Node Operations

This document describes every resource and operation available in the Workflow Interaction Layer node as seen in the n8n UI.

Auto-Populated Fields

The node automatically injects two fields on every create operation; you do not need to set them:

Field	Source	Description
workflowId	this.getWorkflow().id	The ID of the workflow containing this node
workflowInstanceId	this.getExecutionId()	The current execution ID

Resource: Message

Create

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Actor ID	string	Yes	-	Target actor identifier
Actor Type	options	Yes	user	user, group, role, system, other
Title	string	Yes	-	Message title
Body	string (multiline)	Yes	-	Message body text
Metadata	JSON	No	{}	Arbitrary JSON metadata

Get Many / Get Messages by Actor ID

Both operations support actor, workflow instance, since, and limit filters as shown in the n8n UI.

Resource: Action

Create

Creates a new action in the WIL API layer.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Actor ID	string	Yes	-	Target actor identifier
Actor Type	options	Yes	user	user, group, role, system, other
Action Type	options	Yes	getapproval	getapproval, showform, waitonevent
Action Title	string	No	-	Optional title for the action
HTML	string	Yes, for getapproval	-	HTML content shown before approval options
Options	list	Yes, for getapproval	-	Repeatable approval option labels. At least one option is required.
CHEFS Form Name	string	Yes, for showform	-	CHEFS form name shown for the form action
CHEFS Form ID	string	Yes, for showform	-	CHEFS form ID to render
CHEFS Form API Key	string	Yes, for showform	-	CHEFS form API key used server-side
CHEFS Form Submission ID	string	No	-	Existing CHEFS form submission ID to prefill from prior data
Form Pre-Fill Data	JSON	No	{}	Object of CHEFS field API names and values
Payload	JSON	Yes, for waitonevent	{}	Free-form wait-on-event payload, for example { "eventName": "clicked" }
Callback Method	options	No	POST	none, POST, PUT, PATCH
Callback URL	string	Yes (when Callback Method != None)	-	URL called when action completes
Callback Payload Spec	JSON	No	{}	Template for expected callback body
Due Date	string	No	-	RFC 3339 timestamp
Priority	options	No	normal	normal or critical
Check In	string	No	-	RFC 3339 reminder timestamp
Metadata	JSON	No	{}	Arbitrary JSON metadata

Action Title is sent as top-level actionTitle; it is not nested inside payload.

Payload by Action Type

• getapproval builds payload { "html": "...", "options": ["Yes", "No"] }.
• showform builds payload { "formName": "...", "formId": "...", "formApiKey": "...", "submissionId": "...", "formPreFillData": {} }.
• waitonevent uses the raw Payload JSON field, matching the previous behavior.

getapproval HTML Details

When actionType is getapproval, the node builds the payload from the HTML and Options fields:

{
  "html": "<p>Do you approve this request?</p>",
  "options": ["Yes", "No"]
}

HTML and at least one approval option are required. The node rejects getapproval actions with missing HTML or an empty options list because the user would otherwise have no useful prompt or no way to respond.

The external UI sanitizes the HTML before rendering it. Inline scripts, event handlers, data attributes, and arbitrary inline CSS are not allowed. This keeps approval prompts safe while still allowing structured content.

Allowed tags include:

Category	Tags
Text	p, br, strong, b, em, i, u, s, span, div
Headings	h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6
Lists	ul, ol, li
Tables	table, thead, tbody, tr, th, td
Other	a, img, hr, blockquote, code, pre

Allowed attributes include:

Attribute	Typical use
href, target, rel	Links
src, alt, width, height	Images
colspan, rowspan	Table cells
class, id	Non-sensitive identifiers only

The renderer applies controlled styles for headings, paragraphs, lists, blockquotes, code, links, images, and tables. Do not rely on inline CSS such as style="...", border, cellpadding, or cellspacing; those are stripped or ignored. Use normal semantic HTML and let the UI apply the approved styling.

Example: Simple Approval

HTML field:

<h2>Approve Request</h2>
<p>Please confirm whether this request should proceed.</p>

Options:

Approve
Reject

Generated payload:

{
  "html": "<h2>Approve Request</h2><p>Please confirm whether this request should proceed.</p>",
  "options": ["Approve", "Reject"]
}

Example: Consent Prompt with Table

HTML field:

<h2>Consent to Share Income Information</h2>

<p>
  By selecting <b>Yes</b>, you authorize us to collect and share your income information with authorized organizations
  to determine your eligibility and process your request.
</p>

<table>
  <tr>
    <th colspan="2">Consent Summary</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><b>Purpose</b></td>
    <td>Determine eligibility and process your request.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><b>Information</b></td>
    <td>Income information provided by you or authorized sources.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><b>If you choose No</b></td>
    <td>We may not be able to complete your eligibility assessment.</td>
  </tr>
</table>

<blockquote>Your information will be used only for this purpose and handled securely.</blockquote>

Options:

Yes
No

Generated payload:

{
  "html": "<h2>Consent to Share Income Information</h2><p>By selecting <b>Yes</b>, you authorize us to collect and share your income information with authorized organizations to determine your eligibility and process your request.</p><table><tr><th colspan=\"2\">Consent Summary</th></tr><tr><td><b>Purpose</b></td><td>Determine eligibility and process your request.</td></tr><tr><td><b>Information</b></td><td>Income information provided by you or authorized sources.</td></tr><tr><td><b>If you choose No</b></td><td>We may not be able to complete your eligibility assessment.</td></tr></table><blockquote>Your information will be used only for this purpose and handled securely.</blockquote>",
  "options": ["Yes", "No"]
}

Example: Review Checklist

HTML field:

<h3>Review Required</h3>
<p>Confirm that the following checks are complete before approving:</p>

<ul>
  <li>Applicant identity has been verified.</li>
  <li>Required documents have been reviewed.</li>
  <li>No duplicate request is active.</li>
</ul>

<hr />

<p><b>Decision:</b> choose one option below.</p>

Options:

Approve
Needs Changes
Reject

Generated payload:

{
  "html": "<h3>Review Required</h3><p>Confirm that the following checks are complete before approving:</p><ul><li>Applicant identity has been verified.</li><li>Required documents have been reviewed.</li><li>No duplicate request is active.</li></ul><hr><p><b>Decision:</b> choose one option below.</p>",
  "options": ["Approve", "Needs Changes", "Reject"]
}

showform Details

Field	Type	Required	Description
formName	string	Yes	CHEFS form name shown for the form action
formId	string	Yes	CHEFS form ID to render
formApiKey	string	Yes	CHEFS form API key used server-side. The backend strips it before returning actions to the UI.
submissionId	string	No	Existing CHEFS form submission ID used to prefill the form from prior submission data
formPreFillData	object	No	Key-value pairs matching CHEFS form field API names

If submissionId is provided, it takes full priority: the form loads the existing submission data and formPreFillData is ignored.

Other Action Operations

• Get retrieves a single action by ID.
• Get Many lists actions with optional actor, workflow instance, since, and limit filters.
• Update updates action status. To delete an action, update status to deleted.