n8n workflow documentation prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this once a workflow is published and people depend on it. The person who built it knows the agent only writes drafts and which Google account it signs in with; nobody else does. This prompt turns your own description of the workflow into a one-page note for staff who have never opened n8n, so they can tell when it's working, notice when it isn't, and know who to call.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are writing internal documentation for [BUSINESS] about an n8n workflow, for staff who don't use n8n. Context: The workflow is called [WORKFLOW NAME]. Here is what it does, step by step, as I'd explain it: [NODE NOTES]. It uses these accounts: [ACCOUNTS]. The owner is [OWNER] and the backup is [BACKUP]. Don't include passwords, API keys or anything secret; refer to accounts by name only. Task: Write a one-page guide covering: what it does in two sentences, what starts it and how often, each step in plain words, the accounts it relies on and who pays for them, what normal looks like, signs that it has stopped working, the first things to check, and who to contact. Format: A heading for each part, short numbered steps, and a plain explanation in brackets after any n8n word. Under 400 words. End with a "Last checked" line for me to date.
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[WORKFLOW NAME]- The name it has in n8n, so people can find it in the list.
[NODE NOTES]- Each node in order, in your own words, with settings that matter.
[ACCOUNTS]- Every account it signs in with, by name only, and who pays for it.
[OWNER]- The person who maintains it.
[BACKUP]- Who to call when the owner is away.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson AI Email Responder: Draft Gmail Replies Automatically with n8n. Greenline Pest Control is the made-up company in the AI Email Responder lesson. Its workflow is published and drafting replies, and the owner wants the office staff to understand it without opening n8n.
Role: You are writing internal documentation for Greenline Pest Control about an n8n workflow, for staff who don't use n8n. Context: The workflow is called Customer email drafts. Here is what it does, step by step, as I'd explain it: a Gmail Trigger checks the office inbox every minute. An AI Agent with an OpenAI Chat Model reads each email, using a system message with our areas, prices and hours. The Gmail Tool creates a reply draft in the same thread and never sends. Simple Memory keeps one conversation per thread. It uses these accounts: the [email protected] Gmail account for the trigger and the tool, and our OpenAI API account, billed pay-as-you-go to the company card. The owner is Tom, the office manager, and the backup is Ana at the front desk. Don't include passwords, API keys or anything secret; refer to accounts by name only. Task: Write a one-page guide covering: what it does in two sentences, what starts it and how often, each step in plain words, the accounts it relies on and who pays for them, what normal looks like, signs that it has stopped working, the first things to check, and who to contact. Format: A heading for each part, short numbered steps, and a plain explanation in brackets after any n8n word. Under 400 words. End with a "Last checked" line for me to date.
What a good answer looks like
- An opening anyone gets: every new email to the office inbox gets a reply drafted in the same thread, and nothing is sent until a person sends it.
- Normal described in a way staff can see: a draft under each new customer email within a few minutes.
- Signs it stopped, such as no new drafts on a busy morning, with a first check a non-builder can do before calling Tom.
- No API key or password anywhere on the page.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Ask someone who didn't build it what they'd do if drafts stopped. Fix wherever they hesitate.
- Check each claim against the workflow itself. If the page says it never sends, the Gmail Tool must be set to Draft.
- Name who pays for each account. The OpenAI API is billed separately from any ChatGPT plan, so say whose card it's on.
- Update the page whenever you change a node, and date the Last checked line.
Why this prompt works
This is an SOP for a machine: what it does, how to tell it's healthy and what to do when it isn't. Naming accounts without their secrets keeps the page safe to keep in a shared team folder.
Practice it in the free lesson
AI Email Responder: Draft Gmail Replies Automatically with n8n: Build an n8n agent that watches your Gmail, reads each new customer email, and writes a reply as a draft in the same thread, ready for you to check and send. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Daily Job Alerts: Email Each Tech Their Jobs from Google Sheets with n8n · Find and Use n8n Templates
Terms used here
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