n8n-nodes-writealt

Generate multilingual image alt text with WriteAlt in n8n. This community node uses your WriteAlt account and production API.

Installation

After verification, search for WriteAlt in the n8n nodes panel. On self-hosted n8n, install n8n-nodes-writealt under Settings > Community Nodes. Unverified community packages are not available on n8n Cloud.

Credentials

1. Sign in at https://writealt.com/dashboard#settings/api.
2. Create an API key.
3. Add a WriteAlt API credential in n8n and paste the key.
4. Test the connection. Account checks consume no generation credits.

The key is handled by n8n credentials and sent to https://api.writealt.com/v1 in the X-API-Key header.

Operations

Generate Alt Text

Provide a publicly accessible image URL, comma-separated language codes (for example en,es), a writing style, and optional keywords or context. Supports 1 to 10 languages per image. Keywords/context must be 255 characters or fewer.

Returns the actual image_url, image_id when returned by the API, primary language, alt_text, and an alt_texts object containing descriptions by language. Other API response fields are preserved. Credits are shown only when returned by the API; they are never fabricated.

Each input item generates one image request. Multiple languages use one credit per language and image. Review generated descriptions before publishing them.

Get Account

Returns account information and the real credits_remaining. Does not consume generation credits.

Get Languages

Returns supported language codes and names. Does not consume generation credits.

Bulk images and CSV

Read a CSV with n8n's Extract From File node, or use Google Sheets to return one item per row. Map your image URL column to Image URL using an expression such as {{ $json.image_url }}. WriteAlt processes all incoming items and links each output back to its source item.

For 1,000 or more images, use Loop Over Items with a small batch size and a Wait node as needed to respect your WriteAlt account limits. Save each batch to Google Sheets, your CMS, or a database. Avoid collecting a very large catalog in a single long-running execution. The WriteAlt node processes requests sequentially to limit concurrent API load.

Example workflow

For an installed npm package, import examples/generate-alt-text.json. For local testing with npm run dev, import examples/local-development.json: n8n registers development nodes under CUSTOM.writeAlt. Select your WriteAlt credential, replace the image URL, and execute it. To save the results, connect Google Sheets or your CMS and map alt_text to the destination field.

Errors and limits

• Invalid API key: create or reconnect your WriteAlt credential.
• Insufficient credits: add WriteAlt credits before running again.
• Inaccessible image: use a direct image URL that does not require login.
• Generation timeout: requests allow up to 180 seconds; your n8n hosting may impose a shorter execution limit. Check WriteAlt history before retrying a request that may have completed.
• To continue after an individual failed image, configure n8n's node error handling to continue using the regular output. Failed items return an error field.

The node does not download or save image files to disk. Images and URLs are processed by WriteAlt according to its privacy policy. Your n8n instance may retain execution input/output according to its own settings.

Development

Use Node.js 22 or newer with npm:

npm ci
npm run lint
npm test
npm run dev

The official n8n development command opens a local n8n instance with the package loaded. Use a dedicated WriteAlt test API key; live generation consumes account credits.

Support and license

API documentation: https://writealt.com/documentation

Support: support@writealt.com

MIT license. No external runtime dependencies.