Workflow builders are where Amazon work gets scheduled instead of asked for. From n8n you can run the same Amazon operations on a cron or an upstream event — the nightly Sponsored Products pull, a listing patch when a feed lands, an Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) audience staged for the demand-side platform (DSP) — with the same scoped auth and audit trail as chat.
Use n8n's MCP Client Tool node when you want an n8n AI Agent workflow to call tools exposed by your private MCP server.
For the official reference, see n8n MCP Client Tool node.
Your MCP server hostname is private to your deployment. It comes from your cloud provider, belongs to your environment, and is not shared across customers. Replace {your-private-mcp-host} with the private host shown in your dashboard.
Before you start
- An n8n instance with AI Agent nodes available.
- A workflow with an AI Agent or model node that can use tools.
- A dashboard API key from the Keys tab.
- The private MCP endpoint assigned to your deployment.
https://{your-private-mcp-host}/mcpUnderstand n8n MCP modes
n8n has two different MCP surfaces:
| Node | What it does |
|---|---|
| MCP Client Tool | Connects an n8n AI Agent workflow to tools exposed by an external MCP server. |
| MCP Server Trigger | Exposes n8n workflow tools to external AI agents. |
Use MCP Client Tool when connecting n8n to your private MCP server.
Add the MCP Client Tool node
In n8n:
- Open the workflow that contains your AI Agent.
- Add a tool node to the agent.
- Choose MCP Client Tool.
- Connect the MCP Client Tool node to the AI Agent's tool input.
The node acts as an MCP client. It discovers tools from the external MCP server and makes the selected tools available to the agent.
Configure the endpoint
In the MCP Client Tool node, set SSE Endpoint to the MCP endpoint from your dashboard:
https://{your-private-mcp-host}/mcpn8n's field label is SSE Endpoint. Use the endpoint format your MCP server supports for n8n. If your dashboard provides a separate n8n or SSE-compatible URL, use that value instead of the generic /mcp endpoint.
Configure authentication
The MCP Client Tool node supports bearer, generic header, and OAuth2 authentication.
For a bearer token from your dashboard:
- Set Authentication to Bearer if available in your n8n version.
- Paste only the API key value into n8n's credential form.
- Save the credential.
If your n8n version uses generic header authentication instead:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Header name | Authorization |
| Header value | Bearer <MCP_API_KEY> |
Do not paste the raw API key into prompts, sticky notes, or workflow descriptions. Store it in n8n credentials.
Choose which tools to expose
Use Tools to Include to control the tool surface the AI Agent can see:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| All | Exposes every tool returned by the MCP server. |
| Selected | Exposes only the tools you select. |
| All Except | Exposes every tool except the tools you exclude. |
Start with Selected for production workflows. Give the agent only the read or action tools needed for that workflow.
Test the workflow
Run a manual execution and ask the AI Agent for a read-only check first:
List the available MCP tools and explain what each one can do. Do not call write actions.If the tools appear, test one low-risk read action. Add human approval or review steps before giving the workflow access to mutating tools.
Troubleshooting
The node cannot connect
Confirm the endpoint matches the private host in your dashboard and that it is reachable from the n8n runtime. Self-hosted n8n instances may need outbound network access to the private host.
Authentication fails
Create a fresh dashboard API key and update the n8n credential. Make sure the credential sends either bearer auth or an Authorization: Bearer ... header, not both.
Tools do not appear
Check that the MCP server exposes tools, the endpoint supports the transport expected by n8n, and Tools to Include is not filtering everything out.
You want n8n to be the MCP server
That is the MCP Server Trigger node, not the MCP Client Tool node. Use MCP Server Trigger when another agent should call n8n workflows as tools.