Escalation Gate — Sonnet Approval Required

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 →

{
  "name": "Escalation Gate \u2014 Sonnet approval required",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "rule": {
          "interval": [
            {
              "field": "minutes",
              "minutesInterval": 5
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "id": "escl-0001-0001-0001-0001-000000000001",
      "name": "Schedule (every 5 min)",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        0,
        300
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "executeQuery",
        "query": "WITH auto_approve AS (UPDATE tickets SET status='open', updated_at=now() WHERE status='escalation_pending' AND updated_at < now() - interval '24 hours' AND COALESCE((SELECT AVG(prompt_tokens) * 3.0 / 1000000 + AVG(completion_tokens) * 15.0 / 1000000 + AVG(prompt_tokens) * 15.0 / 1000000 + AVG(completion_tokens) * 75.0 / 1000000 FROM coder_calls WHERE ticket_id = tickets.id), 5.0) < 5.0 RETURNING id, workspace_id) INSERT INTO logs (workspace_id, component, level, message, ticket_id) SELECT workspace_id, 'escalation_approved', 'info', 'escalation auto-approved (24h elapsed, cost < $5)', id FROM auto_approve",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "escl-0002-0002-0002-0002-000000000002",
      "name": "Auto-Approve Reaper",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
      "typeVersion": 2.5,
      "position": [
        220,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "postgres": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "executeQuery",
        "query": "SELECT t.id, t.title, t.workspace_id, COALESCE(t.last_error, 'none') AS last_error, t.attempts, t.status, CASE WHEN t.status = 'escalation_pending' THEN 'reminder' ELSE 'new' END AS alert_type, ROUND(COALESCE((SELECT AVG(prompt_tokens) * 3.0 / 1000000 + AVG(completion_tokens) * 15.0 / 1000000 FROM coder_calls WHERE ticket_id = t.id), 0.20)::numeric, 4) AS est_sonnet_usd, ROUND(COALESCE((SELECT AVG(prompt_tokens) * 15.0 / 1000000 + AVG(completion_tokens) * 75.0 / 1000000 FROM coder_calls WHERE ticket_id = t.id), 1.00)::numeric, 4) AS est_opus_usd FROM tickets t WHERE (t.status = 'open' AND t.attempts = 3 AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM logs WHERE component = 'escalation_pending' AND ticket_id = t.id)) OR (t.status = 'escalation_pending' AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM logs WHERE component IN ('escalation_pending', 'escalation_reminder') AND ticket_id = t.id AND created_at > now() - interval '4 hours')) ORDER BY t.id",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "escl-0003-0003-0003-0003-000000000003",
      "name": "Escalation Probe",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
      "typeVersion": 2.5,
      "position": [
        440,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "postgres": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "executeQuery",
        "query": "WITH hold AS (UPDATE tickets SET status='escalation_pending', updated_at=now() WHERE id={{ $json.id }} AND status='open'), log_insert AS (INSERT INTO logs (workspace_id, component, level, message, ticket_id) SELECT '{{ $json.workspace_id }}', CASE WHEN status='escalation_pending' THEN 'escalation_reminder' ELSE 'escalation_pending' END, 'warn', 'escalation gate: ticket #{{ $json.id }}', {{ $json.id }} FROM tickets WHERE id={{ $json.id }}) SELECT {{ $json.id }} AS ticket_id",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "escl-0004-0004-0004-0004-000000000004",
      "name": "Hold and Log",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
      "typeVersion": 2.5,
      "position": [
        660,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "postgres": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "chatId": "YOUR_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID",
        "text": "={{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.alert_type === 'reminder' ? '\u23f0 REMINDER: ' : '\ud83d\udd14 ' }}Escalation approval required\n\nTicket #{{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.id }} \u2014 {{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.workspace_id }}\n{{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.title }}\n\nQwen attempts: 3 exhausted. About to escalate to Sonnet.\nLast error: {{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.last_error }}\n\nEstimated cost:\n  Sonnet (attempt 4): ${{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.est_sonnet_usd }}\n  Opus (attempt 5):   ${{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.est_opus_usd }}\n  Total worst-case:   ${{ (Number($('Escalation Probe').item.json.est_sonnet_usd) + Number($('Escalation Probe').item.json.est_opus_usd)).toFixed(4) }}\n  {{ (Number($('Escalation Probe').item.json.est_sonnet_usd) + Number($('Escalation Probe').item.json.est_opus_usd)) < 5 ? '\u2705 AUTO-APPROVES in 24h (under $5)' : '\u26d4 MANUAL APPROVAL REQUIRED (over $5 \u2014 no auto-approve)' }}\n\nReply:\n  /approve {{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.id }}   \u2014 release to Sonnet now\n  /disapprove {{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.id }} \u2014 mark failed, re-scope ticket\n  /requeue {{ $('Escalation Probe').item.json.id }}   \u2014 reset to Qwen (attempts=0, clear error)",
        "additionalFields": {}
      },
      "id": "escl-0005-0005-0005-0005-000000000005",
      "name": "Ops Alert (escalation)",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegram",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        880,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "telegramApi": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Schedule (every 5 min)": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Auto-Approve Reaper",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Auto-Approve Reaper": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Escalation Probe",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Escalation Probe": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Hold and Log",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Hold and Log": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Ops Alert (escalation)",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "executionOrder": "v1",
    "saveManualExecutions": true,
    "errorWorkflow": "agentstack-error-handler-v1"
  },
  "staticData": null,
  "id": "agentstack-escalation-v1",
  "active": false
}

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.

• postgres
• telegramApi

About this workflow

Escalation Gate — Sonnet approval required. Uses postgres, telegram. Scheduled trigger; 5 nodes.

Source: https://github.com/kevinluaus/aftos-agent-stack/blob/main/n8n/workflow-escalation.json — original creator credit. Request a take-down →

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