n8n Content Pipeline

Two local automation workflows powered by n8n + Claude CLI over SSH.

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Workflows

1. LinkedIn Pipeline (Telegram)

Send a rough idea to your Telegram bot → Claude writes a LinkedIn post → approve/regenerate/cancel with inline buttons → post to LinkedIn.

Telegram message (idea)
  → n8n (Docker)
    → SSH → Mac host → claude -p "..."
      → Draft sent to Telegram with buttons
        → ✅ Post      → LinkedIn
        → 🔄 Regen    → Claude rewrites → new draft
        → ❌ Cancel   → Done

2. Blog Pipeline (Browser)

Open a local URL in your browser → type an idea → Claude writes a blog post, LinkedIn post, and tweet in sequence → review and approve each before it publishes.

Browser form (idea)
  → n8n (Docker)
    → SSH → Mac host → generate_content.sh blog:...
      → Review page in browser
        → ✅ Approve → Dev.to publishes
          → SSH → linkedin:...|<mediumUrl>
            → Review → ✅ Approve → LinkedIn posts
              → SSH → tweet:...|<mediumUrl>
                → Review → ✅ Approve → Twitter posts

State is tracked in $getWorkflowStaticData('global') across requests. The pipeline is resumable — if Claude fails mid-chain, a retry button appears without losing prior published content.

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Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop
• Claude CLI installed and authenticated (~/.local/bin/claude -p "test" works)
• Telegram bot token — for the LinkedIn pipeline only
• LinkedIn Developer App with Share on LinkedIn + Sign In with LinkedIn using OpenID Connect products (requires a LinkedIn Company Page)
• Dev.to API key — for the blog pipeline (Settings → Extensions → DEV API Keys → Generate)
• Twitter OAuth2 credentials — for the blog pipeline

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Setup

1. Environment

cp .env.example .env

GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York
N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=<run: openssl rand -hex 16>
WEBHOOK_URL=https://<your-cloudflare-tunnel>.trycloudflare.com   # LinkedIn pipeline only

2. SSH key

n8n runs in Docker and can't access the Mac's claude binary directly. A forced-command SSH key bridges the gap — the key can only run the specified script, nothing else on the machine is accessible.

LinkedIn pipeline — uses generate_post.sh:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/n8n_docker_key -N ""

Add to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys:

restrict,command="/path/to/scripts/generate_post.sh" ssh-ed25519 AAAA...your-public-key...

Blog pipeline — uses generate_content.sh:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/n8n_blog_key -N ""

Add to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys:

restrict,command="/path/to/scripts/generate_content.sh" ssh-ed25519 AAAA...your-public-key...

Enable Remote Login: System Settings → General → Sharing → Remote Login → ON

3. Start n8n

docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:5678

4. Tunnel (LinkedIn pipeline only)

The Telegram webhook requires a public HTTPS URL:

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:5678 --no-autoupdate &

Copy the https://...trycloudflare.com URL into WEBHOOK_URL in .env, then restart n8n and re-publish the workflow. The URL changes every time the process restarts (free tier).

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Credentials

Name	Type	Used by
Telegram Bot	Telegram API	LinkedIn pipeline
Mac SSH (LinkedIn)	SSH	LinkedIn pipeline
Mac SSH (Blog)	SSH	Blog pipeline
LinkedIn OAuth2 API	LinkedIn OAuth2 API	Both
Dev.to	Header Auth	Blog pipeline
Twitter/X	Twitter OAuth2 API	Blog pipeline

SSH credential config: host host.docker.internal, port 22, user anmolsahu2k, auth via private key.

LinkedIn OAuth2 redirect URL: http://localhost:5678/rest/oauth2-credential/callback

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Importing workflows

LinkedIn Pipeline

1. Workflows → Import from File → workflows/linkedin-pipeline.json
2. Open Auth Gate node → replace YOUR_CHAT_ID with your Telegram Chat ID (get it from @userinfobot)
3. Assign credentials to each node
4. Click Publish

Blog Pipeline

1. Workflows → Import from File → workflows/blog-pipeline.json
2. Assign credentials to each node
3. Click Publish
4. Open http://localhost:5678/webhook/blog-pipeline in your browser

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Testing

# Test generate_post.sh (LinkedIn pipeline)
SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND="Why shipping fast beats waiting for perfect" \
  ./scripts/generate_post.sh

# Test generate_content.sh (blog pipeline)
SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND="blog:$(echo 'Why shipping fast beats waiting for perfect' | base64)" \
  ./scripts/generate_content.sh

# Test SSH from n8n's perspective (LinkedIn)
ssh -i ~/.ssh/n8n_docker_key anmolsahu2k@host.docker.internal "your idea here"

# View logs
docker compose logs -f n8n

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Files

.
├── docker-compose.yml               # n8n service (port 5678, localhost only)
├── .env                             # secrets (gitignored)
├── scripts/
│   ├── generate_post.sh             # LinkedIn pipeline: called via SSH, runs claude -p
│   └── generate_content.sh          # Blog pipeline: handles blog/linkedin/tweet commands
└── workflows/
    ├── linkedin-pipeline.json       # Telegram → LinkedIn
    ├── blog-pipeline.json           # Browser form → Dev.to + LinkedIn + Twitter
    └── blog-pipeline-simple.json    # Simplified version (for reference)