How it works

This workflow provides a reusable error handling, audit logging, and observability pattern for n8n workflows using two n8n custom Data Tables: AuditLog and ErrorLog.

It is designed to be used across multiple workflows as a central logging workflow.

At a high level, it:

• Captures unhandled workflow errors using the n8n Error Trigger
• Stores technical error details in an ErrorLog Data Table
• Allows other workflows to write business/audit events into an AuditLog Data Table
• Adds useful observability metadata such as workflow name, workflow ID, execution ID, error message, failed node, severity, and correlation ID
• Redacts sensitive values such as passwords, tokens, API keys, and authorization headers before logging
• Includes scheduled cleanup logic to purge old log records after a configurable retention period

This template is useful for production-grade n8n setups where multiple workflows need a consistent and reusable logging approach.

Set up steps

Setup should take around 10–15 minutes.

Before using this template:

• Create two n8n Data Tables named AuditLog and ErrorLog
• Make sure the table columns match the expected structure described below
• Import this workflow into n8n
• Re-select your actual Data Tables in the Data Table nodes after import
• Set the retention period, for example 90 days, in the configuration node
• Activate the workflow
• In other workflows, select this workflow as the Error Workflow in Workflow Settings
• For audit logging, call this workflow using the Execute Workflow node

No hardcoded API keys are used in this template.

Data Tables used

This template expects two n8n Data Tables.

AuditLog

ErrorLog

Use Date & Time for logDate and ErrorLogDate.

The workflow writes ISO-8601 timestamps, for example:

2026-04-28T10:30:00.000Z

This allows the purge logic to delete records older than the configured retention period, for example 90 days.

Call from any workflow

Add Execute Workflow node and select this workflow. Send for audit logging:

{
  "logType": "START | SUCCESS | WARNING | BUSINESS_ERROR",
  "workflowName": "={{ $workflow.name }}",
  "workflowId": "={{ $workflow.id }}",
  "correlationId": "={{ $execution.id }}",
  "businessKey": "invoice-123",
  "message": "Invoice extracted successfully",
  "payload": { "invoiceNo": "INV-123", "amount": 100 }
}

For automatic failures, configure each workflow setting: Error Workflow = this workflow.