Resources · n8n integration

n8n Google Gemini nodeConfigure Google Gemini in n8n.

The n8n Google Gemini node puts text, image, audio, video and document work inside a workflow. It ships 15 operations spread over 7 resources, from Message a Model to File Search stores for RAG. One Google AI credential covers all of them. Built for anyone wiring Gemini into an automation.

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Why automate

What does the n8n Google Gemini node actually do?

The node calls Google Gemini models from inside a workflow and hands the answer back as regular n8n data. It runs like any action node: one execution per incoming item, no sub-node ports to wire underneath it. Pick a resource (Text, Image, Audio, Video, Document, Media File, File Search), pick an operation, and the panel shows only the fields that operation needs.

Three things people build with it, over and over. First, a text step: text.message takes a prompt plus an optional System Message and returns a completion, which is what you want when a workflow needs a summary, a classification or a rewritten paragraph before the next node. Turn on Output Content as JSON and the result slots straight into a spreadsheet row or an API payload.

Second, media understanding. image.analyze, audio.analyze, video.analyze and document.analyze all take a URL or a binary field from the previous node and answer a question about it. An invoice PDF arriving in Gmail can be described, then the answer written to Google Sheets and posted into Slack. Transcription has its own operation, audio.transcribe, with Start Time and End Time to cut a long recording down to the part that matters.

Third, generation and retrieval. image.generate and video.generate create files from a prompt, image.edit reworks images you supply, and the File Search resource builds stores for Retrieval Augmented Generation, meaning the model answers from documents you uploaded rather than from memory alone.

When to reach for something else. This node answers once per item and stops. If the job needs the model to pick tools, loop and keep context between messages, the AI Agent node with a chat model sub-node underneath it is the right shape, and a sub-node is simply a node that plugs into a port of a root node instead of running on its own. If the point is to compare providers, the OpenAI node covers the same kinds of media work, and Perplexity covers search-flavored prompting.

The limits worth knowing up front. Code Execution and Duration (Seconds) are supported only by certain models. fileSearch.listStores pages its results, so a long list needs Page Token to continue. video.download only works against a URL the Gemini API returned, which is why video.generate offers Return As set to url. Google bills its own API calls under its own terms; n8n adds nothing on top.

Connect

What does it take to connect the node?

  1. 01

    Create the Google AI credential

    The node reads its access from a Google AI credential, which is the record n8n keeps for your Google API key. Open the Credentials menu in n8n, create the Google AI credential and save it. It is created once and reused by every workflow that talks to Gemini, so a key rotation happens in one place instead of node by node.

  2. 02

    Or switch to Gateway credits on n8n Cloud

    On n8n Cloud there is a second route: select Use Gateway credits in the credential field of the node, and it runs without a Google account and without a key of your own. Handy for a first test, or for a workflow that has to ship before anyone has opened a Google API console. Everything else on the node behaves the same way.

  3. 03

    Pick the credential, then the model

    Back in the node, select the credential you just saved in its credential field, then choose the resource and the operation you need. The analysis and generation operations expect a Model, and it is a required field: leave it empty and n8n stops the node before the call goes out. Run the step once on real data to confirm the answer comes back.

Actions

Which Google Gemini operations can n8n run?

The Google Gemini node exposes 15 operations across 7 resources. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, the required fields, and our field notes.

Resources × operations matrix
ResourceAnalyze AudioCreate File Search StoreDelete File Search StoreDownload VideoEdit ImageGenerate an ImageList File Search StoresMessage a ModelTranscribe a RecordingUpload Media FileUpload to File Search Store
Audio
Document
File Search
Image
Media File
Text
Video

Audio

2 operations
01

Analyze audio

audio.analyze

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Sends one or more audio files to a Gemini model with a question, and returns the model's answer as text. Good for describing what a recording contains without reading a full transcript.

Key parameters

  • Model: the Gemini model that handles the request, required, chosen from the list or set by expression.
  • Input Type: url for URL(s), or binary for Input Data Field Name(s), with several values separated by commas.
  • Length of Description (Max Tokens): fewer tokens give a shorter, less detailed audio description.
Use cases
a support call lands in the workflow as a binary field and the node answers what the customer asked for, in two lines.
02

Transcribe a recording

audio.transcribe

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Turns audio into text. Unlike the analyze operation there is no question to ask: the output is the spoken content itself, ready for search, storage or a second model call.

Key parameters

  • Model: required, the model that performs the transcription.
  • URL(s): one or several audio addresses separated by commas, or Input Data Field Name(s) when the file arrives as binary data.
  • Start Time and End Time: bounds in MM:SS or HH:MM:SS, so a two hour webinar can be reduced to the segment you care about.
Use cases
transcribing the first minutes of a sales call and storing the text next to the deal record.

Document

1 operation
03

Analyze document

document.analyze

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Feeds a document to the model and answers a question about it, so a PDF stops being an opaque attachment and becomes fields the workflow can use.

Key parameters

  • Text Input: the question, for example what the document contains or which totals it shows.
  • URL(s): the document addresses, often {{ $json.fileUrl }} from the node before.
  • Simplify Output: on, the node returns a trimmed response instead of the raw payload.
Use cases
a supplier contract arrives by mail, the node extracts the renewal terms, a later node files them.

File Search

4 operations
04

Create a File Search store

fileSearch.createStore

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Creates an empty File Search store, the container Gemini uses for Retrieval Augmented Generation: the model answers from documents you uploaded rather than from its training alone.

Key parameters

  • Display Name: required, a human-readable name for the store, which is how you recognize it later in the list.
Use cases
one store per product line, created once at setup, then filled by the upload operation as new documentation is published.
05

Delete a File Search store

fileSearch.deleteStore

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Removes a store and, optionally, everything inside it. The operation is the cleanup counterpart of the create step, useful when stores are built per project and thrown away at the end.

Key parameters

  • File Search Store Name: required, the full name in the format fileSearchStores/..., not the display name.
  • Force Delete: on, related documents and objects go too; off, the deletion fails when the store still holds documents.
Use cases
a client offboarding workflow that drops the store built for that account.
06

List all File Search stores

fileSearch.listStores

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Returns the File Search stores owned by the account, which is how a workflow finds the full store name it needs before uploading or deleting.

Key parameters

  • Page Size: how many stores come back per page, up to a maximum of 20.
  • Page Token: the token from a previous page, used to fetch the next one; without it the workflow only ever sees the first page.
Use cases
a weekly audit that lists every store and posts the inventory to a channel.
07

Upload a file to a File Search store

fileSearch.uploadToStore

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Adds a file to an existing store so the model can cite it later. This is the operation that actually makes a RAG setup useful, once the store exists.

Key parameters

  • File Search Store Name: required, the full fileSearchStores/... name of the target store.
  • File Display Name: required, and worth care because it shows up in citations.
  • Input Type: url to point at URL, or binary to read the file from Input Data Field Name.
Use cases
every new help article published gets pushed into the support store the same day.

Image

3 operations
08

Analyze an image

image.analyze

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Asks a question about one or more images and returns the answer as text, which is how a workflow reads a screenshot, a photo or a scanned page.

Key parameters

  • Text Input: what to ask, for instance what the picture shows or whether a label is present.
  • URL(s): image addresses, several separated by commas, or Input Data Field Name(s) for binary fields.
  • Length of Description (Max Tokens): caps the answer, fewer tokens meaning a shorter image description.
Use cases
product photos uploaded by a marketplace seller get described automatically, and the text becomes the alt attribute.
09

Generate an image

image.generate

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Creates images from a written description and returns them as binary data the workflow can store or send. No input file is involved here, only the prompt.

Key parameters

  • Prompt: the text description of the image you want, as concrete as possible.
  • Number of Images: how many variants come back in one run.
  • Put Output in Field: the name of the output field that carries the binary file data, which the next node then reads.
Use cases
a content calendar row triggers a visual, and the file goes straight to the folder the designer reviews.
10

Edit an image

image.edit

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Takes images you already have and reworks them according to an instruction, so the starting point is your own asset rather than a blank prompt.

Key parameters

  • Prompt: the instruction describing the edit, such as combining the first image with the second.
  • Images: the collection where you add one or more binary fields to send along with the prompt.
  • Binary Field Name: the field holding the image data, when the default name does not match what the previous node produced.
Use cases
placing a product shot on a seasonal background before it reaches the ad account.

Media File

1 operation
11

Upload a media file

file.upload

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Pushes a file to the Google Gemini API and keeps it there for later use, which saves resending the same large asset on every call.

Key parameters

  • Input Type: url to fetch from URL, or binary to take the file from the workflow itself.
  • Input Data Field Name: the binary property carrying the file, typically data when it comes from a download node.
Use cases
a long recording uploaded once at the start of a batch, then referenced by the analysis steps that follow.

Text

1 operation
12

Message a model

text.message

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

The plain text operation: a completion from a Gemini model, with the widest set of options on the node.

Key parameters

  • Messages: the conversation you send, each entry carrying a Prompt and a Role, user to ask, model to set a tone or personality.
  • System Message: standing instructions that apply to the whole call.
  • Output Randomness (Temperature): lower it for repeatable answers, raise it when variety is the point.
  • Thinking Budget: 0 disables automatic thinking, -1 leaves it dynamic.
Use cases
classifying inbound messages into a handful of categories before routing, with Output Content as JSON on so the branch reads a clean field.

Video

3 operations
13

Analyze video

video.analyze

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Answers questions about video content, which turns a file nobody has time to watch into a few usable sentences.

Key parameters

  • Text Input: the question put to the model about the footage.
  • URL(s): video addresses, comma separated for several at once, or Input Data Field Name(s) for binary input.
  • Simplify Output: on, the response comes back trimmed rather than raw.
Use cases
a weekly batch of user-submitted clips gets summarized, and only the ones matching a keyword reach a human.
14

Generate a video

video.generate

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Builds a video from a written prompt. Generation takes longer than an image, so the operation lets you choose how the result comes back.

Key parameters

  • Prompt: the description of the shot you want.
  • Return As: video for a binary file in the workflow, url for an address you can download later.
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 for screens, 9:16 for short-form vertical.
  • Person Generation: dont_allow, allow_adult or allow_all, depending on what the brand accepts.
Use cases
vertical teasers produced from a campaign line, then queued for review.
15

Download a video

video.download

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Fetches a generated video from the Google Gemini API using the address the API gave you, and brings the file into the workflow as binary data.

Key parameters

  • URL: the Gemini API address to download from, usually {{ $json.url }} carried over from the generation step.
  • Put Output in Field: the output field that receives the binary file data.
Use cases
the second half of a two step pipeline where generation returns a URL and this operation collects the file once it is ready.
Need help

Need help automating Google Gemini with n8n?

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FAQ

Google Gemini and n8n: common questions

01Is the Google Gemini node included in n8n?
Yes. It belongs to the n8n AI package and ships with n8n, so there is nothing to install and nothing extra to pay on the n8n side, on n8n Cloud as well as on a self-hosted instance under the Community Edition and its Sustainable Use license. A workflow behaves the same in both places. What does have a cost is the model provider: Google bills its own API calls under its own terms, and that stays between you and Google. Nothing about the node changes depending on where n8n runs.
02What credentials does the n8n Google Gemini node need?
A Google AI credential, created once in the Credentials menu and reused by every workflow that calls Gemini. There is no Authentication selector on the node itself: you set the credential in the node's credential field and move on to the operation. On n8n Cloud there is an alternative, Use Gateway credits, which runs the node without a Google account and without a key of your own. Self-hosted instances do not have that option, so the credential holds your own Google API key there.
03What are the limits of the Google Gemini node?
The page describes version 1 of the node, the highest in the catalog, and an older workflow may show fewer options. Some settings depend on the model rather than the node: Code Execution and Duration (Seconds) are supported only by certain models. File Search results are paged, so List File Search Stores returns up to 20 stores per page and needs the Page Token to go further. Delete File Search Store fails on a store that still holds documents unless Force Delete is on. Download a video only accepts a URL that the Gemini API itself returned.
04When to use this node instead of the AI Agent node?
Use this node when the task is one call and one answer: summarize this document, transcribe this recording, generate this image. It runs once per incoming item and stops there. Use the AI Agent node when the model has to decide between tools, call them, read the results and continue, or when the conversation needs memory across messages. In that setup Gemini still does the thinking, through the Google Gemini Chat Model sub-node plugged into the agent, while this node stays the direct route for the 15 operations it exposes.
05n8n or Make for Google Gemini work?
It depends on what you weigh most. Make is hosted only and priced per operation, which is comfortable when volume is low and predictable and when nobody wants to run infrastructure. n8n can be self-hosted or used on n8n Cloud, with the same workflow either way, so media files and prompts can stay on servers you control. That matters when documents are sensitive. On visual logic both handle branching well, and the honest deciding factor is usually hosting and cost model rather than the editor.
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