You will be able to
- Build a multi-step n8n workflow that reads rows from Google Sheets, summarizes them with an OpenAI model, and sends results by Gmail
- Configure credentials for Google and OpenAI services inside n8n
- Index a PDF into a Pinecone vector store and query it with a RAG AI agent
- Choose between self-hosted and cloud n8n based on privacy, cost, and maintenance needs
- Make HTTP requests to external APIs and use sub-workflows as agent tools
- Set up an error workflow that sends failure alerts and keep workflows organized
Good to know first
- A Google account for connecting Google Sheets, Drive, and Gmail
- Basic familiarity with spreadsheets and email
- An OpenAI API key or willingness to create one for the AI steps
Syllabus
12 lessons and a final project
- 1
What n8n is and why automate work Free
You will learn what n8n is: a low-code automation tool where you build workflows from nodes by dragging and connecting them. You will also see why automating repetitive work saves time, reduces errors and connects your favourite apps.
2 exercises4 questions - 2
n8n hosting options, and the three core concepts: workflows, nodes, executions Beyond Pass
This lesson compares self-hosted and cloud hosting for n8n so you can choose the one that fits your needs. It then explains the three building blocks you will meet in every automation: workflows, nodes, and executions.
2 exercises3 questions - 3
Tour of the n8n interface, triggers, and templates Beyond Pass
You will learn where things live in the n8n homepage and canvas, how a workflow always starts with a trigger, and how to add, connect, and test nodes one at a time. You will also see where credentials and community templates are found.
5 build steps2 exercises - 4
n8n node types: triggers, actions, data transformation and logic Beyond Pass
This lesson explains the four main kinds of nodes in n8n: triggers, actions, data transformation, and logic. You will learn what each kind does, how they fit together like an assembly line, and how to recognise them in a workflow.
4 build steps2 exercises3 questions - 5
Building an Order-Summary Automation with Sheets, OpenAI, and Gmail Beyond Pass
You will build a three-node n8n workflow that starts when a new row appears in a Google Sheet, asks GPT-4o to write an order summary, and emails that summary through Gmail. You will also learn how to pass data between nodes with drag-and-drop variables and how to fix a date that arrives as a number.
1 code6 build steps2 exercises3 questions - 6
RAG and Vector Databases: Answers from Your Own Documents Beyond Pass
This lesson explains what RAG (retrieval augmented generation) is and why it makes AI answers more accurate and up to date. It also shows how a vector database stores text as numbers that capture meaning, and how documents are split into chunks and embedded into one.
2 exercises3 questions - 7
Ingesting a PDF into Pinecone with n8n Beyond Pass
You will learn how to take a PDF from Google Drive, split it into chunks, turn those chunks into embeddings, and store them in a Pinecone vector index inside an n8n workflow. This is the "loading" half of a RAG system, so an agent can later answer questions from the document.
6 build steps2 exercises3 questions - 8
Building a RAG chat agent with memory and tools in n8n Beyond Pass
You will build a chat agent in n8n that answers questions from a PDF stored in a Pinecone vector database, remembers the recent conversation, and can use extra tools. You will also see how a system prompt shapes how the agent talks and behaves.
8 build steps2 exercises3 questions - 9
Workflows as Agent Tools and Multi-Agent Structure Beyond Pass
You will learn how a whole n8n workflow can be wrapped up as a tool that an AI agent calls, and why tools can be reused, combined and scaled. You will also see how agents can call other agents to form a hierarchy that keeps each agent focused.
4 build steps2 exercises2 questions - 10
APIs, Endpoints, and HTTP Request Nodes Beyond Pass
You will learn what an API, an endpoint, an API call and an HTTP request are, and how they fit together using a restaurant analogy. You will also see how GET and POST requests look in an n8n HTTP Request node.
1 code3 build steps2 exercises3 questions - 11
Error workflows and failure alerts Beyond Pass
You will learn how an error workflow catches failures in another n8n workflow and sends you an alert with the workflow name, error message and execution link. You will also see how to hook it up in workflow settings and build a simple alert with an Error Trigger node.
3 code6 build steps3 exercises4 questions - 12
Best practices and next steps Beyond Pass
This lesson covers four habits that keep n8n workflows organized, reusable, robust and scalable: clear naming and notes, sub-workflows, error handling, and designing for growth. It also gives a plan for continuing to learn: build often, study templates, try new integrations and share your work.
5 build steps2 exercises3 questions
Final project
Policy Helper: A Monitored RAG Assistant That Emails Daily Answers
Build a small n8n system that answers questions from your own PDF using Pinecone and an AI agent. It also emails a summary of new questions from a Google Sheet and alerts you when anything fails. This ties together credentials, RAG, agents, sub-workflows, HTTP requests and error handling.
Its 8 tasks open with Beyond Pass.
Free preview · Lesson 1 in full
What n8n is and why automate work
You will learn what n8n is: a low-code automation tool where you build workflows from nodes by dragging and connecting them. You will also see why automating repetitive work saves time, reduces errors and connects your favourite apps.
Draw and write next to the video.
The idea
n8n (pronounced 'n-eight-n') is a low-code automation tool. Low-code means you build things mostly by pointing, clicking and dragging, instead of typing long programs. In n8n you build a workflow: a chain of steps where one step passes its result to the next. Each step is a box called a node, and you connect the nodes with lines.
Why automate work at all? Many jobs contain repetitive tasks, such as copying contacts from one spreadsheet to another, or writing the same reply to the same kind of email. Automation does these tasks for you. The video lists the main benefits: it increases efficiency and productivity, it reduces human error, it saves time and money, it lowers operational risk, it scales as your business grows, it improves how you handle data by pulling it from many sources, and it gives customers faster, more personal replies.
Why learn n8n in particular? First, you do not need to know how to code to start. Anyone can build a useful workflow in 15 to 20 minutes, even without a programming background. Second, n8n has more than 300 built-in integrations, which are ready-made connections to popular tools such as Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, X (Twitter) and Microsoft Teams or Outlook. Stringing these together gives you a huge range of possible automations.
Third, you can connect to almost any tool. If there is no built-in integration, you can use an API (a way for programs to talk to each other) or a webhook (a web address that receives data when something happens) and, when needed, a little custom code. Flexible enough for beginners, and powerful enough for advanced users who want custom logic.
A useful example: every time you receive an email, n8n can automatically add its details to a spreadsheet and send you a notification on Slack or Teams. All of this happens without you doing it by hand. This is the core idea of the course: connect tools together so the work happens by itself.
Key points
- n8n is a low-code tool: you build workflows by dragging and connecting nodes, with little or no coding. 0:16
- Automation removes repetitive tasks, reduces human error, and frees people for higher-value work. 0:56
- n8n offers 300+ built-in integrations with popular apps such as Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack and Microsoft tools. 3:10
- If there is no built-in integration, you can still connect through an API or a webhook, with a little custom code. 4:20
- Strung together, integrations let you automate multi-step work, such as email to spreadsheet to Slack notification. 3:41
Practice
In your own words, explain why a small business might automate the task of copying new customer contacts from email into a spreadsheet.
Solution
- Identify the task: copying contacts by hand is repetitive.
- Name the benefits: it saves time, reduces typing mistakes, and frees staff for customer work.
- Note that it scales: the same workflow works for 10 or 1000 contacts.
Model answer: The task is repetitive, so doing it by hand wastes time and invites typing errors. An automated workflow copies each new contact the same way every time, saves staff time for more valuable work, and keeps working as the number of customers grows.
Sketch on paper a three-step workflow: 'new email arrives', 'add its details to a spreadsheet', 'send a Slack message'. Draw each step as a box and join them with arrows.
Solution
- Draw three boxes in a row, one for each step.
- Label them: Email trigger, Spreadsheet, Slack.
- Draw arrows from left to right showing the order the data flows.
Three labelled boxes joined by arrows in order: email, spreadsheet, Slack.
On your scratchpad
Draw three boxes in a row labelled 'New email', 'Add to spreadsheet' and 'Send Slack message', and join them with arrows. This is a simple workflow made of nodes.
Quiz
What does 'low-code' mean for n8n?
- You must write long programs in Python or JavaScript
- You build workflows mostly by dragging and connecting nodes, with little coding
- It only works on one computer
- It can only run on a single website
Show the answer
B. You build workflows mostly by dragging and connecting nodes, with little coding · Low-code means a visual interface where you drag and connect nodes, so little typed code is needed.
0:16 watch the momentWhat is a node in n8n?
- A step or box in a workflow that does one job
- A bug in the workflow
- A password for an app
- A spreadsheet file
Show the answer
A. A step or box in a workflow that does one job · Each node is a step in the workflow, connected to other nodes with lines.
0:30 watch the momentWhich is NOT one of the benefits of automation named in the video?
- Reducing human error
- Saving time and money
- Making people do more repetitive tasks by hand
- Scaling as a business grows
Show the answer
C. Making people do more repetitive tasks by hand · Automation removes repetitive manual work; it does not add it.
0:56 watch the momentWhat is a webhook, as used to connect to almost any tool?
- A web address that receives data when something happens
- A type of spreadsheet
- A keyboard shortcut
- A paid n8n plan
Show the answer
A. A web address that receives data when something happens · A webhook is an address that another tool can send data to when an event occurs.
4:20 watch the moment
Lessons 2–12 and the final project
They open with Beyond Pass: every lesson of every course, in full. One payment: $14.99 for 90 days or $29 for a year. No subscription.
Made by Beyond from the video “n8n Masterclass: Build AI Agents & Automate Workflows (Beginner to Pro)” by Nate Herk | AI Automation. The video plays in YouTube's own player. Watch it on YouTube · All lessons