n8n for beginners: webhooks, fields, conditions and APIs

In the recording, I use a webhook to receive information from another system. Think of a form submission or purchase notification: a request arrives and the workflow starts processing its content. Understanding it means looking at the data actually received.

Use fictional information for your first test and review the execution before adding steps. Receiving a request does not yet prove anything was saved. Distinguish the workflow's beginning from its final result, and do not expose an entry point using real data without preparing its controls.

One class example starts with an event containing many fields and selects those needed by the process, such as a name or email. This gives a recognisable structure to the information continuing through the nodes.

List the fields and explain what each is for. Also check what happens when a value is missing or its format changes. If a date arrives as text or an amount uses a different separator, resolve it before the data reaches the next tool.

A condition determines which route an execution follows. The video examples check whether information exists or a task is ready. Define exactly which question the condition answers and what happens at each output.

As an exercise, separate requests containing the necessary data from incomplete ones. Test both routes. Having a field does not make its contents valid: checking presence and validating format answer different questions.

The class presents HTTP requests as a way to connect tools through their APIs. You need the destination, method, expected data and authentication method specified by the provider.

Start with a documented test operation and inspect the response. Do not store credentials in materials you will share. Distinguish a successful response from an error, and decide how to review an execution that does not finish.

Here is an editorial exercise based on the class: receive a fictional request, select its fields, check completeness and send it to a test table. The aim is to follow one piece of data from beginning to end.

Then run three tests: a valid request, an incomplete one and one that encounters a destination error. Note what is recorded in each case. The interfaces belong to the recording's date; consult documentation for your version before copying a specific configuration.