Differences between the self-hosted and cloud versions of n8n mcp

Questions
1

Hi everyone, I’ve been diving into the new MCP features recently and ran into a question regarding the cloud version.

In the self-hosted version, I was able to add workflows as MCP tools without issues,（ GitHub - czlonkowski/n8n-mcp: A MCP for Claude Desktop / Claude Code / Windsurf / Cursor to build n8n workflows for you ）but in the cloud version(starter plan), I was told that the trigger must be a Webhook trigger. ( It also looked like the configuration JSON structure differs slightly. )

Also, it seemed like the toggle switch to control whether a workflow is exposed to MCP is missing in the self-hosted version. Does anyone know what design constraints or specification differences result in this discrepancy? I’d really like to understand the underlying background and rationale for why these differences exist.

Information on your n8n setup

  • Running n8n via [n8n cloud (starter plan)):
  • Operating system:Mac
2

Regarding the differences between self-hosted and cloud versions of n8n MCP, it’s true that the cloud version (especially on the Starter plan) has some limitations. The cloud version requires a Webhook trigger for MCP workflows, whereas self-hosted instances offer more flexibility. This difference likely stems from the cloud environment’s need for controlled access and resource management. I’m not entirely sure about the specifics of the JSON structure differences, but you might find more detailed explanations in the n8n documentation or on the n8n Discord server.