Pickaxe Learn

Integrations

n8n (MCP)

Connect your Pickaxes to n8n via MCP to build AI-powered automation workflows.

What is n8n?

n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that lets you connect apps and build complex automations with a visual editor. By connecting n8n to your Pickaxe via MCP, your AI agents can trigger n8n workflows directly from a conversation — reading data, creating records, sending messages, and more.

Setting up the MCP server trigger in n8n

  1. Go to n8n.io and log into your account
  2. Create a new workflow or open an existing one
  3. Click Add first step
  4. Search for the MCP server trigger node and select it
  5. In the configuration panel, find the MCP URL setting
  6. Switch it to Production URL
  7. Copy the URL — this is the link Pickaxe will use to connect to your workflow

Building your n8n workflow

After setting up the MCP trigger, continue building out your workflow by adding nodes for whatever actions you need. For example:

  • Google Calendar — create events, check availability, list existing events
  • Gmail — send emails, forward messages
  • Slack — post messages to channels
  • Notion — create or update database entries
  • Any of n8n's hundreds of other integrations

Once your nodes are configured, make sure to switch the workflow to active — otherwise your Pickaxe won't be able to connect.

Connecting n8n to your Pickaxe

  1. In the Pickaxe Builder, go to the Actions tab
  2. In the actions library, search for n8n
  3. Click Add n8n MCP
  4. Give your MCP server a name
  5. Paste the production URL you copied from n8n
  6. Click Add

Your Pickaxe is now connected to n8n and can use the tools defined in your workflow.

Prompting your Pickaxe to use n8n

Instruct your Pickaxe on when and how to use each connected n8n tool. In your prompt, specify:

  • Which node to run for each type of user request
  • What data to pass to each node
  • How to present results back to the user

Be explicit about mapping user intents to specific n8n nodes so your Pickaxe knows exactly which tool to trigger in each situation.

Example workflow

Here's an example of a Pickaxe built for an imaginary restaurant that uses n8n to manage reservations and customer feedback:

The n8n workflow includes three nodes:

  1. Get many events in Google Calendar — retrieves existing reservations
  2. Create an event in Google Calendar — books new reservations
  3. Send a message in Gmail — emails customer feedback to the restaurant owner

How the Pickaxe uses each node:

  • When a customer asks about availability, the Pickaxe runs the get events node to check which time slots are already booked
  • When a customer wants to make a reservation, the Pickaxe runs the create event node to add it to the calendar
  • When a customer leaves feedback, the Pickaxe runs the Gmail node to email that feedback to the owner

This is just one example — with n8n's extensive library of integrations, you can build workflows that connect to virtually any service and trigger them all through your Pickaxe.

Previous

Zapier (MCP)