How to Restore Deleted Workflows in n8n

If the deleted workflow was executed before it was deleted, the execution records may still contain the workflow definition. Go to the Executions tab in the n8n sidebar. If execution data has not been pruned, you may find records from the deleted workflow. Click into an execution to see the full workflow data. However, n8n filters the execution list by existing workflows, so you may need to query the database directly to find executions of deleted workflows.

Connect to your n8n database and query the execution_entity table. Each execution record stores the complete workflow definition in the workflowData column. Even after a workflow is deleted, its execution records remain until pruned. Search for executions by the workflow name or by a known node name. Extract the workflowData JSON, clean it up, and use it to recreate the workflow.

1-- PostgreSQL: Find executions of deleted workflows
2SELECT id, "workflowId", "startedAt", "workflowData"
3FROM execution_entity
4WHERE "workflowData"::text LIKE '%YourWorkflowName%'
5ORDER BY "startedAt" DESC
6LIMIT 5;
7
8-- SQLite: Same query with slightly different syntax
9SELECT id, workflowId, startedAt, workflowData
10FROM execution_entity
11WHERE workflowData LIKE '%YourWorkflowName%'
12ORDER BY startedAt DESC
13LIMIT 5;

Copy the workflowData JSON from the query result. This JSON contains the complete workflow definition including nodes, connections, and settings. Save it to a .json file. Then import it into n8n using the CLI command n8n import:workflow --input=recovered-workflow.json, or use the UI by going to Workflows > Import from File. The imported workflow will appear as a new workflow. You will need to reassign credentials to each node since credential references may not match.

1# Save the extracted JSON to a file
2# (paste the workflowData content into this file)
3nano recovered-workflow.json
4
5# Import using CLI
6n8n import:workflow --input=recovered-workflow.json
7
8# Or in Docker
9docker cp recovered-workflow.json n8n:/tmp/
10docker exec -it n8n n8n import:workflow --input=/tmp/recovered-workflow.json

If you previously exported your workflows as JSON backups (which you should do regularly), simply import the backup file. Go to the n8n editor, click the menu icon, and select Import from File. Choose the backup JSON file for the deleted workflow. Alternatively, use the CLI command to import. This is the fastest and most reliable recovery method, but it only works if you have a recent backup.

1# Import a single workflow from backup
2n8n import:workflow --input=./backups/my-workflow.json
3
4# Import all workflows from a backup directory
5n8n import:workflow --input=./backups/ --separate

Create an n8n workflow that automatically backs up all workflows on a schedule. Use a Schedule Trigger node to run daily, an HTTP Request node or Code node to call the n8n API and fetch all workflows, and a Write Binary File node or an FTP/S3 node to save the backup. Alternatively, create a cron job on the server that runs the n8n CLI export command daily and stores the files in a backup directory or cloud storage.

1# Cron job for daily backups (add to crontab -e)
20 2 * * * n8n export:workflow --all --output=/backups/n8n/workflows/$(date +\%Y\%m\%d)/ 2>&1 >> /var/log/n8n-backup.log
3
4# Docker version
50 2 * * * docker exec n8n n8n export:workflow --all --output=/tmp/backup/ && docker cp n8n:/tmp/backup/ /backups/n8n/$(date +\%Y\%m\%d)/