Needle RAG Integration for n8n: Supercharge Workflows with AI
Connect Needle with n8n. Build automated workflows with semantic search, file management, and AI-powered knowledge discovery.
Key Takeaways
- Needle integrates as a custom node for self-hosted n8n, enabling RAG-powered workflow automation in under 5 minutes.
- Employees spend an average of 1.8 hours per day searching for information - Needle's semantic search eliminates this waste.
- The integration supports collection management, semantic search, and file management directly inside n8n workflows.
- Real-world use cases include automated customer support, smart document indexing, and AI-powered sales enablement.
What Is Needle AI?
Needle is a Knowledge Threading™ platform that finds information across your company's documents in seconds. According to McKinsey research, employees spend 1.8 hours every day - 9.3 hours per week - just searching for information. Needle eliminates this waste by indexing your documents and enabling semantic search powered by RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). Instead of keyword matching, Needle understands meaning, so queries like "What was our Q3 churn rate?" return precise answers even when the exact phrase doesn't appear in your docs.
What the n8n Integration Unlocks
Needle now integrates as a custom node for n8n (self-hosted). This means you can embed RAG-powered knowledge retrieval directly into any n8n workflow - no custom code required. The integration exposes four core capabilities:
| Capability | What It Does | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Collection Management | List, create, and manage document collections | Auto-create a collection per client project |
| Semantic Search | Search across all indexed documents by meaning | Find relevant SOPs when a support ticket arrives |
| File Management | Add, remove, and update files in collections | Index new Google Drive uploads automatically |
| Workflow Automation | Chain Needle nodes with 400+ n8n integrations | Trigger Slack alerts when search finds matches |
Real-World Use Cases
Here are three production-ready workflows teams are building with Needle + n8n:
1. Automated Customer Support
When a new support ticket arrives (via Zendesk, Intercom, or email), n8n triggers a Needle semantic search across your knowledge base. Needle returns the top 3–5 relevant document chunks, which feed into an AI node that drafts a response. The reply is posted to Slack or sent directly to the customer. Teams using this workflow report 60–70% fewer manual lookups per ticket.
2. Smart Document Indexing
A Google Drive or Notion trigger watches for new or updated files. When changes are detected, n8n automatically adds the file to the appropriate Needle collection. Your team always has instant semantic access to the latest documents - no manual uploads required.
3. AI-Powered Sales Enablement
A CRM trigger (HubSpot, Salesforce) fires when a new deal is created. n8n passes the prospect's industry and pain points to Needle, which searches case studies and product docs. The results feed an AI node that generates a personalized outreach email - ready in seconds instead of 20+ minutes of manual research.
How to Set Up Needle + n8n (Self-Hosted)
Installation takes under 5 minutes. Follow these 4 steps:
- Step 1 - Install pnpm: Run
npm install -g pnpmif you don't already have it. - Step 2 - Navigate to custom nodes directory: Run
cd ~/.n8n/custom/(create the folder if it doesn't exist). - Step 3 - Install the Needle node package: Run
pnpm add @needle-ai/needle-n8n-nodes. - Step 4 - Start n8n: Run
n8n start. The Needle node will appear in the node palette, ready to use.
Summary
The Needle + n8n integration brings RAG-powered semantic search into n8n's 400+ node ecosystem. It lets teams automate knowledge-heavy workflows - customer support, document indexing, sales enablement - without writing custom code. Setup takes under 5 minutes on a self-hosted n8n instance. If your team spends hours searching for information or manually connecting knowledge to workflows, this integration eliminates that bottleneck.
Want this in n8n cloud? Upvote our thread! Check the GitHub repository or visit Needle AI.
