Record Search

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 →

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "content": "# Contact RecordSearch\n\nTiered contact lookup:\n1. Fast match on `email` column\n2. Fallback search in `more_emails`\n3. Fuzzy name matching (first_name + surname)\n4. Return found: false if no match",
        "height": 344,
        "width": 384
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        -64,
        -192
      ],
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "id": "de52f66f-1c1b-4020-89bc-f2bfdde9558f",
      "name": "Sticky Note"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "inputSource": "passthrough"
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.1,
      "position": [
        400,
        16
      ],
      "id": "188ea06d-825b-4c8e-bfd0-557ad0b9f3ed",
      "name": "When Executed by Another Workflow"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        400,
        -160
      ],
      "id": "2f2a17f2-b51e-4b07-b095-4115d167eded",
      "name": "Manual Trigger"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "search-email",
              "name": "search_email",
              "value": "={{ $json.email }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "search-first-name",
              "name": "search_first_name",
              "value": "={{ $json.first_name }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "search-surname",
              "name": "search_surname",
              "value": "={{ $json.surname }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "spreadsheet-id",
              "name": "spreadsheet_id",
              "value": "1si4ZYujqQBnKOTJPi-C7oBuWyS0xri_sZSVQ5hbIjRQ",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "sheet-name",
              "name": "sheet_name",
              "value": "Entries",
              "type": "string"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -80
      ],
      "id": "d518d463-59d7-4e8a-af62-cb74affd28c1",
      "name": "Set Search Input"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "documentId": {
          "__rl": true,
          "value": "={{ $json.spreadsheet_id }}",
          "mode": "id"
        },
        "sheetName": {
          "__rl": true,
          "value": "={{ $json.sheet_name }}",
          "mode": "name"
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
      "typeVersion": 4.5,
      "position": [
        832,
        -80
      ],
      "id": "82665820-3d16-4a83-a1d0-802e41eab25f",
      "name": "Read All Contacts",
      "alwaysOutputData": true,
      "credentials": {
        "googleSheetsOAuth2Api": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "const contacts = $input.all();\nconst searchEmail = $('Set Search Input').first().json.search_email?.toLowerCase();\nconst searchFirstName = $('Set Search Input').first().json.search_first_name?.toLowerCase().trim();\nconst searchSurname = $('Set Search Input').first().json.search_surname?.toLowerCase().trim();\n\nlet match = null;\nlet matchType = 'none';\n\n// Step 1: Fast lookup - check email column\nif (searchEmail) {\n  match = contacts.find(c =>\n    c.json.email?.toLowerCase() === searchEmail\n  );\n  if (match) matchType = 'email';\n}\n\n// Step 2: Fallback - check more_emails\nif (!match && searchEmail) {\n  match = contacts.find(c =>\n    c.json.more_emails?.toLowerCase().includes(searchEmail)\n  );\n  if (match) matchType = 'more_emails';\n}\n\n// Step 3: Name matching (fuzzy) - combine first_name + surname\nif (!match && (searchFirstName || searchSurname)) {\n  const normalize = (s) => s?.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9]/g, '') || '';\n  const searchFullName = normalize((searchFirstName || '') + (searchSurname || ''));\n\n  match = contacts.find(c => {\n    const contactFullName = normalize((c.json.first_name || '') + (c.json.surname || ''));\n    // Exact match after normalization\n    return contactFullName === searchFullName;\n  });\n\n  // If no exact match, try partial matching\n  if (!match && searchFullName.length > 3) {\n    match = contacts.find(c => {\n      const contactFullName = normalize((c.json.first_name || '') + (c.json.surname || ''));\n      return contactFullName.includes(searchFullName) ||\n             searchFullName.includes(contactFullName);\n    });\n  }\n  if (match) matchType = 'name_fuzzy';\n}\n\nif (match) {\n  return [{ json: { found: true, matchType, contact: match.json } }];\n} else {\n  return [{ json: { found: false, matchType: 'none' } }];\n}"
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        1056,
        -80
      ],
      "id": "60af8c4d-3776-4410-bbc4-c879617f814a",
      "name": "Tiered Contact Search"
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "When Executed by Another Workflow": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Search Input",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Manual Trigger": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Search Input",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Search Input": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Read All Contacts",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Read All Contacts": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Tiered Contact Search",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  }
}

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.

• googleSheetsOAuth2Api

About this workflow

Record-Search. Uses executeWorkflowTrigger, googleSheets. Event-driven trigger; 6 nodes.

Source: https://github.com/runfish5/micro-services/blob/main/projects/n8n/02_smart-table-fill/workflows/subworkflows/record-search.json — original creator credit. Request a take-down →

More Data & Sheets workflows → · Browse all categories →

Related workflows

Workflows that share integrations, category, or trigger type with this one. All free to copy and import.