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n8n Wait nodeConfigure Wait in n8n.

The n8n Wait node holds an execution until a condition you pick is met. A single parameter, Resume, opens four waiting modes: after a time interval, at a specified time, on a webhook call, or on a form submission. It suits anyone pacing an API or waiting on a human answer.

Try the Wait node on n8nSee the 1 parameters

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Why automate

What does the n8n Wait node actually do?

The Wait node pauses a workflow and offloads the execution data to the database until the resume condition is met. Once it is, n8n reloads that data and the following node runs as if nothing had stopped. The node never opens a workflow: a trigger such as a Schedule Trigger or a Webhook still starts the run, and Wait sits somewhere in the middle of it.

The first common use is pacing. An API that rejects bursts of calls is easier to feed one batch at a time, so a Wait set to After Time Interval with Wait Amount and Wait Unit slows the loop down to something the endpoint accepts. That pattern shows up most often around HTTP Request, which calls any HTTP endpoint and is the fallback when a dedicated node misses an operation.

The second is waiting on a person. With Resume set to On Webhook Call, n8n generates a resume URL at runtime and exposes it through the $execution.resumeUrl variable, so a workflow can drop that link into a message sent through Slack or Gmail. Nobody touches the n8n editor: clicking the link resumes the execution that sent it. On Form Submitted does the same job with a hosted form instead, built from Form Title, Form Description and Form Elements.

The third is the deferred step. At Specified Time takes a Date and Time value, which can come from the incoming item as {{ $json.dueDate }}. A run started today can therefore finish on a date carried in the data itself, without a second workflow to schedule.

Prefer a Schedule Trigger when the delay has nothing to do with a run already in progress: a recurring job at a fixed hour belongs to a trigger, not to a paused execution. Wait earns its place only when the pause happens inside a run that already holds context.

Two limits are worth knowing. Below 65 seconds the execution data is not offloaded at all, the process keeps running and picks up after the interval. And n8n server time always applies to the time-based modes, whatever the workflow timezone setting says. For a wider look at where the product fits, the n8n review covers the rest.

Parameters

Which parameter drives the Wait node?

The Wait node has one parameter. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, what the parameter changes, and our field notes.

01

Resume

resume

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Resume sets the waiting mode before the workflow continues.

Key parameters

  • After Time Interval: waits a duration set through Wait Amount and Wait Unit.
  • At Specified Time: waits for the Date and Time value, which accepts {{ $json.dueDate }}.
  • On Webhook Call: waits for an HTTP call, tuned by Authentication and HTTP Method.
  • On Form Submitted: waits for a submission on a form built from Form Title and Form Elements, with Respond When setting the reply moment.
  • Limit Wait Time: paired with Limit Type, it stops a run from hanging forever.
Use cases
a purchase order parked until a manager clicks the resume link, or an export paced to what the API tolerates.
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FAQ

Wait node questions, answered

01Is the Wait node included in n8n?
Yes. Wait is a core node shipped with n8n, so there is nothing to install and no extra cost on the n8n side. It behaves the same on n8n Cloud, the hosted offer run by n8n, and on a self-hosted instance installed through Docker or npm under the Community Edition and its Sustainable Use license. A workflow built on one runs on the other without changes. The only thing that differs between instances is the version of the node itself: an older workflow can still display an earlier version, with fewer options, and a node never upgrades itself.
02What do you need to connect before using it?
Nothing. The Wait node has no credential and no Authentication selector at node level, so there is no account to link and no key to paste before it runs. That is unusual enough to be worth saying plainly. One exception sits inside the node rather than around it: when Resume is set to On Webhook Call, the Authentication option decides how incoming requests to the resume URL are checked, and choosing Basic Auth means selecting a credential for that check. Leave it on None and the URL answers any caller.
03What are the limits of the Wait node?
Three, all documented. Below 65 seconds the node does not offload execution data to the database: the process simply keeps running and resumes after the interval. The time-based modes always use n8n server time, so the workflow timezone setting has no effect on them, and changing that setting later changes nothing either. Finally, a partial execution regenerates the resume webhook URL, which means the node that sends the URL to a third party has to run in the same execution as the Wait node, otherwise the link points nowhere useful.
04When do you use the n8n Wait node instead of a Schedule Trigger?
Use Wait when the pause belongs to a run already in progress and carries its context: the item being processed, the customer who has to answer, the page counter of an export. The execution resumes with all of that still in memory. Use a Schedule Trigger when the timing is independent of any run, for instance a report every morning or a sync every hour, because a trigger opens a workflow while Wait can only pause one. A useful sign: if you would have to store data somewhere to pick it up later, Wait is the better fit.
05n8n or Make for pausing a workflow?
It comes down to hosting and cost model. Make is a hosted automation platform with no self-hosting option, billed per operation, which makes long pauses inside a scenario a question of volume. n8n runs on Cloud or on your own server, so a workflow that waits on a human for days keeps its data wherever you decided to put it. Make leans on a very guided visual editor, n8n gives more room to expressions and custom logic. Pick on those criteria rather than on feature counts, since both handle a simple delay perfectly well.
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