BitWithBiten8n Automation · Quick Reference
Lesson 5: HTTP Requests & APIs Cheat Sheet
In one line: Connect N8N to any web service using the HTTP Request node. Learn REST methods, authentication patterns, and N8N's powerful expression system to chain data between nodes.
Key Ideas
1🌐 REST API Basics in N8N. The HTTP Request node is your universal connector in N8N. It speaks REST — the language of the web — letting you talk to virtually any API that has a URL. Every API op...
2🔒 Authentication Methods. Most APIs require authentication to verify who is making the request. N8N supports all major auth methods through its Credentials system — storing secrets encrypted so...
3✨ N8N Expressions. Expressions are N8N's superpower for chaining nodes together. Wrap any value in {{ }} double curly braces to make it dynamic. Reference data from any previous node, ca...
4📦 Parsing JSON Responses. When an API responds, N8N automatically parses the JSON body and makes it available as $json in the next node. Navigate nested objects and arrays using dot notation in...
5🔄 Complete API Workflow Pattern. Here's the canonical pattern for making an API call in N8N: trigger the workflow, make the HTTP request, route based on the response, transform the data, and deliver t...
Code Examples
// API Key in header (most common)
X-API-Key: sk_live_your_secret_api_key
Content-Type: application/json
// Bearer Token (JWT / OAuth access token)
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...
// Basic Auth — N8N auto-encodes usern...