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QuickChart n8n integrationAutomate QuickChart with n8n.

Turn a list of numbers into a chart image without leaving n8n. The QuickChart n8n integration exposes 1 node operation, 5 chart types and no trigger of its own, so any workflow can call it. It returns a binary file, ready to post in a channel, attach to an email or archive.

Try the QuickChart integration on n8nSee the 1 operations

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Why automate

What can the QuickChart n8n integration actually do?

The QuickChart node renders a chart from data that already moves through a workflow, and returns the picture as a file. You pick a chart type, hand it labels and values, name the field the image lands in, and the rest of the workflow treats that image like any other attachment.

The n8n catalog lists 1 operation and 1 resource for this node, and no trigger, which makes it a step inside a workflow rather than its starting point.

The first pattern is a weekly number people actually look at. A Schedule Trigger pulls the week's rows from Google Sheets, a Code node reshapes them into a list of values, and the QuickChart node draws a bar chart from it. The image lands in a Slack message, so the team reads the trend in the channel instead of opening a file nobody opens.

The second one leaves the building. A monthly line chart of signups, rendered as a PDF through the Format option, rides along with the report that goes out over Gmail, next to the comment someone wrote by hand. Format also covers PNG, SVG and WebP, so the same data fits a message, a slide or a web page.

The third is pure record keeping. A pie chart of support tickets by category, rebuilt every morning and dropped into a folder, ends up telling the story of the quarter without anyone writing a report.

The node is narrow on purpose. One operation, one set of labels, one set of values, one image. Whatever else the QuickChart API offers is not exposed here, and that is where the HTTP Request node comes in: it calls any address of the API and sits in the same workflow.

Two details are cheaper to learn now than halfway through a build. The output is binary, not JSON, so a node further down that looks for fields finds an empty item unless it reads the binary field by name. And the chart is only as good as the array you feed it, which almost always puts a Code node or a Set node between the source and QuickChart. If the platform question is still open, the n8n review covers it at length.

Connect

How do you connect QuickChart to n8n?

  1. 01

    Add the node to a workflow

    The QuickChart node ships with n8n, on n8n Cloud and on a self-hosted instance alike, so there is nothing to install. Open the node panel, type QuickChart, and drop it after whatever produces your numbers. It has no authentication selector, so there is no credential to create. A credential is the connection record n8n saves once and offers again in every workflow, and this node asks for none.

  2. 02

    Pick the chart type and the labels

    Chart Type offers five values: bar, doughnut, line, pie and polarArea. Add Labels then decides where the labels come from: on manually you add them one at a time under Labels, and on array the Labels Array field expects the whole list, along the lines of ["Berlin", "Paris", "Rome", "New York"].

  3. 03

    Wire the data in and name the output

    Data takes the values themselves, a JSON array such as [60, 10, 12, 20], usually built by an earlier node and passed in through an expression, {{ $json.field }}. An expression is the formula that reaches into a field of the incoming item. Put Output In Field names the generated file, and that name is what you find again under the Binary tab.

Actions

What the QuickChart node can do

The QuickChart node exposes one operation. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, the required fields, and our field notes.

01

Create a chart via QuickChart

execute

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

The node's only operation builds one chart from the labels and values it receives, then returns the rendered image as a file on the item.

Key parameters

  • Chart Type: bar, doughnut, line, pie or polarArea.
  • Labels: the labels added one at a time; set Add Labels to array and Labels Array takes the whole list.
  • Data: the values, as a JSON array like [60, 10, 12, 20], often {{ $json.field }}.
  • Put Output In Field: the name of the binary field the image lands in.
Use cases
draw the month's revenue as a line chart and drop the file into the report a client already receives.
Need help

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FAQ

QuickChart and n8n: common questions

01Is the QuickChart n8n integration free?
Yes on the n8n side. The QuickChart node ships with n8n, so there is nothing to install and no extra n8n charge, whether you run n8n Cloud or a self-hosted instance under the Community Edition and its Sustainable Use license. A workflow behaves the same in both places, so a chart you get right locally runs unchanged once deployed. What QuickChart itself costs is a separate question, and this page does not answer it, because the node documentation says nothing about pricing. The n8n side of the budget comes down to the plan you already have, plus hosting if you run your own instance.
02What credentials does the QuickChart node need?
None. The node has no authentication selector: no API key to paste, no OAuth screen, nothing to create in the Credentials menu before you start. That is unusual. Most n8n nodes ask you to save a connection record once, then offer it in a dropdown in every workflow. Here you drop the node in and fill Labels, Data and Put Output In Field. In practice it means a chart step can be added to an existing workflow without asking anyone for access, which is rare in the integrations catalog.
03What are the limits of the QuickChart node in n8n?
It does one thing. The catalog lists 1 operation and 1 resource, so everything runs through Create a chart via QuickChart: you pick one of the 5 chart types, pass labels and values, and get a file back. The optional collection adds 11 fields, among them Format, Width, Height, Background Color and Horizontal, which change how the chart looks rather than what the node can do. No operation updates an existing chart or lists the ones already rendered. When something is missing, the HTTP Request node calls any address of the API inside the same workflow.
04Does QuickChart have a trigger node in n8n?
No, there is no QuickChart trigger node. A trigger is the node that starts a workflow, so here you have to find one elsewhere. Three options cover nearly every case: the Schedule Trigger, which fires at a fixed interval and suits a daily or weekly chart; the n8n Webhook node, a URL that an outside service calls when something happens on its side; or the trigger of another tool already in the workflow. The chart step then sits between the node that works out the numbers and the one that delivers the image.
05n8n or Make for QuickChart?
It depends on where your data lives and how you want to pay. n8n installs on your own server through Docker or npm, or runs on n8n Cloud, and the workflow is the same either way, which matters when the numbers behind a chart are customer data you would rather not move. Make exists only as a hosted service, with no self-hosting option, and bills per operation, so a workflow that renders a chart for every row costs more as volume climbs. Both build workflows visually. If the chart is one more step in a chain you already run in n8n, this node is the short path.
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