AWS Lambda n8n integrationAutomate AWS Lambda with n8n.
Some logic belongs in code, not in a chain of nodes. The AWS Lambda n8n integration covers that gap with 1 operation: invoke a published function, pass it a JSON payload, and either wait for the answer or move on. There is no Lambda trigger node, so the workflow starts somewhere else.
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What does the AWS Lambda n8n integration actually do?
The AWS Lambda n8n integration is a single node that calls one of your published functions and hands it a JSON payload. n8n sends the input, AWS runs the function, and the workflow either waits for the returned data or keeps going right away. Think of it as the escape hatch for work that belongs in real code: parsing, signing, heavy computation, a call to a private library.
The clearest pattern is the scheduled audit. A Schedule Trigger wakes the workflow at night, the node invokes a function that walks through an AWS account and returns a list of forgotten resources, then the rows land in Google Sheets and a short summary goes out in Slack. That exact workflow sits in the public template gallery as number 11612, next to a bare one, number 510, that does nothing but fire the node so you can watch the response come back.
The second pattern is data shaping. A workflow pulls rows from Postgres, the function applies the rules that would turn a Code node into an unreadable wall, and the cleaned objects come back into the workflow. Here you keep RequestResponse, because the next node needs the output. The point is not speed, it is that the logic lives in a repository, gets reviewed, and stays testable outside n8n.
The third pattern is the opposite: fire and forget. A form submission or a new database row triggers a function that does slow work, and the workflow has nothing to wait for. Switch Invocation Type to Event and n8n continues immediately, which keeps a long execution from blocking the rest of the branch.
Prefer the HTTP Request node as soon as you need anything other than invoking. The node exposes one operation, so listing functions, publishing a version, managing an alias or reading a configuration goes through HTTP Request, which calls any endpoint of the API and reuses the same AWS credential through its predefined authentication.
Two limits are worth knowing before you build. Qualifier is required, so every call names a version or an alias and you cannot stay vague about which code runs. And because there is no Lambda trigger, AWS cannot start a workflow on its own: a Schedule Trigger, the n8n Webhook node called by a third party, or another tool's trigger has to open the run. If you are still choosing between platforms, the n8n review covers that decision, and the n8n training walks through building the workflow around the node.
How do you connect AWS Lambda to n8n?
- 01
Create an AWS (IAM) credential
In n8n, open Credentials and pick AWS (IAM), the access key method. It asks for your AWS Region, an Access Key ID and a Secret Access Key. Both keys are generated together in the IAM console: select your user name in the navigation bar, then Security credentials, then Create access key. On the best practices page, choose your use case, or Other if it does not offer to create one.
- 02
Or assume a role instead of storing keys
The second credential type, AWS (Assume Role), authenticates by assuming an IAM role through AWS STS. The credentials used for the
AssumeRolecall are either typed in n8n or read automatically from the environment n8n runs in. That second option is the one to take when you self-host n8n on AWS infrastructure such as EKS, ECS or EC2 and would rather not keep static keys inside n8n at all. - 03
Point the node at a function
Add the AWS Lambda node, select the credential in its dropdown, and the same one serves every workflow from then on. Open Function Name or ID and choose from the list, or switch the field to an expression when the name arrives with the data. Fill Qualifier with the version or alias you want, then run the node once to see the response before wiring anything after it.
What the AWS Lambda node can do
The AWS Lambda node exposes one operation. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, the required fields, and our field notes.
Invoke a function
invokeWhat you see in n8n
Notes & use cases
The node calls one published function and hands it the JSON the workflow built upstream. In synchronous mode the response comes back as the node output.
Key parameters
- Function Name or ID: the function to invoke, picked from the list or set with an expression such as
{{ $json.function }}when the name travels with the data. - Qualifier: required, the version or alias to invoke, so the call targets a published version.
- Invocation Type:
RequestResponse(Wait for Results) holds the workflow until the function answers,Event(Continue Workflow) fires it and carries on. - JSON Input: the JSON handed to the function as input.
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