Building a new credential - gets stuck "testing" forever

Questions
1

Hi n8n Community,

I’m trying to connect to Google Cloud Firestore using the “Google Service Account API” credential type in n8n (Cloud version) and am consistently getting stuck on an indefinite “Testing…” hang when saving the credential.

Goal:
Automate adding data to Firestore.

Problem:
When setting up the “Google Service Account API” credential:

  • I select the correct Region (us-central1).

  • I paste the Service Account Email directly from my service account JSON key.

  • I paste the Private Key directly from my service account JSON key.
    Upon clicking “Save,” the UI shows “Testing…” and never resolves or throws an error.

Key Troubleshooting & Verification:

  1. Local Node.js Test Successful: I’ve successfully connected to my Firestore database (read, write, and verified data in the console) using a local Node.js script (firebase-admin SDK) with the exact same service account JSON key file. This confirms:

  • The Firestore database exists and is in us-central1.

  • The service account ([email protected] for project horrorhub) has the correct IAM permissions (Editor, Cloud Datastore User, Firebase Admin SDK Admin Service Agent, Service Account Token Creator).

  • The Cloud Firestore API and Cloud Resource Manager API are enabled.

  • Firestore security rules are currently wide open for testing (allow read, write: if true;).

  • The JSON key itself is valid and functional.

  1. n8n Specifics:

  • I’ve tried pasting the private key both as the direct string from the JSON (with \n characters) and as a reformatted version with actual newlines (as confirmed by the successful Node.js test with the full JSON). The result is the same hang.

  • VPN is disabled.

  • This is for project horrorhub and the key explicitly states “project_id”: “horrorhub”.

Since the local script works perfectly with the same credentials, the issue seems to be specific to how n8n is processing or testing these credentials for the “Google Service Account API” type.

I noticed another community post where a user experienced a similar “Testing…” hang during SMTP credential creation (though a different service, the symptom was the same: SMTP node "timedout" error). This makes me wonder if this UI behavior is a general indicator for various underlying validation issues when n8n tests credentials.

Has anyone encountered a similar “Testing…” hang specifically with the Google Service Account API, or have any suggestions on what else to check within n8n’s configuration for this credential type? Is there a specific format or processing step for the private key that I might be missing for n8n?

Thanks for any help!

1 Like
2

Screenshot_20250614_165522_tEmNL1PW@2x
Screenshot_20250614_165522_tEmNL1PW@2x2472×1640 201 KB

you mean the testing here right?

But honestly you can ignore it!

Just use the credentail directly. It should be working.

3

The problem is, if i click away from it in any way, it just loses whatever i’ve done so far on that section. So, I can’t ignore it…i need to get it to save properly.

4

n8n-serviceaccount

When you click save.
Don’t you see the green checkmark in the bottom right corner?

5

I do get that, and that’s part of the confusion. I get that, it gets stuck “testing”, and if I click away, it loses all of those settings. I’m stumped

6

Oh that’s weired. When I click away. I can see the credential setting and use it right away.

Can you record something similar and we can have a look?

7

LOL - as soon as i start recording, it worked flawlessly! RUDE! Thanks for the help!

1 Like