n8n/packages/@n8n/cli/docs/commands/package.md

package

Export and import workflows as portable n8n packages (.n8np archives).

Beta feature: n8n packages are still under development and there may be breaking changes on APIs.

package export

Export workflows or projects into a gzipped .n8np archive written to disk. Provide workflow IDs or project IDs, but not both.

n8n-cli package export --workflow-id=abc --output=export.n8np
n8n-cli package export -w abc -w def -o team.n8np
n8n-cli package export --project-id=abc -o project.n8np
n8n-cli package export -p abc -p def -o projects.n8np

Flag	Description
-w, --workflow-id	Workflow ID to include. Repeat the flag to export several.
-p, --project-id	Project ID to include. Repeat the flag to export several.
-o, --output	File to write the package to. Defaults to export.n8np.

Provide at least one --workflow-id or --project-id. Requires the API key to hold workflow:export when exporting workflows, or project:export when exporting projects.

package import

Import a .n8np archive into a project.

n8n-cli package import --file=export.n8np --conflict-policy=fail
n8n-cli package import --file=export.n8np --project=<id> --conflict-policy=new-version
n8n-cli package import --file=export.n8np --conflict-policy=fail --credential-missing-mode=must-preexist

Flag	Description
--file	Path to the .n8np package file. (required)
--conflict-policy	What to do when a workflow already exists by source ID: new-version, fail, or skip. (required)
--project	Target project ID. Defaults to your personal project.
--folder	Target folder ID within the project. Defaults to the project root.
--workflow-id-policy	Whether imported workflows keep their source ID (source) or receive a new one (new).
--credential-matching-mode	How credential references are matched on the target instance (id-only).
--credential-missing-mode	What to do when a referenced credential cannot be resolved. create-stub (instance default) creates empty placeholder credentials in the target project; must-preexist requires every referenced credential to already exist.

Requires the API key to hold the workflow:import scope. When the import is blocked — for example by a workflow conflict under --conflict-policy=fail, or by an unresolved credential under --credential-missing-mode=must-preexist — the command exits non-zero and lists the blocking issues. With the default create-stub mode, missing credentials are stubbed instead of blocking the import.