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What is n8n?

n8n is a popular workflow automation tool that lets you connect different apps and services together without writing code. Think of it like connecting building blocks - you can create automated workflows that do things like:
  • Automatically research topics and save results to a spreadsheet
  • Extract content from websites and send summaries to Slack
  • Answer questions using AI and store the responses in a database
The Valyu n8n node brings our powerful AI search and research capabilities directly into your n8n workflows.

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What Can You Do with the Valyu Node?

The Valyu node gives you access to four powerful tools:

Search

Search across the web and premium data sources (academic papers, financial data, news) to find relevant information for any query.Best for: Finding information, research, fact-checking

Extraction

Pull clean, readable content from any webpage. Optionally use AI to summarize or extract specific data points.Best for: Scraping websites, getting article content, data extraction

Answer

Get instant AI-powered answers to questions, backed by real search results. Fast and accurate.Best for: Quick Q&A, chatbots, automated responses

Deep Research

Run comprehensive research tasks that search multiple sources and generate detailed reports. Takes 5-30 minutes but produces thorough results.Best for: Market research, competitive analysis, in-depth reports

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Getting Started

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Step 1: Get Your Valyu API Key

Before you can use the Valyu node, you need an API key:
  1. Go to platform.valyu.ai and create a free account
  2. Navigate to API Keys in the dashboard
  3. Click Create API Key and copy your new key

Free Credits

New accounts get $10 in free credits - enough to run thousands of searches!

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Step 2: Install the Valyu Node in n8n

The Valyu node is a community node, which means it’s only available on self-hosted n8n instances. It’s not available on n8n Cloud.
To install the node:
  1. In your n8n instance, go to Settings (gear icon in the bottom left)
  2. Click on Community Nodes
  3. Click Install
  4. Enter the package name: n8n-nodes-valyu
  5. Check the box to accept the risks of installing community nodes
  6. Click Install
That’s it! The Valyu node will now appear when you search for “Valyu” in the nodes panel.

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Step 3: Set Up Your Credentials

Before using the Valyu node, you need to add your API key:
  1. Drag a Valyu node onto your canvas
  2. Click on the node to open it
  3. Next to Credential to connect with, click the dropdown and select Create New Credential
  4. In the popup:
    • API Key: Paste your Valyu API key from Step 1
    • API URL: Leave as the default (https://api.valyu.network)
  5. Click Save
Your credentials are now saved and will be available for all Valyu nodes in your workflows.

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Using the Valyu Node

Use Search when you need to find information from across the web and premium data sources. Basic usage:
  1. Select Search as the operation
  2. Enter your search query (e.g., “latest developments in quantum computing”)
  3. Run the node
Optional settings (click “Add Option” to see these):
  • Search Type: Choose between All, Web only, Proprietary (academic/financial), or News
  • Max Results: How many results to return (1-100)
  • Response Length: How much content per result (Short, Medium, Large, Max)
  • Date filters: Only get results from a specific time period
Operation: Search
Query: "artificial intelligence breakthroughs 2024"
Options:
  - Search Type: News
  - Max Results: 10
  - Start Date: 2024-01-01

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Extraction

Use Extraction when you have specific URLs and want to pull out their content. Basic usage:
  1. Select Extraction as the operation
  2. Enter one or more URLs (comma-separated)
  3. Choose a Summary Mode:
    • No AI Processing: Just get the raw text content
    • Auto Summary: Get an AI-generated summary
    • Custom Prompt: Tell the AI exactly what to extract
    • Structured Output: Extract data into a specific JSON format
Operation: Extraction
URLs: "https://example.com/article"
Summary Mode: Auto Summary
Options:
  - Response Length: Medium

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Answer

Use Answer when you need a quick, AI-generated response to a question. It automatically searches for relevant information and synthesizes an answer. Basic usage:
  1. Select Answer as the operation
  2. Enter your question
  3. Choose Output Type:
    • Text: Get a plain text answer
    • Structured JSON: Get the answer in a specific format you define
Operation: Answer
Question: "What are the main benefits of solar energy?"
Output Type: Text
Options:
  - Fast Mode: Yes (for quicker responses)

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Deep Research

Use Deep Research for thorough, comprehensive research that might take several minutes but produces detailed reports. Basic usage:
  1. Select Deep Research as the operation
  2. Enter your research query
  3. Choose a Mode:
    • Lite (5-10 min): For simpler research questions
    • Heavy (15-30 min): For complex, multi-faceted topics
The node will wait for the research to complete and return the full report. 
Operation: Deep Research
Research Query: "Analyze the electric vehicle market in Europe, including major players, market share, and growth trends"
Mode: Heavy
Options:
  - Output Formats: Markdown, PDF
  - Strategy: "Focus on data from 2023-2024. Include specific statistics and cite sources."

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Example Workflows

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Automated News Digest

Create a daily digest of news on topics you care about:
  1. Schedule Trigger → Runs every morning at 8am
  2. Valyu (Search) → Search for “AI news” with News search type
  3. Valyu (Answer) → Summarize the key stories
  4. Send Email → Email yourself the digest

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Website Content Monitor

Track changes to competitor websites:
  1. Schedule Trigger → Runs weekly
  2. Valyu (Extraction) → Extract content from competitor URLs
  3. Compare → Check against previous extraction
  4. Slack → Notify if changes detected

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Research Assistant

Build a research pipeline for market analysis:
  1. Webhook Trigger → Receive research requests
  2. Valyu (Deep Research) → Run comprehensive research
  3. Google Sheets → Save report to a spreadsheet
  4. Slack → Notify when complete with link to report

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Troubleshooting

Try restarting your n8n instance. If using Docker, restart the container.
Double-check your API key is correct. Make sure there are no extra spaces when you paste it.
Deep Research can take up to 30 minutes for Heavy mode. Make sure your n8n workflow timeout settings allow for long-running operations.
If you’re hitting rate limits, add a small delay between Valyu node executions using the Wait node.

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Resources

npm Package

View the package on npm

GitHub Repository

Source code and issues

n8n Community Nodes Docs

Official n8n documentation on installing community nodes

Valyu Discord

Get help from the community