The previous helper implementation using this.helpers.request(options) used and exposed the request-promise library. Now deprecated. To minimize incompatibility, n8n made a transparent conversion to another library called axios .
Now im confused. Could you please clarify which package is used by httpRequest and which by request.
Thanks a lot for making us aware of that. It seems like the example code got updated but not the description underneath it. Will create an internal ticket so that it gets fixed.
this.helpers.request → The old one which should NOT be used this.helpers.httpRequest → The new one would should be used
Generally should, however, probably none be used for 95% of the cases, and the declarative design documented here instead.
It is not just simpler and faster to create nodes that way, it also makes them easier maintainable and ensures additionally, that new n8n functionality and improvements are supported by nodes automatically.