MAX_NODES_EXCEEDED

MAX_NODES_EXCEEDED

Error message

Workflow has ${count} ${displayName} nodes. Maximum allowed is ${maxNodes}.

What it means

Error "Workflow has ${count} ${displayName} nodes. Maximum allowed is ${maxNodes}." thrown in n8n-io/n8n.

Source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/workflow-sdk/src/workflow-builder/plugins/validators/max-nodes-validator.ts:52

			const type = graphNode.instance.type;
			nodeCountByType.set(type, (nodeCountByType.get(type) ?? 0) + 1);
		}

		// Check each type against its maxNodes limit
		for (const [type, count] of nodeCountByType) {
			if (count <= 1) continue;

			const firstNode = [...ctx.nodes.values()].find((n) => n.instance.type === type);
			const versionRaw = firstNode?.instance.version;
			const version = parseVersion(versionRaw);

			const nodeType = provider.getByNameAndVersion(type, version);
			const maxNodes = nodeType?.description?.maxNodes;

			if (maxNodes !== undefined && count > maxNodes) {
				const displayName = nodeType?.description?.displayName ?? type;
				issues.push({
					code: 'MAX_NODES_EXCEEDED',
					message: `Workflow has ${count} ${displayName} nodes. Maximum allowed is ${maxNodes}.`,
					severity: 'error',
				});
			}
		}

		return issues;
	},
};

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/@n8n/workflow-sdk/src/workflow-builder/plugins/validators/max-nodes-validator.ts:52 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f8f8de41e64b63b0. Report an issue: GitHub.