n8n

Add human approval steps to your n8n automation workflows.

Use cases

Approve large data exports before sending
Confirm automated email campaigns
Review AI-generated content before publishing
Gate sensitive API calls or payments

Setup

In n8n, go to Credentials → Add Credential
Select Header Auth
Name: ottr API
Header Name: Authorization
Header Value: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Workflow Pattern

Trigger → Your Logic → Create Approval → Wait/Poll → If Approved → Action

1. Create Approval (HTTP Request)

Add an HTTP Request node to create the approval:

HTTP Request node

// HTTP Request node configuration
{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://api.ottr.run/v1/approvals",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{ $credentials.ottrApi.apiKey }}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  "body": {
    "key_path": "n8n/workflow/{{ $workflow.id }}/{{ $execution.id }}",
    "value": "approved",
    "ttl_seconds": 1800,
    "info": "{{ $json.approvalMessage }}",
    "actions": [
      {"key": "approve", "value": "approved", "label": "Approve", "style": "primary"},
      {"key": "reject", "value": "rejected", "label": "Reject", "style": "danger"}
    ]
  }
}

2. Notify (Optional)

Add a Slack, Email, or Telegram node to send the approval URL to your team. The URL is in {{ $json.url }} from the previous node.

3. Poll for Approval

Use a Loop with Wait + HTTP Request to poll for the result:

Poll HTTP Request

// HTTP Request node in loop
{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://api.ottr.run/v1/key/n8n/workflow/{{ $workflow.id }}/{{ $execution.id }}",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{ $credentials.ottrApi.apiKey }}"
  }
}

4. Check Result (IF Node)

Add an IF node to branch based on the approval result:

Condition: {{ $json.body }} equals "approved"
True branch: Continue with your action
False branch: Handle rejection or continue polling

Tips

Use $workflow.id and $execution.id for unique key paths
Set ttl_seconds based on your expected response time
Add a loop counter to timeout after N iterations
Use ottr Slack integration instead of manual notifications