claude-cli

n8n community node that runs Claude through your local, subscription-authenticated Claude CLI — no API key. Chat + Agentic modes, local exec, no Docker socket.

Package Information

Released: 3 mo ago
Downloads: 0 weekly / 0 monthly
Latest Version: 0.1.5

Available Nodes

Documentation generating…

Claude (Subscription) icon
Claude (Subscription)
Run Claude via your local, subscription-authenticated Claude CLI (no API key)
Claude Chat Model (Subscription) icon
Claude Chat Model (Subscription)
Claude CLI (subscription) as a Chat Model for the AI Agent node — no API key

Documentation

n8n-nodes-claude-cli

Run Claude in n8n through your local, subscription-authenticated
Claude CLI — no Anthropic API key. One node, two operations (Chat and
Agentic), local execution, no Docker socket and no SSH to set up.

⚠️ Community node. It shells out to the claude CLI, which runs inside the n8n
process's environment. Read Security and the
ToS caveat before using it in production.

Why this node

The first-party n8n Anthropic node is API-key only. Existing CLI-bridge
community nodes are oriented toward agentic coding and often need a mounted
Docker socket or an SSH backend. This node fills the gaps:

  • Chat — plain prompt → answer, with an optional JSON response mode
    (parsed for you, with one auto-retry on invalid JSON).
  • Agentic — let Claude use tools (Read, Grep, Bash, …) with an explicit
    allow-list, permission mode, max turns and working directory.
  • Local exec only — spawn('claude', …). No socket, no SSH, no API key.

Install

n8n → Settings → Community nodes → Install → n8n-nodes-claude-cli.

The claude CLI must be available and logged in in the same environment as
n8n. See deploy/ for a ready-made n8n image with the CLI
baked in and your subscription mounted read-only.

Credential — "Claude Subscription (Local CLI)"

Holds no secret (auth lives in ~/.claude). Fields:

Field Default Purpose
Claude Binary Path claude Path to the executable (leave as-is if on PATH)
Default Model (blank) e.g. sonnet, opus, haiku, or a full id
Timeout (seconds) 120 Kill a hung invocation

Operations

Chat

Param Notes
Prompt required
Model overrides the credential default
System Prompt (Appended) appended to Claude's system prompt
Response Format Text (default) or JSON

JSON mode returns the parsed value under data (plus the raw text), retrying
once if the first answer isn't valid JSON.

Agentic

Adds Allowed Tools (comma-separated; empty = none, the safe default),
Permission Mode (default / plan / acceptEdits / bypassPermissions),
Max Turns, and Working Directory.

Output

{
  "text": "…the model's answer…",
  "data": { "…": "…" },          // only in Chat + JSON mode
  "model": "sonnet",
  "costUsd": 0.0031,
  "numTurns": 1,
  "sessionId": "sess_…"
}

Security

  • No shell — arguments are passed as an argv array, so prompt content can
    never be interpreted as a shell command (there's a test for the "; rm -rf /
    case).
  • Default-deny tools — Chat grants no tools; Agentic starts with an empty
    allow-list. Enable Bash/Write/Edit only for workflows you trust.
  • Read-only auth mount, unprivileged node user (see deploy/).

Terms of service

Driving a Claude Pro/Max subscription through automation may conflict with
Anthropic's subscription terms — subscriptions are intended for interactive use;
the API is the sanctioned path for programmatic/high-volume use. Confirm this
fits your plan before relying on it.

Development

npm install --ignore-scripts   # n8n-workflow pulls a native dep only needed at n8n runtime
npm test                       # vitest — pure exec/parse logic
npm run typecheck
npm run build                  # tsc -> dist/ + icon copy

Architecture and invariants: docs/DESIGN.md.
Contributing (incl. notes for AI agents): AGENTS.md.

License

MIT

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