How to handle nodes that stalls in loops and breaks workflows?

[thoresson]

I have this workflow where I define an array with RSS feeds to be parsed and then loop over them one by one. But sometimes the RSS Read or Remove Duplicate nodes are unable to finish and just keep going. When that happens, no of the remaining RSS feeds are parsed as they should.

How would a more experienced n8n developer build this workflow so that it doesn’t fail just because there is a problem with 1 out of 30 feeds?

[manueltnc]

Hello Thoresson

To clarify the behavior, what exactly happens to the RSS or Remove Duplicates, do they endlessly run? or do they output an empty object (Similar to the behavior of a Filter node if no input fulfills the criteria, it doesn’t output anything unless specified in the Settings)

For the moment I’ll assume that’s what happening what is mentioned above, either your RSS or Remove Duplicates does not output any item. My suggestion would be go to into

1. node Settings → Always Output Data = True.
2. Add an IF Node after with the Criteria (IF {{$json}} (Type = Object) Is Not Empty).
3. Connect the True Branch to the following Node. Connect the False Branch to the Loop Node

Let me know if this helps

[Franz]

At each Node, you have the option in the Settings tab to decide how errors should be handled. By default, the setting is Stop Workflow, which means the workflow will stop whenever an error occurs. However, you can change this behavior to Continue, where the workflow proceeds as though no error happened. Another option is Continue (using error output). With this setting, the workflow takes a different route in response to the error. For instance, if an error happens in an RSS Feed Node, you can use Continue (using error output) to redirect the workflow to handle the situation. From there, it could loop back, trigger further actions (such as notifications or disabling the RSS feed), or take other appropriate steps.

It’s also possible that if the RSS feed doesn’t return any items, the workflow will stop automatically. This is how N8N workflows work — there always needs to be at least one item for the process to continue. However, you can handle this situation by enabling the Always Output Data option under the settings. When this option is active, an empty item will be returned instead, allowing you to perform checks or continue the workflow based on this empty item.

[thoresson]

Thanks! The problem is that the nodes sometimes runs forever. I’ll try to bransch off on errors and loop back like @Franz suggests.

[thoresson]

Yes, seems like your suggestion provided a solution. Thanks again, @Franz!