Orchestrate Asynchronous Workflows with Pause and Resume
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This n8n workflow demonstrates how to manage complex asynchronous operations by pausing a primary workflow execution and later resuming it from an entirely separate, independent process. It's a powerful pattern for resilient automation, allowing you to combine data from both execution contexts for seamless processing.
About This Workflow
Tackle the challenge of long-running tasks or external human interactions with this robust asynchronous workflow pattern. This solution showcases how to elegantly pause a primary n8n workflow, initiate an independent process (which could be anything from an external API callback to a human approval step), and then confidently resume the original workflow execution when the independent process completes. By leveraging the Wait node and passing a resumeUrl, you can create highly resilient and stateful automations. This ensures your processes continue exactly where they left off, enriched with data from the secondary interaction, preventing timeouts and enabling multi-stage, distributed workflows.
Key Features
- Asynchronous Workflow Orchestration: Master complex processes that require pausing and waiting for external events or human input.
- Resilient Execution: Prevent timeouts by pausing workflows indefinitely until an external trigger resumes them, ensuring long-running tasks complete successfully.
- Contextual Data Fusion: Seamlessly combine data from the initial primary workflow execution with information received from the resuming, secondary process.
- Flexible Integration: Utilize a
Webhookto resume, making it compatible with virtually any external system or custom application that can make an HTTP request. - Clear State Management: Maintain state across separate workflow executions using the unique
resumeUrlfor precise control.
How To Use
- Initiate Primary Execution: Start your main workflow with a trigger (like "When clicking 'Test workflow'") and optionally use a
Setnode to establish initial context variables. - Define Wait Point: Add a
Waitnode. This node will pause the primary workflow. Ensure itsresumeoption is set towebhookto accept an external callback. - Initiate Independent Process: Use an
HTTP Requestnode to trigger your secondary or independent process. Crucially, pass the primary workflow'sresumeUrl(available via$execution.resumeUrl) to this independent process. - Set Up Secondary Trigger: Create a separate workflow or ensure your independent system has a mechanism (e.g., a
Webhooknode) to receive theresumeUrland any other relevant data. - Resume Primary Workflow: Within the independent process, use another
HTTP Requestnode. Configure its URL to be theresumeUrlreceived from the primary execution. Include any data you wish to pass back to the primary workflow in the body of this request. - Combine Data: After the
Waitnode resumes, use aSetnode or other processing nodes to access both the original data from the primary execution and the newly received data from the resumed callback.
Apps Used
Workflow JSON
{
"id": "8d438b90-b003-4c98-b5aa-e2cc4002c351",
"name": "Orchestrate Asynchronous Workflows with Pause and Resume",
"nodes": 6,
"category": "Operations",
"status": "active",
"version": "1.0.0"
}Note: This is a sample preview. The full workflow JSON contains node configurations, credentials placeholders, and execution logic.
Get This Workflow
ID: 8d438b90-b003...
About the Author
DevOps_Master_X
Infrastructure Expert
Specializing in CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and Kubernetes automations.
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