$ Schedule (every weekday 9 AM) ↓
HTTP Request (fetch BTC price from CoinGecko) ↓
Edit Fields (extract price as a clean number) ↓ If (price > 100,000?) ┌────┴────┐ true false ↓ ↓ Email Slack
(celebrate) (notify)
Schedule (every weekday 9 AM) ↓
HTTP Request (fetch BTC price from CoinGecko) ↓
Edit Fields (extract price as a clean number) ↓ If (price > 100,000?) ┌────┴────┐ true false ↓ ↓ Email Slack
(celebrate) (notify)
Schedule (every weekday 9 AM) ↓
HTTP Request (fetch BTC price from CoinGecko) ↓
Edit Fields (extract price as a clean number) ↓ If (price > 100,000?) ┌────┴────┐ true false ↓ ↓ Email Slack
(celebrate) (notify)
{ "bitcoin": { "usd": 105432 }
}
{ "bitcoin": { "usd": 105432 }
}
{ "bitcoin": { "usd": 105432 }
}
{ "price": 105432
}
{ "price": 105432
}
{ "price": 105432
} - Workflow — a collection of connected nodes that automates a process. One workflow = one automation.
- Node — a single step. Each does one thing: trigger, fetch, transform, send.
- Trigger node — the first node. Decides when the workflow runs.
- Execution — one full run of the workflow, top to bottom. n8n logs every execution for debugging.
- Expression — JavaScript-flavored snippets in {{ }} that reference data from previous nodes. - n8n Cloud — sign up at n8n.io, 14-day free trial, no credit card. After trial, paid plans from €24/month for 2,500 executions.
- Self-hosted — free forever, runs on your own server with Docker. Requires basic Linux comfort. Full production setup walkthrough in our n8n self-hosting guide. - Click Add first step.
- Search Schedule and pick Schedule Trigger.
- Trigger Interval: Days
- Days Between Triggers: 1
- Trigger at Hour: 9am
- Optionally: under Trigger on Weekdays, select Mon–Fri only. - Click + on the right of the Schedule trigger.
- Search HTTP Request, select it.
- URL: https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3/simple/price?ids=bitcoin&vs_currencies=usd
- Authentication: None (CoinGecko allows unauthenticated calls).
- Method: GET
- Click Execute step. - Click + on the HTTP Request node.
- Search Edit Fields (also called "Set" in some versions).
- Under Fields to Set, click Add Field.
- Name: price
- Value: toggle the = icon to red (this enables expression mode).
- Drag bitcoin.usd from the left panel into the value field. The expression becomes {{ $json.bitcoin.usd }}.
- Click Execute step. - Click + on the Edit Fields node.
- Search If, select it.
- Under Conditions: Value 1: drag price from the left panel → {{ $json.price }} Operation: Number > Larger Value 2: 100000
- Value 1: drag price from the left panel → {{ $json.price }}
- Operation: Number > Larger
- Value 2: 100000
- Click Execute step to verify. - Value 1: drag price from the left panel → {{ $json.price }}
- Operation: Number > Larger
- Value 2: 100000 - Click + labeled true on the If node.
- Search Send Email, select it.
- Click Create new credential → configure SMTP. Gmail needs an app-specific password; most ESPs accept standard SMTP creds.
- To Email: your address.
- Subject: BTC just hit $100k!
- Text (expression mode): BTC is currently at ${{ $json.price }} — celebration time!
- Click Execute step to send a test email. - Back on the canvas. Click + labeled false on the If node.
- Search Slack, select it.
- Click Create new credential → OAuth2 flow connects your workspace.
- Resource: Message, Operation: Send.
- Pick a channel (e.g., #general).
- Text (expression mode): BTC is at ${{ $json.price }} — still under $100k.
- Click Execute step. - Forgetting to publish. Most common reason "the schedule isn't firing." If the toggle isn't on Published, the trigger is dormant.
- String vs Number in If nodes. "5" > "10" returns true alphabetically. Always pick the right operation type.
- Hardcoding what should be an expression. Typing the literal text $json.price into a regular field doesn't work. Toggle the = icon to red first.
- Polling APIs every minute on n8n Cloud. A 1-minute schedule = 43,200 executions/month, which exceeds most paid plan limits. Use webhooks where possible.
- Not testing each node individually. Click Execute step on every new node before connecting the next. Prevents 80% of debugging pain.
- No backup of N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY (self-hosted). Lose this and every saved credential is unrecoverable. Back it up to a password manager the moment you generate it. - Replace the Schedule trigger with a Webhook trigger to react to events from external systems instead of polling. Big efficiency gain. New to webhooks? Read this practical webhook primer including testing.
- Add an error-handling node that fires when any step fails. Without it, silent failures will burn you eventually. The pattern: every critical workflow ends with a "Send Email/Slack on Error" branch.
- Build something for your actual job. Pick one repetitive task you do every week (compiling stats, posting reports, syncing data) and rebuild it as an n8n workflow. The fastest way to learn is to solve a real problem.
