n\n// Beautify the JSON\nconst beautifiedJson = beautifyJson(jsonString[0]);\n\n// Output the beautified JSON, ensuring each entry is in an object with a 'json' key\nconst output = beautifiedJson.map(entry => ({ json: entry }));\n\n// Return the output\nreturn output;\n"
},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "49dbf875-7345-4241-a7fc-f42e53aef64e",
"name": "Sticky Note3",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1680,
1060
],
"parameters": {
"color": 4,
"width": 150,
"height": 80,
"content": "## Edit this node \ud83d\udc47"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "98158f3e-7aca-456b-994c-4c795d31c18c",
"name": "Execute Workflow",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflow",
"position": [
2600,
620
],
"parameters": {
"mode": "each",
"options": {},
"workflowId": "={{ $workflow.id }}"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d8c52eb7-bcb0-49e7-bb32-7499b1ca22cd",
"name": "Execute Workflow Trigger",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger",
"position": [
1440,
1280
],
"parameters": {
"inputSource": "passthrough"
},
"typeVersion": 1.1
}
],
"connections": {
"Globals": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Get file data",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Get File": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Merge Items",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"File is new": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Create new file",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Merge Items": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "isDiffOrNew",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"isDiffOrNew": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Check Status",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Check Status": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Same file - Do nothing",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
],
[
{
"node": "File is different",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
],
[
{
"node": "File is new",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Get file data": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "If file too large",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Create new file": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Return",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Execute Command": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "JSON formatting",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"JSON formatting": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Loop Over Items",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Loop Over Items": {
"main": [
[],
[
{
"node": "Execute Workflow",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
},
{
"node": "Execute Workflow",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Execute Workflow": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Loop Over Items",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Schedule Trigger": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Execute Command",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"File is different": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Edit existing file",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"If file too large": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Get File",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
],
[
{
"node": "Merge Items",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Edit existing file": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Return",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"On clicking 'execute'": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Execute Command",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Same file - Do nothing": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Return",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Execute Workflow Trigger": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Globals",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
},
{
"node": "Merge Items",
"type": "main",
"index": 1
}
]
]
}
}
}
Credentials you'll need
Each integration node will prompt for credentials when you import. We strip credential IDs before publishing — you'll add your own.
githubApi
Pro
For the full experience including quality scoring and batch install features for each workflow upgrade to Pro
How this works
This workflow streamlines version control for your coding projects by automatically detecting changes in source files and committing them to a GitHub repository, saving hours of manual uploads and reducing errors in team collaborations. It's ideal for developers or small teams who frequently update code snippets without a full CI/CD setup, ensuring your work stays backed up and shareable effortlessly. The key step involves fetching the file via HTTP request, checking if it's new or modified using a code node, and then pushing the updates to GitHub for seamless integration.
Use this workflow when you need quick, event-driven syncs for individual files during active development, such as prototyping scripts or maintaining personal repos. Avoid it for large-scale projects with complex branching, where dedicated tools like GitHub Actions provide better scalability. Common variations include adding notifications via email after commits or integrating with a database trigger for automated backups from external sources.
About this workflow
Code Github. Uses manualTrigger, stickyNote, httpRequest, noOp. Event-driven trigger; 24 nodes.
Source: https://github.com/Zie619/n8n-workflows — original creator credit. Request a take-down →
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