Connect to n8n

Overview

n8n is a consumer of the V5 Gateway — it calls the REST API (not MCP) to trigger tools from workflow nodes. Use this pattern when you need event-driven or scheduled triggering without a human in the loop.

n8n does not connect via MCP. It calls the V5 REST API (POST /api/v1/{tenant}/{domain}) using an HTTP Request node.

Prerequisites

n8n Cloud or self-hosted n8n
A V5 bearer token (stored as an n8n credential)
Tenant ID (e.g. kahuna)

Setting up the credential

In n8n, create a Generic Credential (or Header Auth credential):

Name: V5 Gateway
Header Name: Authorization
Header Value: Bearer <your-token>

Making a tool call

Use an HTTP Request node:

Field	Value
Method	`POST`
URL	`https://ascend-gateway-v5.ascendgtm.workers.dev/api/v1/kahuna/crm`
Authentication	Generic Credential → V5 Gateway
Body	JSON (see below)

Example body — fetch HubSpot contacts:

{
  "tool": "hubspot_crm",
  "input": {
    "action": "list_contacts",
    "limit": 50,
    "filter": {
      "property": "createdate",
      "operator": "GT",
      "value": "{{ $now.minus(7, 'days').toMillis() }}"
    }
  }
}

Workflow patterns

Event-triggered enrichment

Webhook (new contact in HubSpot)
  → HTTP Request (V5: perplexity_search for company data)
  → HTTP Request (V5: hubspot_crm update with enriched data)
  → Slack notification

Daily report

Schedule (every weekday 08:00)
  → HTTP Request (V5: google_ads_query for yesterday's spend)
  → HTTP Request (V5: ga4_report for conversions)
  → Code node (calculate ROAS)
  → HTTP Request (V5: aws_ses_send email to team)

Human-in-the-loop approval

HTTP Request (V5: google_ads_query — large budget change)
  → IF node (budget change > $5,000)
    → Slack (ask Mishaal for approval)
    → Wait node (webhook response)
    → HTTP Request (V5: google_ads mutate — apply change)

REST API vs MCP

	REST API (for n8n)	MCP (for Claude/Cursor)
Protocol	HTTP POST	Streamable HTTP
Auth	Bearer token header	OAuth 2.1 or Bearer
Best for	Event-driven, scheduled	Interactive, agentic
Tool selection	Caller specifies tool	AI chooses tool

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized — Check the credential header. It must be Authorization: Bearer <token>, not x-api-key. TENANT_NOT_FOUND — Verify the tenant ID in the URL path matches your provisioned tenant. UPSTREAM_ERROR — The upstream API (HubSpot, Google) rejected the request. Check the error_detail in the response body.

Get started

Connect your AI tool

Advanced

Overview

Prerequisites

Setting up the credential

Making a tool call

Workflow patterns

Event-triggered enrichment

Daily report

Human-in-the-loop approval

REST API vs MCP

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Setting up the credential

​Making a tool call

​Workflow patterns

​Event-triggered enrichment

​Daily report

​Human-in-the-loop approval

​REST API vs MCP

​Troubleshooting

Overview

Prerequisites

Setting up the credential

Making a tool call

Workflow patterns

Event-triggered enrichment

Daily report

Human-in-the-loop approval

REST API vs MCP

Troubleshooting