OPENAI N8N INTEGRATION: AUTOMATE OPENAI WITH N8N
Looking to automate OpenAI with n8n? You’ve come to the right place. The OpenAI n8n integration gives you access to 16 powerful actions that let you harness the full potential of artificial intelligence directly within your automation workflows—without writing a single line of code.
With this integration, you can send messages to GPT models, generate images with DALL·E, create videos, transcribe audio recordings, translate content, analyze images, and much more. Whether you’re building AI-powered chatbots, automating content creation, or processing media files at scale, the OpenAI n8n integration transforms complex AI operations into simple drag-and-drop nodes.
In this guide, you’ll discover exactly how to connect OpenAI to n8n, explore every available action in detail, and learn how to leverage these capabilities to build sophisticated AI-driven automations that save hours of manual work.
WHY AUTOMATE OPENAI WITH N8N?
The OpenAI n8n integration provides 16 distinct actions covering text generation, image processing, audio handling, video creation, file management, and conversation management. This comprehensive suite means you can build end-to-end AI workflows entirely within n8n, connecting OpenAI’s capabilities to over 400 other applications.
Significant time savings become immediately apparent when you stop copying and pasting prompts between tools. Instead of manually sending requests to OpenAI’s API, formatting responses, and transferring data to other systems, you set up the workflow once and let it run automatically. A task that took 15 minutes per iteration now happens in seconds. Seamless integration with your existing tech stack means OpenAI outputs can flow directly into your CRM, email platform, database, or any other tool in your workflow.
Consider these practical use cases: automatically generate personalized email responses using GPT when new support tickets arrive, create product images with DALL·E whenever new items are added to your inventory, transcribe meeting recordings and send summaries to Slack, or analyze uploaded images and categorize them in your database. The possibilities multiply when you combine OpenAI’s AI capabilities with n8n’s 400+ integrations. Teams report saving 10-20 hours per week once their OpenAI automations are running.
HOW TO CONNECT OPENAI TO N8N?
Basic configuration:
- Get your OpenAI API key: Log into your OpenAI account at platform.openai.com, navigate to the API section, and generate a new API key. Copy it immediately—you won’t be able to see it again.
- Create credentials in n8n: In your n8n instance, go to Credentials → Add Credential → search for “OpenAI” and select it.
- Paste your API key: Enter your OpenAI API key in the designated field. Give your credential a recognizable name if you manage multiple OpenAI accounts.
- Test the connection: n8n will verify that your credentials work. If successful, you’re ready to start building workflows.
- Select the credential in your nodes: When adding any OpenAI node to your workflow, choose your saved credential from the “Credential to connect with” dropdown.
💡 TIP: Create a dedicated OpenAI API key specifically for n8n automations rather than reusing keys from other applications. This makes it easier to track usage, set spending limits, and revoke access if needed without disrupting your other integrations.
NEED HELP AUTOMATING OPENAI WITH N8N?
We’ll get back to you in minutes ✔
OPENAI ACTIONS AVAILABLE IN N8N
Message a model
This action is the cornerstone of most OpenAI automations—it lets you send messages to any OpenAI language model (GPT-4, GPT-3.5-turbo, etc.) and receive intelligent responses. Whether you’re building a customer support bot, generating content, or processing data with AI assistance, this is likely the action you’ll use most frequently.
The configuration is highly flexible: Model (required) lets you select which GPT model to use; Messages (required) define the conversation with role-based messages, each needing a Type, Role, and Prompt; Simplify Output (optional) streamlines the response format; and Built-in Tools expand functionality with specialized tools.
Use this action to: generate product descriptions from feature lists, summarize long documents, translate content, answer customer queries, extract structured data from unstructured text, or create personalized marketing copy.
Edit image
The Edit Image action allows you to modify existing images using OpenAI’s image models. This is perfect for workflows that need to adjust, enhance, or transform visual content based on text instructions.
Key parameters include: Model (required) to choose the image editing model; Prompt (required) to describe modifications; Images (required) to specify the binary field name containing your image data; Number of Images (required, default 1); Size (optional) for output dimensions; Quality (optional) for quality levels; and Output Format (required) to define the file format.
This action shines when you need to batch-process product photos, create variations of marketing images, or automatically adjust visuals based on specific criteria.
Generate audio
Transform text into natural-sounding speech with the Generate Audio action. This is invaluable for creating voiceovers, audio content, or accessibility features in your automations.
Configuration parameters: Model (required) to select the text-to-speech model; Text Input (required) for the text to convert; Voice (required) to choose from available voice options; and Options for additional configurations.
Perfect for: automatically generating podcast intros, creating audio versions of blog posts, producing voiceovers for video content, or building voice notifications for your applications.
Generate an image
Create original images from text descriptions using OpenAI’s DALL·E models. This action opens up possibilities for automated visual content creation that would otherwise require a graphic designer.
Parameters to configure: Model (required) to select the image generation model like DALL·E 3; Prompt (required) for a detailed description of the image—the more specific your prompt, the better your results; and Options for additional settings.
Use cases include: generating featured images for blog posts, creating product mockups, producing social media visuals, or building custom illustrations based on user input.
Analyze image
The Analyze Image action sends images to OpenAI’s vision models for interpretation. It can describe image contents, answer questions about visuals, extract text, and much more.
Configurable parameters: Model (required) to choose the vision-capable model; Text Input (optional but recommended) to provide context or ask specific questions; Input Type (required) to specify how you’re providing the image; URL(s) (required for URL input) to enter public URLs of images; and Simplify Output (optional) to streamline the response format.
This action is excellent for: automated image categorization, extracting text from screenshots, quality checking uploaded photos, or building visual search capabilities.
Classify Text for Violations
Automatically scan text content for policy violations using OpenAI’s moderation capabilities. This is essential for platforms that need to filter user-generated content.
Parameters: Text Input (required) for the sample text to analyze; and Simplify Output (optional) for a cleaner response format.
Deploy this action to: moderate comments before publishing, screen support tickets for inappropriate content, or audit content libraries for compliance.
Upload a file
Upload files to OpenAI’s storage for use with other API features like fine-tuning or assistants. This action bridges your file systems with OpenAI’s cloud storage.
Configuration: Input Data Field Name (required) to specify the binary field containing your file data, typically “data”; and Options for additional upload configurations.
Useful for: preparing training data for fine-tuned models, uploading documents for AI assistants, or staging files for batch processing.
Transcribe a Recording
Convert audio recordings into text using OpenAI’s Whisper model. Note that the API limits file size to 25 MB.
Parameters: Input Data Field Name (required) for the field name containing your binary audio file data; and Options for additional transcription settings.
Ideal for: transcribing meeting recordings, creating subtitles for videos, converting voice notes to text, or building searchable audio archives.
Delete a file
Remove files from OpenAI’s storage when they’re no longer needed. Good file hygiene keeps your OpenAI account organized and within storage limits.
Configuration: File (required) to specify the file to delete, typically by its ID.
Use this to: clean up after batch processing jobs, remove outdated training data, or automate file lifecycle management.
Update a conversation
Modify metadata or properties of an existing conversation thread in OpenAI’s system.
Parameters: Conversation ID (required) for the unique identifier of the conversation to update; and Metadata (optional) for additional data to attach to the conversation, formatted as JSON.
Helpful for: tagging conversations with custom labels, updating status information, or adding contextual metadata for tracking purposes.
Create a conversation
Initiate a new conversation thread with OpenAI, establishing the initial context and messages.
Configuration: Messages (required) to define the initial messages with Role (User/Assistant) and Prompt content; and Options for additional conversation settings.
Use this action when building: multi-turn chatbot experiences, persistent AI assistants, or threaded support conversations that maintain context.
Translate a recording
Convert audio recordings in other languages into English text. Like transcription, the 25 MB file size limit applies.
Parameters: Input Data Field Name (required) for the field containing your audio binary data.
Perfect for: multilingual content workflows, translating foreign-language interviews, or building international communication tools.
Remove a conversation
Delete a conversation thread from OpenAI’s system entirely.
Configuration: Conversation ID (required) for the unique identifier of the conversation to remove.
Deploy this for: data cleanup routines, privacy compliance (removing user conversations), or managing conversation storage limits.
List files
Retrieve a complete list of files stored in your OpenAI account. Useful for auditing, reporting, or building file management interfaces.
Parameters: Options for additional filtering or listing options as needed.
Use cases: inventory your uploaded files, check for specific file types, or verify successful uploads in automated workflows.
Generate a video
Create videos from text descriptions using OpenAI’s video generation capabilities. This cutting-edge feature brings motion to your AI-generated content.
Configuration: Model (required) to select the video generation model; Prompt (required) to describe the video you want to create; Seconds (required) to set the duration; Size (required) to choose the resolution; and Options for additional generation settings.
Explore this for: creating social media content, generating product demonstrations, or building automated video production pipelines.
Get a conversation
Retrieve the details and history of a specific conversation thread from OpenAI.
Parameters: Conversation ID (required) for the unique identifier of the conversation to retrieve.
This action supports: auditing conversation histories, building conversation review interfaces, or extracting past context for reporting.
NEED HELP AUTOMATING OPENAI WITH N8N?
We’ll get back to you in minutes ✔
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT OPENAI N8N INTEGRATION
Is the OpenAI n8n integration free?
The n8n integration itself is free to use—there's no additional cost to connect OpenAI to n8n. However, you'll need an OpenAI API account with available credits, as OpenAI charges for API usage based on the models you use and the volume of requests. GPT-4 costs more per token than GPT-3.5-turbo, image generation has per-image pricing, and audio transcription is charged per minute. We recommend setting up usage limits in your OpenAI dashboard to avoid unexpected charges, especially when testing new automations.
What data can I process between OpenAI and n8n?
The OpenAI n8n integration handles a remarkably diverse range of data types. For text, you can send prompts and receive AI-generated responses, classifications, and analyses. For images, you can generate new images from descriptions, edit existing images, and analyze image contents. Audio capabilities include generating speech from text, transcribing recordings to text, and translating foreign-language audio. You can also generate videos, manage files in OpenAI's storage, and maintain persistent conversation threads. Essentially, if OpenAI's API supports it, you can automate it through n8n.
How long does it take to set up the OpenAI n8n integration?
Initial setup takes approximately 5-10 minutes: creating your OpenAI API key, configuring the credential in n8n, and testing a basic connection. Building your first working workflow—say, one that sends a prompt to GPT and processes the response—can be done in under 15 minutes if you're familiar with n8n's interface. More complex workflows involving multiple OpenAI actions, conditional logic, and integrations with other apps might take 30-60 minutes to design and test thoroughly. The learning curve is gentle, and most users report being productive with the integration within their first session.