How can I persist state between n8n Cloud workflow executions?

When it comes to persisting state or data between separate workflow executions on n8n Cloud, there isn’t a built‐in persistent state mechanism that automatically carries over data from one run to the next.

Instead, the recommended (and easiest) approach is to store any data you need to persist in an external system. For example, you could use a database, a Google Sheet, or any external API/service that suits your use case. Then, in your workflow you can:

1. Save the required data to that external data store during one execution.
2. Retrieve the stored data in subsequent executions as needed.

This avoids potential issues with internal execution data storage (which is mostly intended for logging and debugging purposes) and ensures your state is managed explicitly.

Below is a simple conceptual example using an HTTP Request node to interact with an external API endpoint (which might be a custom API you’ve set up to manage state):

JSONCopied
[
  {
    "name": "Save State",
    "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
    "parameters": {
      "requestMethod": "POST",
      "url": "https://your-api.example.com/save-state",
      "jsonParameters": true,
      "options": {},
      "bodyParametersJson": "{\n  \"key\": \"myState\",\n  \"value\": {{ $json }}\n}"
    },
    "position": [
      450,
      300
    ]
  },
  {
    "name": "Load State",
    "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
    "parameters": {
      "requestMethod": "GET",
      "url": "https://your-api.example.com/load-state?key=myState",
      "responseFormat": "json"
    },
    "position": [
      650,
      300
    ]
  }
]

This example conceptually demonstrates the idea:

• In one workflow execution you store your data.
• In the next execution you retrieve and reuse it.

By handling state externally, you gain full control over how data is persisted, updated, and retrieved, and you can leverage proven external storage solutions while keeping your workflow’s memory requirements in check.