n8n has hundreds of integrations available. In practice, though, 80% of your workflow will be built from six nodes. It's worth knowing them well before you start hunting for a dedicated integration.
Edit Fields (Set) β shapes your data. Renaming fields, type casting, default values, stripping out junk before sending to an API. The "Keep Only Set" option passes through only what you've explicitly defined β very good hygiene practice. Two modes: Manual Mapping (visual) and JSON Output (for nested structures).
IF / Switch β branching. IF gives you two outputs (true/false), Switch gives you multiple paths. Rule of thumb: if you're writing nested IFs, that's a sign you need a Switch instead.
HTTP Request β access to anything that doesn't have a ready-made integration. If a service has an API, you have a node for it. No dedicated integration is not a blocker.
Code β JavaScript or Python for situations where the UI gets in your way: looping over arrays, regex, validation, complex logic. Watch out for the two modes: "Run Once for All Items" (you get the whole list) and "Run Once for Each Item" (one item at a time). The mode you choose changes your entire code logic.
Merge β combines two workflow branches. Append (stacks one after another), Combine (matches by key β the equivalent of a JOIN), Choose Branch. Used for pulling together data from two different systems.
Loop Over Items (Split in Batches) β a loop for when you genuinely need one. Mainly for API limits: batch by 5, Wait between iterations, and only the "done" output moves on.
