How to develop locally using IntelliJ IDEA?

[Gentleman9914]

Describe the problem/error/question

I am trying to use a local n8n to create and debug local n8n custom nodes for the community.

So I have the following tree structure :

.
└── home/
    └── documents/
        ├── n8n/
        │   └── # n8n source code
        ├── n8n-deployment/
        │   └── # n8n deployment azure pipelines
        ├── n8n-helm-chart/
        │   └── # n8n deployment helm chart
        └── n8n-nodes-NODE_NAME/
            └── nodes/
                └── # nodes folders (currently just the n8n-nodes-starter)

I am currently launching n8n by using IntelliJ’s NodeJS Run/Debug configuration :

I know I could run n8n from npm installed globally, but I prefer to have the source code available to check and debug while doing stuff. Maybe that’s because I’m a Python / Java dev and that’s what I’m used to, maybe it is bad practice and doable easily with npm start ?

But anyway, how could I specify n8n to load my custom modules files directly sot that any changes is instant on the web view or requires just to relaunch n8n ?

The docs asks us to build them using npm here, but isn’t there a way to include the custom nodes just like it’s done for packages/nodes-base in n8n repo ?

I tried using the N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS env variable without success, and with no logs telling me if I succeeded or not.

Information on your n8n setup

• n8n version: 1.76.0
• Database (default: SQLite): PostGreSQL
• n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main): ?
• Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app): ~/documents/n8n/packages/cli/bin/n8n
• Operating system: WSL

Thanks in advance !

[Yo_its_prakash]

here you go, these are the three steps you must follow,
For local custom node development with IntelliJ IDEA:

1. Use npm link (easier than environment variables):

   # In your custom node directory
   cd ~/documents/n8n-nodes-NODE_NAME
   npm link
   
   # In your n8n directory
   cd ~/documents/n8n
   npm link n8n-nodes-NODE_NAME
   

2. Set up Watch mode for automatic transpilation:
   Add to your custom node’s package.json:

   "scripts": {
     "build": "tsc",
     "dev": "tsc --watch"
   }
   

   Run this in a separate terminal: npm run dev

3. Configure n8n to restart on changes:
   Add to your IntelliJ run configuration:

   --inspect --watch
   

[Gentleman9914]

Thanks for your answer, I am trying to build a repo that aims at providing a simple way to create and debug custom nodes here, I’ll make use of your knowledge !