Finder → Post
AI-generatedOverview
This node integrates with the GlobalNames services to find scientific names within text or web content. Specifically, the "Finder" resource with the "Post" operation allows users to submit text or a URL and receive detected scientific names found in that content. It is useful for researchers, biologists, or data scientists who need to extract and analyze biological scientific names from unstructured text or online sources.
Practical examples include:
- Extracting all scientific names mentioned in a research paper or article.
- Processing web pages to identify and list species names automatically.
- Verifying and analyzing scientific names in biodiversity datasets.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bytes Offset | If true, the start and end positions of detected names are given as byte offsets instead of UTF-8 character counts. |
| Language | The language of the input text (e.g., "eng" for English). Used for Bayesian odds calculation. Defaults to English if not specified. Only English and German supported. |
| No Bayes | If true, disables Bayesian algorithms and uses only heuristic methods for name detection. |
| Odds Details | If true, includes detailed odds calculations for each feature used in NaiveBayes probability estimation, explaining how the final odds value was computed. |
| Return Content | If true, returns the processed text content along with detected names. Useful when input text was preprocessed or encoded differently. |
| Text | The raw text string to be scanned for scientific names. If provided, this takes precedence over the URL parameter. |
| Unique Names | If true, returns a list of unique scientific names without position information, rather than all occurrences. |
| URL | If the Text property is empty, the node will fetch and process the content at this URL to find scientific names. |
| Verification | If true, performs an additional verification step using the Global Names verification API, requiring internet access. |
| Words Around | Number of words before and after each detected name to include as context in the output. Default is 0, maximum is 5. |
Output
The node outputs a JSON array where each element corresponds to the result of processing one input item. Each result contains detected scientific names with associated metadata such as:
- The name string itself.
- Position offsets (start and end) in the text or bytes depending on settings.
- Context words around the name if requested.
- Odds and verification details if those options are enabled.
- Optionally, the processed text content if "Return Content" is true.
The output structure varies depending on the options selected but generally provides comprehensive information about each detected scientific name occurrence.
The node does not output binary data.
Dependencies
- Requires internet access to call the GlobalNames public APIs:
- Finder API endpoint:
https://finder.globalnames.org/api/v0/find
- Finder API endpoint:
- Optional verification step requires additional calls to the Global Names verification API.
- No internal credentials are required by default, but internet connectivity is necessary.
- No special environment variables or n8n configurations beyond standard HTTP request capabilities.
Troubleshooting
Common issues:
- Network errors or timeouts if the GlobalNames API is unreachable.
- Empty results if the input text or URL does not contain recognizable scientific names.
- Verification step failures if there is no internet connection or the verification API is down.
Error messages:
- HTTP errors from the API (e.g., 4xx or 5xx status codes) indicate issues with the request or service availability.
- Invalid input errors if both Text and URL parameters are empty.
Resolutions:
- Ensure valid text or URL input is provided.
- Check internet connectivity.
- Retry later if the external API is temporarily unavailable.