Buffer n8n Webhooks

Overview

Every webhook that triggers an n8n workflow starts an execution. With Webbu in front, each execution receives a batch of events instead of one, which:

On n8n Cloud reduces the number of executions you use
On self-hosted n8n protects your instance from webhook floods

Setup

1. Create the n8n workflow

Add a Webhook node, HTTP method POST, path e.g. batch-processor
Activate the workflow and copy the production URL (e.g. https://your-n8n.example.com/webhook/batch-processor)

2. Create a Webbu buffer

curl -X POST https://webbu.dev/api/v1/admin/buffers \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $WEBBU_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "bufferId": "b_n8n",
    "projectId": "p_automation",
    "name": "n8n batch",
    "groupKey": { "mode": "jsonpath", "path": "$.userId" },
    "batch": { "maxItems": 25, "maxBytes": 262144, "idleTimeoutMs": 5000, "maxWaitFromFirstMs": 30000 },
    "delivery": { "url": "https://your-n8n.example.com/webhook/batch-processor" }
  }'

$.userId groups events by user; adjust it to your payload ($.customerId, $.tenantId, $.conversationId, …).

3. Point your webhook source to Webbu

Before: https://your-n8n.example.com/webhook/processor

After: https://webbu.dev/api/v1/ingest/p_automation/b_n8n

4. Process the batch

The Webhook node outputs the request body:

{
  "webbu": { "bufferId": "b_n8n", "groupKey": "user_123", "segment": 0, "…": "…" },
  "window": { "firstItemAt": 1767225600000, "lastActivityAt": 1767225604000, "itemsCount": 3 },
  "items": [
    { "messageId": "…", "receivedAt": 1767225600000, "payload": { "userId": "user_123", "action": "page_view", "page": "/dashboard" } },
    { "messageId": "…", "receivedAt": 1767225602000, "payload": { "userId": "user_123", "action": "button_click", "button": "export" } },
    { "messageId": "…", "receivedAt": 1767225604000, "payload": { "userId": "user_123", "action": "page_view", "page": "/settings" } }
  ]
}

Add a Split Out node on body.items to get one n8n item per event, or handle the batch in a Code node.

Benefits

Fewer workflow executions
Protection against webhook floods
Related events processed together
Retries and a dead letter queue when n8n is down