Workflow Patterns

This guide documents reusable patterns for building n8n workflows within the SO1 automation system.

Input Processing Patterns

Pattern A: Webhook → Parse → Validate

Purpose: Secure and validated input processing Use Cases: GitHub webhooks, API endpoints, external integrations

HOOKSTART → CODE (Parser) → IF (Validation) → EDIT FIELDS (Standardize)
                                    ↓
                              THROW (Error)

Key Nodes

Node	Role
HOOKSTART	Secure webhook with authentication
CODE	Extract & validate payload structure
IF	Check required fields and data types
EDIT FIELDS	Standardize to common schema
THROW	Log and alert on validation failure

LLM Integration Patterns

Pattern B: Throttled LLM Chain

Purpose: Rate-limited multi-stage LLM processing

INPUT → THROTTLE (3s) → LLM Stage 1 → THROTTLE (5s) → LLM Stage 2 → OUTPUT

Configuration

Use 3-5 second delays between LLM calls
Implement retry logic with exponential backoff
Cache intermediate results

Decision Patterns

Pattern C: Quality Gate

Purpose: Iterative processing until quality threshold

GENERATE → EVALUATE → IF (Quality ≥ 85%) → OUTPUT
                ↓
           REVISE → GENERATE

Implementation

// Quality check logic
if (qualityScore >= 0.85 || iterations >= maxIterations) {
  return { approved: true };
}
return { approved: false, feedback: issues };

Output Patterns

Pattern D: Multi-Channel Notification

Purpose: Deliver to multiple destinations

RESULT → SPLIT → Slack Webhook
              → Notion Page
              → Email
              → GitHub PR Comment

Configuration

Each channel runs in parallel with independent error handling.

Error Handling Patterns

Pattern E: Graceful Degradation

Purpose: Continue processing despite partial failures

TRY (Primary) → CATCH → TRY (Fallback) → CATCH → NOTIFY (Failure)

Best Practices

Always have a fallback path
Log all errors with context
Notify on critical failures
Don’t fail silently

Composition Rules

Chaining Workflows

Use executeWorkflow nodes to chain modular workflows:

{
  "workflowId": "NEXT_WORKFLOW_ID",
  "options": {
    "waitForCompletion": true
  }
}

Shared Data

Pass context between workflows via:

Workflow input parameters
Shared database tables
Message queues

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Workflow Patterns

Workflow Patterns

Input Processing Patterns

Pattern A: Webhook → Parse → Validate

Key Nodes

LLM Integration Patterns

Pattern B: Throttled LLM Chain

Configuration

Decision Patterns

Pattern C: Quality Gate

Implementation

Output Patterns

Pattern D: Multi-Channel Notification

Configuration

Error Handling Patterns

Pattern E: Graceful Degradation

Best Practices

Composition Rules

Chaining Workflows

Shared Data

FLASHY

Incident Responder

Branding Assistant

Tech Story Teller

Automations

Evolution System

Doc Generator

​Workflow Patterns

​Input Processing Patterns

​Pattern A: Webhook → Parse → Validate

​Key Nodes

​LLM Integration Patterns

​Pattern B: Throttled LLM Chain

​Configuration

​Decision Patterns

​Pattern C: Quality Gate

​Implementation

​Output Patterns

​Pattern D: Multi-Channel Notification

​Configuration

​Error Handling Patterns

​Pattern E: Graceful Degradation

​Best Practices

​Composition Rules

​Chaining Workflows

​Shared Data

Workflow Patterns

Input Processing Patterns

Pattern A: Webhook → Parse → Validate

Key Nodes

LLM Integration Patterns

Pattern B: Throttled LLM Chain

Configuration

Decision Patterns

Pattern C: Quality Gate

Implementation

Output Patterns

Pattern D: Multi-Channel Notification

Configuration

Error Handling Patterns

Pattern E: Graceful Degradation

Best Practices

Composition Rules

Chaining Workflows

Shared Data