n8n quickstart

What you'll do#

1. Mint an API key from your AAU agency settings.
2. Add a Header Auth credential in n8n with the bearer token.
3. Import our test workflow (downloadable below).
4. Click into each HTTP Request node and bind the credential — this is the step most first-timers miss.
5. Run the workflow and confirm a 200 OK with your tenant info.

Step 1 — Mint your API key#

Sign in to AAU and go to Settings → API Keys. Click Create Agency key, give it a name (e.g. “n8n integration”), and click Create Key.

Two key shapes are available:

• Agency key (gc_live_…) — full access across every client in your organization. Add an X-Gary-Client-Id header on a request to act on a specific client's data.
• Per-client key (cl_live_…) — bound to one client. Cleaner when you're building a flow that only manages one customer.

Step 2 — Add the Header Auth credential in n8n#

In n8n, open Credentials → New and search for Header Auth. Fill in:

Replace the example value with your real key, keeping the literal word Bearer followed by a single space and then your gc_live_… token. Click the credential's title at the top of the modal (default “ Header Auth account”) to rename it to something recognizable like Gary Club Agency — that's the label you'll see in node credential pickers.

Step 3 — Import the test workflow#

Download the workflow file or copy the JSON below. The workflow has a Manual Trigger feeding two HTTP Request nodes: Who am I? (calls /v1/me — a no-FUEL, no-scope introspection endpoint) and List 1 Contact (proves end-to-end CRM read).

↓ Download n8n-aau-quickstart.json

In n8n: open the workflows menu (the ⋯ icon next to the workflow title or the New Workflow dropdown), choose Import from File, and select the downloaded JSON. Or paste the JSON directly via Import from URL/clipboard:

{
  "name": "AAU API — Credential Test",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "id": "b8f3a9c1-2e7d-4b3a-9f1c-d2a8e6b4c1a5",
      "name": "Manual Trigger",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [240, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://agency.gary.club/api/public/v1/me",
        "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
        "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "e3d7b2a4-9c5f-4a8e-b1d6-7f3a9c8e2b4d",
      "name": "Who am I?",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [480, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://agency.gary.club/api/public/v1/crm/contacts",
        "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
        "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
        "sendQuery": true,
        "queryParameters": {
          "parameters": [
            { "name": "limit", "value": "1" }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "f1a8c3b6-4d2e-4c7a-9b5f-8e3d1a6c4b9e",
      "name": "List 1 Contact",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [720, 300]
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Manual Trigger": {
      "main": [[{ "node": "Who am I?", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]]
    },
    "Who am I?": {
      "main": [[{ "node": "List 1 Contact", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]]
    }
  },
  "active": false,
  "settings": { "executionOrder": "v1" },
  "tags": []
}

Step 4 — Bind the credential to each HTTP Request node#

1. Click the Who am I? node to open it.
2. Find the Credential for Header Auth dropdown (under the Authentication field).
3. Select the credential you created in Step 2 (e.g. Gary Club Agency).
4. Close the node, then repeat for the List 1 Contact node. Each HTTP Request node carries its own credential reference — they don't inherit.
5. Save the workflow (⌘S / Ctrl+S).

Step 5 — Run it#

Click Test workflow. The Manual Trigger fires, passes through Who am I? (calls /v1/me), then through List 1 Contact (calls /v1/crm/contacts?limit=1). You should see green checkmarks on every node within a second or two.

Open the Who am I? output panel — you'll see something like this:

{
  "api_key": {
    "id": "...",
    "name": "Agency key",
    "prefix": "gc_live_",
    "kind": "agency",
    "scopes": [],
    "rate_limit_per_minute": 60,
    "expires_at": null,
    "tag": null
  },
  "tenant": {
    "org_id": "<your-org-uuid>",
    "client_id": null,
    "is_client_scoped": false
  }
}

Key things to confirm in the response:

• api_key.kind matches the key shape you minted (agency or client).
• tenant.org_id is your real organization UUID (a sanity check that you're hitting your tenant, not someone else's).
• tenant.is_client_scoped reflects whether the key is a per-client key.

The List 1 Contact output will be either one contact row from your CRM (proving read access) or an empty data: [] array if you don't have any contacts yet — both are success cases.

Troubleshooting#

Next steps#

Now that the connection is verified, common patterns to build:

• Form → Contact upsert: web form submission (n8n's Webhook trigger) → POST /v1/crm/contacts. The endpoint is idempotent on email/phone, so duplicate submissions don't pile up.
• SMS reply automation: subscribe to the sms.received webhook → run logic in n8n → call POST /v1/sms/messages to reply.
• Lead routing: new contact in n8n → check enrichment data → conditionally enroll in a sequence or an SDR campaign.
• Two-way deal sync: on deal.stage_changed webhook → push to your warehouse / Slack / dashboard.

See Webhooks for outbound event subscriptions and Authentication for the full picture on key shapes, the act-as-client header, and rotation.