Hi n8n Support Team,
I’m currently using the 14-day free trial of n8n Cloud to test a potential automation flow for my business, and I’m running into a persistent issue integrating ElevenLabs’ Text-to-Speech API.
Describe the Problem / Question
I’m using the “Convert Text to Speech” node from the ElevenLabs integration. I’ve added the node, configured my credentials, and successfully saved the API key. However, every time I try to execute the workflow, I receive a 401 Unauthorized error, even though the key works fine outside of n8n.
What is the Error Message?
{
“statusCode”: 401,
“message”: “Authorization failed – please check your credentials”
}
What I’ve Tried So Far (Detailed Steps Taken):
-
Created and added a new ElevenLabs API key from my ElevenLabs dashboard.
-
Pasted the key into the “Credentials” section of the ElevenLabs node in n8n.
-
Tested the connection inside n8n — it said the connection was successful.
-
Executing the workflow still returned a 401 error.
-
Regenerated the API key, confirmed no formatting issues, and saved it into a new credential inside n8n.
-
Rebuilt the entire node from scratch in a new workflow — same result.
-
Verified that my ElevenLabs account is in the 14-day free trial and the key is active with full access permissions.
-
Tested the same API key using curl in the command prompt:
*curl -X GET https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/models *
-H “xi-api-key: sk-xxxxxxxx”
-
This returned a full list of models with no error, confirming the API key works outside of n8n.
-
Selected a valid voice in the node and filled out the text field as required.
-
Still received the same 401 error every time the workflow runs.
Output Returned by the Last Node:
{
“statusCode”: 401,
“message”: “Authorization failed – please check your credentials”
}
Other Observations:
-
The node’s credential test passes, but it fails during execution.
-
This seems to be a known behavior mentioned by other users in the community when using the dedicated ElevenLabs node.
-
There may be a mismatch between how credentials are verified during testing vs actual execution.
n8n Setup Information:
-
n8n version: [Insert your version here]
-
Database: Default (SQLite)
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n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting: Default (own)
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Running via: n8n Cloud (14-day free trial)
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Operating System: Windows 11
-
Workflow: Available upon request (can provide exported JSON)
What I Need Help With:
-
Is this a known issue with ElevenLabs authentication in the cloud version?
-
Are there any additional headers or configurations required for this node?
-
Would switching to the HTTP Request node be a better workaround? If so, do you have an example of the proper payload structure?
I’d really appreciate any guidance you can provide. I’m evaluating this during the trial period and would like to resolve the integration before making a long-term commitment.
Thanks in advance for your time and assistance.
Best regards,
Sheila
