Custom Node Not Displaying in Local n8n Environment

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1

I’m facing an issue where my custom-built node does not appear in the local n8n dashboard even though the build was successful. I need some advice on diagnosing and resolving this problem.

import { IModuleType, IModuleDescription } from 'n8n-workflow';

export class HelperNode implements IModuleType {
    details: IModuleDescription = {
        displayName: 'Helper Node',
        name: 'helperNode',
        icon: 'file:helper-icon.svg',
        group: ['processing'],
        version: 1,
        description: 'Process data with a custom helper function',
        defaults: { name: 'Helper Node' },
        inputs: ['main'],
        outputs: ['main'],
        credentials: [{ name: 'helperApiKey', required: true }],
        requestDefaults: { baseURL: 'BASE_URL', headers: {} },
        properties: [
            {
                displayName: 'Input Value',
                name: 'inputValue',
                type: 'string',
                placeholder: 'Enter your input here',
                required: true,
                description: 'Provide an input value',
                routing: { request: { method: 'GET', url: 'BASE_URL' } },
                default: 'defaultValue'
            }
        ]
    };
}

{
    "node": "n8n-custom-helper.HelperNode",
    "version": "1.0",
    "nodeTag": "helper-node",
    "docs": {
        "credentialDocs": [],
        "primaryDocs": []
    }
}

import { IAuthenticateGeneric, ICredentialsType, INodeConfig } from 'n8n-workflow';

export class HelperApi implements ICredentialsType {
    name = 'helperApi';
    displayName = 'Helper API';
    documentationUrl = '';
    properties: INodeConfig[] = [
        {
            displayName: 'Token',
            name: 'token',
            type: 'string',
            default: ''
        }
    ];
    authenticate = {
        type: 'generic',
        properties: {
            params: { 'x-helper-token': '={{$credentials.token}}' }
        }
    } as IAuthenticateGeneric;
}

Any assistance in troubleshooting this issue would be greatly appreciated.

2

I had a similar issue a while back where my custom node wasn’t showing up in the dashboard. I ended up revisiting my n8n configuration and making sure that the paths for the node files were correctly referenced in the build script, as sometimes a mismatch there can lead to these nodes not being loaded. I also checked the server logs for any errors during the startup process to see if there were missing dependencies or misconfigurations. Double-checking the node configuration and ensuring it strictly followed the n8n module structure helped resolve the problem in my case.

3

In my experience with similar issues, the custom node not appearing in the local n8n environment can often be traced to how the module is exported and referenced within the application. I once encountered a problem where the node was built successfully, but minor oversights in the file organization and registration led to it not loading. I resolved this by verifying the entry points in the configuration and confirming that the build output was correctly linked in the settings. Also, inspecting the application logs helped to identify subtle warnings about misconfigurations that could prevent the node from appearing.

4

hey, i had a similiar hiccup. i fixed it by re-checking my exports and cleaning build caches. sometimes a small naming error stops n8n from loading the node. try a restart after verifying your config, might just do the trick.