n8n-io/n8n · error · Error

Credential creation failed: ${res.status} ${text}

Error message

Credential creation failed: ${res.status} ${text}

What it means

Thrown inside the createCredential callback (registered on the ToolContext) when the gateway credential creation endpoint returns a non-OK response. This happens during tool execution when a tool needs to create an OAuth credential through the n8n instance's /rest/instance-ai/gateway/credentials endpoint.

Source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/computer-use/src/gateway-client.ts:478

			dir: this.dir,
			secretsBuffer: {
				capture: (k: string, f: string, v: string) => session.captureSecret(k, f, v),
				getFields: (k: string) => session.getSecretFields(k),
				clear: (k: string) => session.clearSecrets(k),
			},
			createCredential: async (payload: CreateCredentialPayload) => {
				const url = `${instanceUrl}/rest/instance-ai/gateway/credentials`;
				const headers = new Headers();
				headers.set('Content-Type', 'application/json');
				headers.set('X-Gateway-Key', gatewayKey);
				const res = await fetch(url, {
					method: 'POST',
					headers,
					body: JSON.stringify(payload),
				});
				if (!res.ok) {
					const text = await res.text();
					throw new Error(`Credential creation failed: ${res.status} ${text}`);
				}
				const body = (await res.json()) as { data: { credentialId: string } };
				return { credentialId: body.data.credentialId };
			},
		};

		const resources = await def.getAffectedResources(typedArgs, context);
		await this.checkPermissions(resources, decision);

		return await def.execute(typedArgs, context);
	}

	private async checkPermissions(
		resources: AffectedResource[],
		decision?: ResourceDecision,
	): Promise<void> {
		const { session, confirmResourceAccess, config } = this.options;

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

Solutions

1. Check the status code and response text in the error message
2. Use a unique credential name to avoid 409 conflicts
3. Verify the CreateCredentialPayload fields match the expected schema
4. Re-pair the gateway if the key expired during the session

function isCredentialCreationError(e: unknown): boolean {
  return e instanceof Error && e.message.startsWith('Credential creation failed:');
}

try {
  const { credentialId } = await context.createCredential!(payload);
  return credentialId;
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message.startsWith('Credential creation failed:')) {
    const status = parseInt(e.message.match(/\d{3}/)?.[0] ?? '0');
    if (status === 409) {
      throw new Error('Credential name already exists. Use a unique name.');
    }
    throw new Error(`Failed to create credential: ${e.message}`);
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Gateway credential endpoint returns 400 (invalid credential payload, missing required fields), 401/403 (gateway key expired during tool execution), 409 (credential name already exists), 500 (server-side credential store error).

Common situations: Duplicate credential name, invalid OAuth2 app configuration in the payload, gateway key expired mid-session, n8n credential encryption key misconfigured on the server.

Related errors

• Gateway rejected token: ${status} ${body}
• Failed to upload capabilities: ${response.status} ${text}
• LangSmithTelemetry creates its own tracer — do not use .otlp
• No suspended run found for runId: ${this.runId}
• Invalid resume payload: ${parseResult.error}

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/02bac56bb5140fb5. Report an issue: GitHub.