Hi, I need help understanding how to recreate iterator logic from Make.com in n8n.
In Make, I worked with nested arrays like this:
first I had an array of main records,
I split it with an iterator,
then inside each main record I had another child array,
and I split that child array as well.
This meant the scenario ran in order:
one parent record first, then its child records one by one, and only after finishing all children of that parent did it move to the next parent record.
That was very important because it kept the correct relationship between the parent record and its child records.
In n8n, I don’t know how to reproduce this same logic, because it seems like all items are processed at once.
I’m looking for the best equivalent in n8n for this kind of nested iterator flow from Make.
This is a great question but it fits better in the Help me Build my Workflow category. Repost it there and you’ll get more eyes on it.
Quick pointer so you’re not starting from zero: the n8n equivalent of Make’s iterator is the Loop Over Items node. For your nested parent/child pattern, you’d loop through the parent array, then inside that loop use a second Loop Over Items (or a Code node) to process each parent’s children before moving to the next parent. That preserves the ordering you need.
good day @Anna5
Another way I’d approach this in n8n is by using a Split In Batches / Loop Over Items pattern for the parent records and then running a sub-workflow (Execute Workflow) for each parent, where that sub-workflow processes only that parent’s child array one by one, which keeps the hierarchy clear and gives you tighter control over execution order, retries, and error handling.
