Why Does My Human-in-the-Loop Workflow Restart Instead of Resuming?

Below is some guidance based on our documentation regarding common pitfalls when a workflow appears to be in an infinite loop when waiting for a human response:

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Check Your Workflow Design

When using a human-in-the-loop pattern, the idea is for the workflow to pause while waiting for an external (human) input, then resume from where it left off without restarting the entire execution. If clicking the email’s link appears to re-trigger the whole workflow, then double-check the following points:

• Trigger vs. Resumption:
  Make sure that the action triggered by your link is configured to resume the waiting execution rather than restarting the workflow. In many cases, the link should be tied to a callback (for example, via a webhook) that continues the paused execution rather than activating the starting trigger again.

• Stopping the Loop:
  n8n processes input items automatically and, unless configured otherwise, nodes will execute for every incoming item. Refer to our looping documentation and verify that you’re not inadvertently feeding the output back into the start of your workflow. If a node sends the human approval email repeatedly, ensure you have set a clear stopping condition. For example, using an IF node (or a similar construct) can allow you to check if the human response has already been received so that the execution doesn’t restart.

• Execute Once Parameter:
  If the node that sends the email isn’t supposed to run for every incoming item (for example, if you only need one email per workflow execution), be sure to toggle the Execute Once option in that node’s settings. This is designed to ensure the node processes only the first item in a batch rather than all items, which can otherwise lead to multiple executions of the email-sending step.

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Typical Troubleshooting Steps

1. Review the Entry Point:
   Verify that the link (webhook or callback) is not hooked to a trigger that starts a fresh workflow execution. It should resume or exit the already waiting execution.

2. Examine Node Connections:
   Look at how the nodes are connected in your workflow. If the node that receives the link click connects back to an earlier part of the workflow, consider adjusting the connections so that the response simply confirms the human action.

3. Check Your Callback Configuration:
   Ensure that your callback (the endpoint the link points to) correctly supplies the information needed to resume the paused workflow. Misconfiguration here might be causing n8n to interpret the response as a new trigger event.

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Final Thoughts

If after these checks the infinite loop persists, consider sharing details of your workflow structure so you can get more specific advice. Often these issues arise from the subtle misconfiguration of trigger and resumption actions. Please review the sections on looping and node execution (especially the “Executing nodes once” setting) in our documentation to ensure your workflow is set up as intended.

I hope these tips help you resolve the issue with the human-in-the-loop infinite loop behavior.