Cannot run custom node locally from nodes folder

Questions
1

Describe the problem/error/question

I installed my custom node locally in my instance of n8n running locally. There was no ~/.n8n/nodes directory when I started but I created it (but there was an ~/.n8n) directory. I followed the instructions for using npm link and have the package linked in the ~/.n8n/nodes directory (which created a node_modules directory after the link.

But no matter what I try the custom node does not show up. I am just using the generic n8n starter and haven’t made any changes to it yet, just trying to create the dev workflow.

I have searched for the node by the node name not the package name (Example)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been hacking at this for a while now and haven’t made any progress at all.

What is the error message (if any)?

No error message, just my node does show up.

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version:: 1.01
  • Database (default: SQLite): SQLite
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main): pnpm run dev
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app): Locally from git clone
  • Operating system: Mac OSX Ventura 13.4.1
2

Hey @zenweasel,

I did the same process last week for a node I was working on and it seemed to work ok for me, After you ran npm link n8n-nodes-your-package in the nodes directory did you then restart n8n?

3

Yes. It worked when I added the package to the custom directory rather than the nodes directory. So something seems to be broken with the underlying implementation

4

Hey @zenweasel,

That is odd, I was using the nodes directory so for me it was working ok. I wonder if there was an error with the node or something, If you clear our the nodes directory and try again does it start working?

5

I’ve tried just about every combination. It doesn’t create a nodes directory and when I created it, it does not seem to use it. I have installed, uninstalled n8n every which way and finally am running it locally from a clone. Any of those ways the behavior is the same, no nodes directory is created and if I create one it is ignored. The home directory it is using is ~/$HOME/.n8n

The validation that my node works fine is that it shows up in the Nodes options and I can use it in workflows when installed into custom.

Right now it’s working for me when using custom and this is only for local development of custom nodes so I have what I need for now.

1 Like
6

Hey @zenweasel,

That is somewhat worrying but as you have something that works I will do some more digging internally to see if I can find something.

7

Let me know if I can help in any way