# Quick Start: n8n MCP

Canonical page: https://www.kuudo.com/docs/quick-start/n8n/

Workflow builders are where Amazon work gets scheduled instead of asked for. From n8n you can run the same Amazon operations on a cron or an upstream event — the nightly Sponsored Products pull, a listing patch when a feed lands, an Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) audience staged for the demand-side platform (DSP) — with the same scoped auth and audit trail as chat.

Use n8n's **MCP Client Tool** node when you want an n8n AI Agent workflow to call tools exposed by your private MCP server.

For the official reference, see [n8n MCP Client Tool node](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/cluster-nodes/sub-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolmcp/).

Your MCP server hostname is private to your deployment. It comes from your cloud provider, belongs to your environment, and is not shared across customers. Replace `{your-private-mcp-host}` with the private host shown in your dashboard.

## Before you start

- An n8n instance with AI Agent nodes available.
- A workflow with an AI Agent or model node that can use tools.
- A dashboard API key from the **Keys** tab.
- The private MCP endpoint assigned to your deployment.

```text
https://{your-private-mcp-host}/mcp
```

## Understand n8n MCP modes

n8n has two different MCP surfaces:

| Node | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| MCP Client Tool | Connects an n8n AI Agent workflow to tools exposed by an external MCP server. |
| MCP Server Trigger | Exposes n8n workflow tools to external AI agents. |

Use **MCP Client Tool** when connecting n8n to your private MCP server.

## Add the MCP Client Tool node

In n8n:

1. Open the workflow that contains your AI Agent.
2. Add a tool node to the agent.
3. Choose **MCP Client Tool**.
4. Connect the MCP Client Tool node to the AI Agent's tool input.

The node acts as an MCP client. It discovers tools from the external MCP server and makes the selected tools available to the agent.

## Configure the endpoint

In the MCP Client Tool node, set **SSE Endpoint** to the MCP endpoint from your dashboard:

```text
https://{your-private-mcp-host}/mcp
```

n8n's field label is **SSE Endpoint**. Use the endpoint format your MCP server supports for n8n. If your dashboard provides a separate n8n or SSE-compatible URL, use that value instead of the generic `/mcp` endpoint.

## Configure authentication

The MCP Client Tool node supports bearer, generic header, and OAuth2 authentication.

For a bearer token from your dashboard:

1. Set **Authentication** to **Bearer** if available in your n8n version.
2. Paste only the API key value into n8n's credential form.
3. Save the credential.

If your n8n version uses generic header authentication instead:

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Header name | `Authorization` |
| Header value | `Bearer <MCP_API_KEY>` |

Do not paste the raw API key into prompts, sticky notes, or workflow descriptions. Store it in n8n credentials.

## Choose which tools to expose

Use **Tools to Include** to control the tool surface the AI Agent can see:

| Option | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| All | Exposes every tool returned by the MCP server. |
| Selected | Exposes only the tools you select. |
| All Except | Exposes every tool except the tools you exclude. |

Start with **Selected** for production workflows. Give the agent only the read or action tools needed for that workflow.

## Test the workflow

Run a manual execution and ask the AI Agent for a read-only check first:

```text
List the available MCP tools and explain what each one can do. Do not call write actions.
```

If the tools appear, test one low-risk read action. Add human approval or review steps before giving the workflow access to mutating tools.

## Troubleshooting

### The node cannot connect

Confirm the endpoint matches the private host in your dashboard and that it is reachable from the n8n runtime. Self-hosted n8n instances may need outbound network access to the private host.

### Authentication fails

Create a fresh dashboard API key and update the n8n credential. Make sure the credential sends either bearer auth or an `Authorization: Bearer ...` header, not both.

### Tools do not appear

Check that the MCP server exposes tools, the endpoint supports the transport expected by n8n, and **Tools to Include** is not filtering everything out.

### You want n8n to be the MCP server

That is the **MCP Server Trigger** node, not the MCP Client Tool node. Use MCP Server Trigger when another agent should call n8n workflows as tools.

## Related docs

- [MCP Client Configuration](/docs/mcp-client-configuration/)
- [OpenClaw MCP](/docs/quick-start/openclaw/)
- [Hermes MCP](/docs/quick-start/hermes/)