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Beeminder n8n integrationAutomate Beeminder with n8n.

A Beeminder goal only moves when data reaches it, and typing that data by hand is the part that breaks first. The Beeminder n8n integration exposes 18 operations across 4 resources, from a single datapoint to a full goal rewrite. No trigger node ships with it, so a Schedule Trigger or a webhook starts the run.

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Why automate

What does the Beeminder n8n integration actually do?

Beeminder tracks a commitment as a line you have to stay on, and the n8n node is the pipe that feeds that line. It creates, reads and updates goals, pushes datapoints one at a time or by the array, acts on the pledge attached to a goal, and pulls back the account behind the credential. Every one of those moves is a Beeminder API call signed with your auth token, fired by whatever starts the workflow.

The most common build is time spent, logged without anyone touching a form. A workflow reads yesterday's entries from Google Calendar, adds up the minutes booked on one project, and calls datapoint.create with that total as Value. The goal advances on its own, and the Comment field carries the meeting titles so the graph still makes sense weeks later.

Backfilling is the second pattern, and it has its own operation. When a year of tracking already sits in a spreadsheet, datapoint.createAll accepts a whole array in one call instead of a loop that fires once per row. Pull the rows out of Microsoft Excel 365 or Google Sheets, shape them into the Datapoints field, and the goal gets its history in a single execution.

Then there is the pledge, which is what Beeminder is built around. goal.stepDown steps the pledge down, goal.cancelStepDown calls that off, goal.shortCircuit short circuits it, and goal.uncle derails the goal and charges the pledge amount. A workflow that reads a goal each morning with goal.get can send a heads-up through Gmail long before any of that happens.

Anything beyond these 18 operations goes through the HTTP Request node, which calls any Beeminder API endpoint while reusing the same credential through predefined authentication. That escape hatch is the reason a missing operation never blocks a build, and the credential stays the same, so nothing has to be set up a second time. If n8n itself is still being weighed against other platforms, the n8n review covers the tool rather than this node.

Connect

How do you connect Beeminder to n8n?

  1. 01

    Generate the auth token in Beeminder

    You need a Beeminder account first. The personal Auth Token comes from the Apps & API option inside Account Settings, or from hitting the auth_token API endpoint if you would rather script it. Copy it somewhere safe before leaving the page, and note which Beeminder user it belongs to, because that name is asked for in the next step.

  2. 02

    Create the credential in n8n

    In n8n, open the Credentials menu and add a Beeminder credential. A credential is a stored set of secrets that you create once and reuse in every workflow. Fill the User field with the Beeminder user name and the Auth Token field with the token you just generated. The node also offers an OAuth2 credential type if that suits your setup better.

  3. 03

    Pick a resource and run one operation

    Drop a Beeminder node into a workflow and select the credential from the dropdown, where it now appears by name. Choose a resource among Goal, Datapoint, Charge and User, then an operation. Start with goal.getAll: it needs nothing beyond the credential, so a clean list of goals coming back is proof the token works before you write anything.

Actions

The 18 Beeminder operations in n8n

The Beeminder node exposes 18 operations across 4 resources. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, the required fields, and our field notes.

Resources × operations matrix
ResourceCreateGetGet ManyUpdateDeleteCancel Step DownCreate AllGet ArchivedRefreshShort CircuitStep DownUncle
Charge✓
Datapoint✓✓✓✓✓✓
Goal✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓
User✓

Charge

1 operation
01

Create a charge

charge.create

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

This one bills the Beeminder account behind the credential directly, with no goal involved. It posts the charge and returns the record that was created.

Key parameters

  • Amount: the charge amount in USD, entered as a number.
  • Note: the charge explanation, free text, worth filling so the line reads clearly months later.
  • Dry Run: switched on, the call is tested without actually charging, which is how you build the branch before arming it.
Use cases
a shared accountability pot where a missed weekly commitment posts a small charge, with the reason written into the note.

Datapoint

6 operations
02

Create datapoint for goal

datapoint.create

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

One value lands on one goal. Most Beeminder automations are carried by this operation, because a goal only advances when a datapoint reaches it.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: picked from the dropdown that lists your goals, or set with an expression when the goal comes from an earlier node.
  • Value: the number sent to the goal, often {{ $json.value }} mapped from the previous step.
  • Timestamp: defaults to now if nothing is passed in.
  • Request ID: a string that uniquely identifies a datapoint, so a replayed execution does not count twice.
Use cases
a nightly run that posts yesterday's reading minutes with the book title in the comment.
03

Create multiple datapoints at once

datapoint.createAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Same goal, many values, a single call. Instead of looping a node once per row, the whole batch travels together.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal every datapoint in the batch belongs to, so one call cannot spread across two goals.
  • Datapoints: an array of datapoint objects in JSON, each carrying a value and optionally a timestamp or a comment, as in [{"value": 1, "comment": "First datapoint"}].
Use cases
importing a season of training logs into a fresh goal, so the graph starts with real history instead of a flat line.
04

Delete a datapoint

datapoint.delete

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Removes one recorded datapoint from a goal. The graph redraws without it, which matters when a bad value has already skewed the line.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal the datapoint sits on, chosen from the list or resolved by expression.
  • Datapoint ID: the identifier of the datapoint itself, not its comment and not its value. Read it back from a previous node before deleting anything.
Use cases
cleaning up a duplicate posted twice by an upstream service that retried after a failed run.
05

Get a single datapoint

datapoint.get

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Fetches one datapoint and returns what Beeminder actually stored for it. Useful as a verification step rather than as a source of new data.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal to look inside, since a datapoint is always read in the context of its goal.
  • Datapoint ID: the exact identifier of the record you want back.
Use cases
a workflow that writes a value, then reads it straight back and compares it before letting the rest of the branch run.
06

Get many datapoints for a goal

datapoint.getAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Returns the datapoints attached to one goal, which is the operation to reach for whenever a report or an export is the point.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the only required field here.
  • Return All: on, n8n walks the pages of the Beeminder API and brings back every datapoint; off, Limit caps how many come back.
  • Sort: the attribute to sort on.
  • Page and Per Page: paging is 1-indexed, and Per Page defaults to 25 and is ignored unless Page is set too.
Use cases
a monthly export of one goal into a spreadsheet for a review meeting.
07

Update a datapoint

datapoint.update

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Edits a datapoint already on the goal rather than adding another one next to it, so the total stays honest.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID and Datapoint ID: both required, they point at the exact record to edit.
  • Value: the corrected number to send.
  • Comment and Timestamp: sit in Update Fields, and on an update the timestamp keeps the existing one if nothing is passed in.
Use cases
a correction branch that fixes a figure once the real invoice total arrives, hours after the first write.

Goal

10 operations
08

Create a new goal

goal.create

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Builds a goal from scratch, with the shape of its line decided at creation time.

Key parameters

  • Goal Slug: the unique identifier for the goal, and the value other operations will expect later.
  • Goal Title: the human-readable title.
  • Goal Type: one of hustler, biker, fatloser, gainer, inboxer, drinker or custom.
  • Goal Units: what is being counted, such as hours, pages or pounds.
  • Rate and Initial Value: the units per day expected, and the starting value for today's date.
  • Dry Run: tests the endpoint without creating anything.
Use cases
spinning up one goal per new client project so each one gets its own tracked line.
09

Get a specific goal

goal.get

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Reads back a single goal and its attributes, which is the natural first node in any branch that has to decide something.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal to read, from the dropdown or an expression.
  • Include Datapoints: on, the response carries the datapoints along with the goal, saving a second call.
  • Emaciated: strips the road, roadall and fullroad attributes from the goal object, which keeps the payload lean when those are not needed.
Use cases
a morning check that reads one goal before deciding whether to send an alert.
10

Get many goals

goal.getAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Lists the goals on the account behind the credential. Nothing is required, so this is the shortest path to confirming a credential works.

Key parameters

  • Emaciated: the single option available here, stripping road, roadall and fullroad from every goal object returned.
Use cases
a weekly loop that pulls every goal, then fans out into a per-goal branch to build one digest message instead of a dozen notifications.
11

Get archived goals

goal.getArchived

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Returns the archived goals instead of the active ones, which is a different list and a different question: what was tracked before, not what is running now.

Key parameters

  • Emaciated: same option as on the other goal listings, removing road, roadall and fullroad from the objects that come back.
Use cases
a yearly recap workflow that gathers everything archived over the period and writes it into a summary document.
12

Update a goal

goal.update

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Changes an existing goal in place, including the line itself. This is the heaviest goal operation, and the one to handle carefully.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal to edit, the only required field.
  • Title and Y-Axis: the readable title, plus the graph's y-axis label.
  • Tmin and Tmax: the minimum and maximum dates, both in yyyy-mm-dd format.
  • Road All: an array of arrays defining the bright red line, each sub-array holding a date, a value and a rate with exactly one field null.
  • Tags: an array of alphanumeric tags that replaces the existing ones rather than adding to them.
Use cases
renaming and retagging goals in bulk when a team changes how it labels its projects.
13

Refresh goal data

goal.refresh

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Runs the Refresh goal data action on one goal. It targets the goal you name, and that is the only setting the node exposes for it.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal to refresh, selected from the list or built from an expression when the name travels in the item.
Use cases
a scheduled pass that calls refresh on a handful of goals right before a reporting workflow reads them next.
14

Short circuit pledge

goal.shortCircuit

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Runs the Short Circuit Pledge action on a goal, the pledge operation named directly in the catalogue. It applies to the single goal you name.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal whose pledge is short circuited. Nothing else is asked for, which makes this an easy node to fire by accident, so put it behind an explicit condition.
Use cases
a deliberate branch in an accountability workflow, gated by an approval step so no automation can reach it on its own.
15

Step down pledge

goal.stepDown

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Runs the Step Down Pledge action on a goal. Like the other pledge operations on this node, it needs only the goal name and fires without a confirmation step.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal to step down, picked from the dropdown or resolved from the incoming item.
Use cases
a seasonal workflow that calls Step Down Pledge on the goals a team has parked for the month.
16

Cancel step down

goal.cancelStepDown

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Runs the Cancel Step Down action on a goal. It is the counterpart of the previous operation, and the one to wire into any undo path.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal whose step down is cancelled. As with the other pledge operations, the goal name is all the node asks for.
Use cases
a branch that runs when a parked project restarts, calling Cancel Step Down for that goal.
17

Derail a goal and charge the pledge amount

goal.uncle

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Derails the goal and charges the pledge amount. Of the whole node, this is the operation with a real financial consequence, and it runs without a confirmation step.

Key parameters

  • Goal Name or ID: the goal to derail. The field description says exactly that, so an expression pointing at the wrong item costs money rather than throwing an error.
Use cases
a self-imposed rule where a commitment declared publicly and then dropped derails the matching goal, triggered manually rather than on a schedule.

User

1 operation
18

Get user information

user.get

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Returns the Beeminder user behind the credential. Nothing is required, and the options decide how much comes back with it.

Key parameters

  • Associations: includes the associations in the response.
  • Diff Since: only goals and datapoints created or updated since that timestamp are returned, which turns a full read into an incremental one.
  • Skinny: returns minimal user data.
  • Datapoints Count: how many datapoints to include.
Use cases
an hourly sync that passes the last run time into Diff Since and only processes what moved.
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FAQ

Beeminder and n8n, the questions that come next

01Is the Beeminder n8n integration free?
Yes on the n8n side. The Beeminder node ships with n8n, so there is nothing to install and no extra n8n cost to unlock it, whether you run n8n Cloud or a self-hosted instance under the Community Edition and its Sustainable Use licence. A workflow built in one place behaves the same in the other, so you can prototype on Cloud and move to your own server later without rewriting the node. What a Beeminder account itself costs is a separate question, and one this page does not answer, since it depends on your Beeminder plan rather than on n8n.
02What credentials does the Beeminder node need?
An API user token, and the node also offers an OAuth2 credential type. For the token route you need two values: a User name, which has to match the Beeminder user the token was generated for, and a personal Auth Token for that user. The token comes from the Apps and API option inside Account Settings, or from the auth_token API endpoint if you prefer to fetch it programmatically. Both go into a Beeminder credential created once in the Credentials menu of n8n, and every Beeminder node in every workflow then picks it from a dropdown. There is no per-workflow setup to repeat.
03What are the limits of the Beeminder node in n8n?
The node covers 18 operations across 4 resources: Goal, Datapoint, Charge and User. Anything outside that catalogue goes through the HTTP Request node, which calls any Beeminder API endpoint while reusing the same credential through predefined authentication, so nothing forces you to leave n8n. On reads, watch the paging: getting many datapoints for a goal returns everything when Return All is on, and stops at Limit when it is off. Per Page defaults to 25 and is ignored unless Page is set alongside it, which is the usual reason a first export comes back shorter than expected.
04Does Beeminder react in real time in n8n?
Not on its own. Beeminder has no trigger node in n8n, so a workflow that touches it starts somewhere else. The three common starting points are a Schedule Trigger that fires on a fixed interval, an n8n Webhook that a third-party service calls, which means an n8n URL that outside tools hit to start the run, and the trigger of another tool already in your stack. From there the Beeminder node does the reading or the writing. A nightly Schedule Trigger covers most tracking needs, and a webhook handles the cases where the event has to be pushed the moment it happens.
05n8n or Make for Beeminder?
It comes down to hosting, data control and how you want to pay. Make is hosted by Make with no self-hosting option and is billed per operation, so a workflow that writes many datapoints gets more expensive as it grows. n8n runs on n8n Cloud or on your own server through Docker or npm, and the same workflow behaves identically either way, which matters if Beeminder data has to stay on infrastructure you control. Both give you a visual canvas. Pick Make for a hosted setup with no server to maintain, and n8n when self-hosting, the HTTP Request fallback and cost predictability weigh more.