🔗 Lesson 7 of 12  ·  N8N Automation

Connecting 400+ Apps
with OAuth

N8N comes with built-in integrations for over 400 apps — from Google Sheets to GitHub to Stripe. Learn how OAuth2 connections work, how to manage credentials safely, and build a real cross-app workflow.

400+ Built-in Apps OAuth2 Connection Flow Credentials Manager Real Workflow: GitHub + Slack + Sheets

🌐 400+ App Integrations Built-In

N8N ships with dedicated nodes for over 400 popular apps and services. Each integration is purpose-built — not a generic HTTP wrapper — so you get proper authentication handling, sensible defaults, and autocomplete for fields like sheet names and channel IDs.

400+
Built-in Integrations
50M+
Executions Per Day
MIT
Licensed (Self-host Free)

Most Popular Integrations

📊
Google Sheets
Spreadsheets
OAuth2
💬
Slack
Messaging
OAuth2
🎮
Discord
Community
Bot Token
📝
Notion
Notes / Wiki
API Key
🗃
Airtable
Database
API Key
🐙
GitHub
Dev / Code
OAuth2
📧
Gmail
Email
OAuth2
💳
Stripe
Payments
API Key
✈️
Telegram
Messaging
Bot Token
💡
Don't See Your App? Use HTTP Request!
If an app doesn't have a dedicated node, you can almost certainly connect to it via the HTTP Request node. Any service with a REST API works — just add your credentials and configure the endpoint manually.

🔐 OAuth2 Connection Setup Flow

OAuth2 is the secure standard that lets you grant N8N access to your accounts without sharing your password. The flow involves registering your N8N instance as an "app" with the service, then authorizing it through the official login flow.

1
Register App in Service Console
Go to the developer console of your target service (Google Cloud Console, Slack API, GitHub Developer Settings). Create a new "OAuth App" or "API Application" to get your credentials.
2
Get Client ID and Client Secret
The service generates a Client ID (public identifier) and Client Secret (private key). Copy both — you'll need them in N8N. Set the redirect URI to your N8N instance URL.
3
Create Credential in N8N
In N8N, go to Settings → Credentials → New. Select the credential type (e.g. "Google OAuth2 API"). Paste in your Client ID and Client Secret.
4
Authorize via the Login Flow
Click "Connect my account" in N8N. A popup opens the service's login page. Sign in and grant the requested permissions. N8N receives the authorization code.
5
Token Stored & Auto-Refreshed
N8N exchanges the code for an access token and stores it encrypted. When the token expires, N8N refreshes it automatically using the refresh token — no manual re-auth needed.
OAuth2 Authorization Flow
👤 N8N User
→
🔐 Auth Request
+ Client ID
→
👥 Service Login
User grants scope
→
🎫 Auth Code
Sent to N8N
→
🔒 Token Stored
Encrypted

📌 Managing Credentials in N8N

N8N's Credentials Manager is a secure vault for all your API keys, OAuth tokens, and passwords. Understanding how to use it properly keeps your automations secure and maintainable.

🔒
Encrypted Storage
All credentials are encrypted at rest using AES-256. The encryption key is stored separately from the credentials database — never in plain text.
🔄
Reuse Across Workflows
Create a credential once and reference it in any number of workflows. When you rotate an API key, update it in one place — all workflows automatically use the new key.
👥
Share with Team
On N8N Cloud and self-hosted enterprise plans, credentials can be shared with specific team members without exposing the raw secret values to anyone.
✅
Built-in Connection Test
Every credential has a "Test" button that makes a live API call to verify the credentials are valid before you use them in production workflows.
⚠️
Watch Out for API Rate Limits
When connecting to external APIs, be aware of rate limits — the maximum number of requests allowed per minute/hour. Exceeding limits triggers 429 errors. Use N8N's Wait node to add delays between requests, or the Batch node to process items in smaller groups.

⚡ Real Workflow: GitHub Issue → Slack + Sheets

Here's a practical example that shows three app integrations working together: automatically notify your team on Slack and log to Google Sheets whenever a new GitHub issue is created.

GitHub Issue Notification Workflow
🐙 GitHub
New Issue trigger
→
⚙️ Set Node
Format fields
→
💬 Slack
Post to #dev channel
+ parallel
📊 Google Sheets
Append row to log
🐙
GitHub Trigger
Fires when a new issue is opened in any repo. Sends title, body, URL, and reporter's username.
Webhook
💬
Slack Message
Posts a formatted alert to your #dev or #alerts channel with issue title and a direct link.
Notification
📊
Google Sheets
Appends a new row to a tracking spreadsheet with issue details, timestamp, and severity.
Logging
🎉
N8N's Real-World Scale
Teams using N8N report saving 10–40 hours per week on repetitive tasks. This GitHub + Slack + Sheets pattern alone handles issue tracking, on-call alerts, and audit logging — no custom code maintenance required after setup.

📊 N8N by the Numbers

400+
Native App Integrations
50M+
Executions Per Day (Global)
45K+
GitHub Stars
MIT
Open Source License
⭐
Community Nodes Extend It Further
Beyond the 400+ official nodes, N8N has a community node registry on npm with hundreds more user-created integrations. Install them directly from the N8N interface under Settings → Community Nodes. Always review before installing.
🧠 Quick Knowledge Check

1. Approximately how many apps does N8N support natively?

A 50+ apps
B 100+ apps
C 400+ apps
D 1,000+ apps

2. What protocol is used for secure app authorization in N8N?

A SAML 2.0
B OAuth 2.0
C Basic Authentication
D API Key only

3. Where are credentials stored and managed in N8N?

A Directly inside each workflow node
B In a .env file on the server
C In the N8N Credentials Manager (encrypted)
D In a separate password manager tool
← Lesson 6: Data & JSON