n8n now ships an official remote-capable CLI: @n8n/cli (npm, v0.9.0 released 2026-06-30, beta; docs at docs.n8n.io/connect/n8n-cli). It talks to a running instance via the public API — instance URL + API key — and covers workflow list/get/create/update/delete/activate/deactivate/transfer, executions, credentials, projects, tags, variables, and package export/import. That is essentially n8nctl's feature surface.
The docs currently say beta / "not for production workflows", so no immediate action — but the writing is on the wall.
Proposal:
- Track
@n8n/cli maturity; when it exits beta, run a gap analysis against n8nctl's actual team usage and plan migration + retirement (installer swap in llm-cli-setup, doc rewrite).
- Until then, two maintenance items keep n8nctl viable: verify compatibility with n8n 2.0's publish/unpublish semantics (replacing the activate/deactivate toggle), and note the repo has zero test files behind its CI test step (same pattern as esq-cli).
Found during the 2026-07 CLI stack review (index in environment-setup).
n8n now ships an official remote-capable CLI:
@n8n/cli(npm, v0.9.0 released 2026-06-30, beta; docs at docs.n8n.io/connect/n8n-cli). It talks to a running instance via the public API — instance URL + API key — and covers workflow list/get/create/update/delete/activate/deactivate/transfer, executions, credentials, projects, tags, variables, and package export/import. That is essentially n8nctl's feature surface.The docs currently say beta / "not for production workflows", so no immediate action — but the writing is on the wall.
Proposal:
@n8n/climaturity; when it exits beta, run a gap analysis against n8nctl's actual team usage and plan migration + retirement (installer swap in llm-cli-setup, doc rewrite).Found during the 2026-07 CLI stack review (index in environment-setup).