How do I remove or modify the 'formatting_instructions' key in the AI Agent JSON output?

Below is one approach to addressing this:

1. Override the Default Formatting Instructions
   The extra line is added automatically because the node is set up to enforce a specific output format. To change it you have two main options:

   • Disable or Customize the “Require Specific Output Format” Parameter:
     In your AI Agent node (or its variant, such as the ReAct Agent), there is a parameter for “Require Specific Output Format” which imports a snippet that adds that instruction. You can disable that option so the node no longer appends the formatting instruction.

     Alternatively, if you need to keep output formatting but wish to change the instructions, you can modify the contents of that snippet by overriding it in your node configuration. Depending on your setup, this might mean replacing the default text with your own custom instruction that omits or changes the reference to format_final_response.

2. Post-process the Node Output
   If changing the node configuration is not an option, you can add a subsequent Code node (or any transformation node) to filter out or replace the "formatting_instructions" object in the JSON response. For example:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   // Example: Remove the formatting_instructions from the output JSON
   const output = items.map(item => {
     if(item.json.formatting_instructions){
       delete item.json.formatting_instructions;
     }
     return item;
   });
   return output;

   This gives you programmatic control over the final output coming from the AI Agent node.

Additional Notes:

• With n8n version 1.61.0 (running on Render.com on Win 10 Pro), these approaches should work without any issues.
• The automatic formatting instructions are part of the design to ensure results follow a standard structure. Disabling or modifying them means that you need to ensure downstream nodes can still handle the resulting JSON.

Choose the method that best fits your workflow. If the formatting is not needed, disabling the “Require Specific Output Format” parameter is the most direct solution. Otherwise, post-processing the result can give you more granular control.