OpenClaw + n8n Stack

Your personal AI operating system in a box. Run AI agents with workflow automation — self-hosted, fully customizable.

What Is This?

A pre-configured Docker stack that combines:

• OpenClaw — Personal AI agent gateway (Claude-powered)
• n8n — Visual workflow automation (400+ integrations)

Together, they form a powerful AI automation platform where your agent can trigger workflows, call webhooks, process data, and interact with external services.

Why This Stack?

Capability	OpenClaw	n8n	Combined
AI reasoning	✅	❌	✅
Workflow automation	❌	✅	✅
External integrations	Limited	400+	✅
Visual workflow builder	❌	✅	✅
Natural language interface	✅	❌	✅
Self-hosted	✅	✅	✅

Example use cases:

• AI agent that triages your email and sends Slack summaries
• Content pipeline: research → write → fact-check → publish
• Social media monitoring with AI-powered responses
• Automated reporting with natural language queries
• Multi-model AI validation (Claude + ChatGPT + Gemini)

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• An Anthropic API key (for Claude)
• Optional: OpenAI and/or Google AI keys for multi-model workflows

1. Clone and Configure

git clone https://github.com/caprihan/openclaw-n8n-stack.git
cd openclaw-n8n-stack

# Copy the environment template
cp .env.template .env

# Edit with your API keys
nano .env

2. Start the Stack

docker-compose up -d

3. Access the Services

Service	URL	Default Credentials
n8n	http://localhost:5678	admin / (your password)
OpenClaw	http://localhost:3456	—

4. Import Example Workflows

The workflows/ directory contains ready-to-use n8n workflows:

1. Open n8n at http://localhost:5678
2. Go to Workflows → Import from File
3. Import any workflow from the workflows/ directory
4. Configure credentials and activate

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Docker Network                            │
│                                                              │
│  ┌─────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐            │
│  │    OpenClaw     │◄───────►│      n8n        │            │
│  │   (AI Agent)    │ webhook │  (Workflows)    │            │
│  │   Port 3456     │         │   Port 5678     │            │
│  └────────┬────────┘         └────────┬────────┘            │
│           │                           │                      │
│           ▼                           ▼                      │
│    ┌──────────────┐           ┌──────────────┐              │
│    │  workspace/  │           │  workflows/  │              │
│    │  (your files)│           │ (n8n exports)│              │
│    └──────────────┘           └──────────────┘              │
│                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │                               │
         ▼                               ▼
   Anthropic API                  External Services
   OpenAI API                     (Slack, Gmail, etc.)
   Google AI API

Included Workflows

Workflow	Description
ripr-chatgpt-validator.json	Multi-LLM fact-checking (ChatGPT)
ripr-gemini-validator.json	Multi-LLM fact-checking (Gemini)
email-triage.json	AI-powered email summarization
social-monitor.json	Track mentions and trends

Configuration

OpenClaw Config

Edit config/openclaw.json to customize:

• Default model and thinking level
• Skills and tools enabled
• Channel configurations

n8n Credentials

Set up credentials in n8n UI:

1. Go to Credentials → Add Credential
2. Add your API keys for services you'll use
3. Reference them in your workflows

Connecting OpenClaw to n8n

OpenClaw can call n8n webhooks directly. In your agent workspace:

# Example: Call a n8n workflow from OpenClaw
curl -X POST "http://n8n:5678/webhook/my-workflow" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"data": "from openclaw"}'

The N8N_WEBHOOK_BASE environment variable is pre-configured so OpenClaw knows where to find n8n.

Updating

# Pull latest images
docker-compose pull

# Restart with new images
docker-compose up -d

Backup

# Backup volumes
docker run --rm -v openclaw-n8n-stack_openclaw-data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup alpine tar czf /backup/openclaw-backup.tar.gz -C /data .
docker run --rm -v openclaw-n8n-stack_n8n-data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup alpine tar czf /backup/n8n-backup.tar.gz -C /data .

Troubleshooting

n8n can't connect to OpenClaw

• Ensure both containers are on the same network
• Check docker-compose logs openclaw for errors
• Verify API keys are set correctly

Webhooks not working externally

• Update N8N_WEBHOOK_URL in .env to your public URL
• Ensure port 5678 is accessible

Out of disk space

• Check Docker volumes: docker system df
• Prune unused: docker system prune -a

Security Notes

⚠️ For production deployment:

1. Use strong passwords for n8n
2. Put behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS
3. Don't expose ports directly to the internet
4. Keep API keys secure (never commit .env)
5. Review n8n's security best practices

Contributing

PRs welcome! Especially:

• New workflow templates
• Documentation improvements
• Security hardening

Credits

• OpenClaw — AI agent framework
• n8n — Workflow automation
• Built by Gaurav Caprihan / Gripsy

License

MIT — Use it, modify it, build on it.

---

Get a grip on AI. 🦎