Problem: n8n Workflow Cannot Be Called by Another User & Missing “This Workflow Can Be Called By” Option
Hi everyone 
I’m working on an integration between Team-GPT and n8n, and I’m running into some issues I’d love help with.
Context
In our product, users can connect their n8n instance directly from a chat interface.
Once connected, they can press a button to add one of their workflows.
Here’s what happens behind the scenes:
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When a user selects a workflow, we create a new workflow in their n8n instance.
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The workflow starts with a Webhook node.
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We respond to that webhook and trigger their selected workflow using a “Call sub-workflow node”
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After that, we notify Team-GPT about the success or failure of the execution.
So far, so good — but there’s a major issue.
The Webhook → Execute sub-workflow node fails if the workflow being triggered belongs to a different user.
This is the error we’re getting:
The sub-workflow () cannot be called by this workflow
From what I understand, n8n doesn’t allow workflows owned by one user to call workflows owned by another user via the Execute Workflow node — likely due to permission restrictions. Similar issue here.
Observation in Cloud (n8n.io)
In the n8n Cloud (Free Trial) environment, I noticed that under workflow settings, there’s an option:
“This Workflow Can Be Called By”
…with a dropdown to choose which workflows can trigger it.
However, when self-hosting, I don’t see this option at all.
So my questions are:
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Is this setting only available for certain Pro or Enterprise licenses?
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Or am I missing something — maybe it depends on the n8n version I’m using?
Current (Hacky) Workaround
Right now, I’ve built a workaround that I’m not happy with at all:
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When a user selects a workflow, I create a copy of it.
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Then I create a parent workflow that triggers the copied workflow.
But this results in:
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Duplicate workflows (
parent+child) -
Cluttered n8n instances.
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Very bad scalability.
My Questions
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Is there a cleaner way to integrate Team-GPT with n8n, allowing us to trigger user workflows externally?
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Is there any API endpoint for running workflows directly (something like
Run Workflow), instead of only relying on webhooks? -
If not, what’s the recommended best practice for this type of integration?
Open to Feedback
I’m totally open to rethinking or even rewriting the whole integration if there’s a more elegant way.
Any insights, workarounds, or architectural feedback would be greatly appreciated 