VantegrateNative API integrationIntegrate n8n with Salesforceand with AI agents
n8n is a source-available (fair-code) workflow automation platform. With its Salesforce node, Vantegrate's AI agents read and write your org over OAuth 2.0, run SOQL queries and trigger workflows through webhooks. Your data keeps living in your Salesforce instance.
How the data flows
What does it mean to integrate n8n with Salesforce and Vantegrate's AI agents?
Integrating n8n with Salesforce means orchestrating workflows that read and write in your org: the Salesforce node creates, updates and queries leads, accounts, contacts, opportunities and cases, and runs SOQL queries on standard and custom objects. The connection uses OAuth 2.0 through an app registered in your org. Add n8n's AI Agent node, and a Vantegrate agent decides which action to run and works on your org inside the workflow.
That is different from a standalone script that copies data in batches. n8n works with the current data in your org on every run, whether a webhook, a schedule or an on-demand call starts it, and logs the result where it belongs. Your CRM data stays in your Salesforce instance: the workflow reads and updates it without taking it anywhere.
What do you want to connect to your n8n?
Pick what you need and we'll write the message for you.
1 · Pick what to solve
2 · What our team receives
Vantegrate
online
What data moves between n8n and your org
The n8n workflow works on your Salesforce objects at run time: it reads the current data to decide, and creates or updates records where they belong, with the permissions of the connection.
Leads, accounts, contacts and opportunities
The Salesforce node creates, updates, upserts and queries records in your standard and custom objects: a new lead comes in qualified, an opportunity moves to its next stage, an account gets a new note.
SOQL queries and cases
The workflow runs SOQL queries to pull exactly the data it needs, and works on cases, tasks and related records to automate the follow-up.
Events and triggers
With the Salesforce Trigger node (On Created and On Updated events) and the webhook nodes, a change in your org starts the agent's workflow without anyone entering it by hand.
How the integration works, step by step
Vantegrate designs the workflows and puts them into production. Your team authorizes the connection, validates the workflows and starts using them.
Connection over OAuth 2.0
We connect n8n's Salesforce node to your org over OAuth 2.0 with an app registered in your org, and n8n's public API with its API key. No shared admin credentials.
Workflow design
We build the visual workflow: which objects it reads and writes, which SOQL queries it runs and which nodes handle each step of the automation.
Triggers and the AI agent
We set up the webhooks and the Salesforce Trigger that start the workflow, and expose the Salesforce node to n8n's AI Agent node when the use case needs an agent.
Validation with real data
We test with real data from your org, validate with your IT and compliance teams, and roll out in phases.
The Salesforce node versus a standalone script
Not every way of connecting Salesforce to your automations works the same. A standalone script usually copies data to another system, runs in batches and returns the result later, and that is where delays, duplicates and stale data show up. n8n's Salesforce node works against your org's standard APIs over OAuth 2.0 and respects its data model, its profiles and its permissions.
The difference shows on every run: the workflow checks the current state of the record before acting, and the result lands in your org at that moment, not on the sync job's next pass. n8n can also be self-hosted on your own infrastructure, so control over the data and the runs stays on your side.
| Dimension | Standalone script | n8n with the Salesforce node |
|---|---|---|
| Connection | Broad credentials in the code | OAuth 2.0 (External Client App or Connected App), standard APIs |
| Sync | In batches, with a delay | On every run, with current data |
| Queries | Written by hand, brittle | SOQL plus the node's CRUD operations |
| Triggers | A standalone cron job | Webhooks plus the Salesforce Trigger |
| Hosting | Your own server, no audit trail | Self-hosted or n8n Cloud, a workflow you can version |
Comparison of integration patterns; the exact scope is defined with your team based on your org and your n8n instance.
Your data stays in your instance: n8n reads and updates your org through the API, with the permissions the connection authorizes. If you self-host it, the workflows run on your own infrastructure, without taking the information out of your environment.
The two APIs involved
Two separate layers live side by side in an n8n integration, and it pays to keep them apart. n8n's own public API is a REST API with JSON responses, documented with OpenAPI 3.0, and it authenticates with an API key sent in the X-N8N-API-KEY header; it manages your instance's workflows, executions, credentials, users and tags.
The second layer is the connection to external apps such as Salesforce, which n8n handles with its credentials: the Salesforce node connects over OAuth 2.0 through an app registered in your org. For a new integration, n8n's documentation recommends an External Client App, because Salesforce is deprecating Connected Apps in its favor; existing Connected Apps keep working. They are separate things: n8n's public API uses its API key, while the connection to your org uses OAuth 2.0. Vantegrate sets up both with the minimum permissions the use case needs.
- n8n public API: REST and JSON, OpenAPI 3.0, API key authentication in the X-N8N-API-KEY header (workflows, executions, credentials).
- Connection to Salesforce: OAuth 2.0 with an External Client App or a Connected App, to read and write in your org.
- Inbound triggers: webhook nodes and the Salesforce Trigger; output to any API through the HTTP Request node.
You've seen how it connects. Want to walk through your case?
Tell us how your n8n is set up and we'll tell you what data we need and where the agent connects.
An agent connected to your n8n vs. a standalone tool
| Standalone AI tool | Agent connected to your n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | A copy that drifts | Your source of truth, live |
| Where your data lives | In a third-party system | In your environment, encrypted end to end |
| Result of each operation | Stuck in another app | Written back to your n8n |
| Permissions and audit | Broad and hard to audit | Least-privilege scope and an audit trail |
| Reaching production | Often stalls as a pilot | Validated, phased rollout |
Why orchestrate your org with workflows and agents
Third-party figures, each with its published source, to size the context. None of them is a Vantegrate result.
500+
Integrations with ready-made nodes that n8n offers to connect apps, APIs and data, according to n8n itself
95%
Of generative AI pilots never reach production with measurable business impact
The integration count is the one n8n reports, and it grows from one version to the next, so read it as approximate.
Which agents run on your n8n workflows
The Vantegrate agent is exposed as a step in the n8n workflow: it works with your org's data at run time and logs the result where it belongs.
The integration doesn't take your data anywhere
The principle is simple: AI comes to your data, not your data to the AI. The n8n workflow reads and updates your org over OAuth 2.0, with the permissions you authorize, and if you self-host it, it runs on your own infrastructure.
- Connection to Salesforce over OAuth 2.0 with an app registered in your org, with no shared admin credentials.
- The workflow reads and updates your org with least-privilege permissions; the data stays in your Salesforce instance.
- n8n can be self-hosted (Docker or a VPS), which gives you full control over the data and the runs.
- Vantegrate's agents run on Salesforce or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, whose SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications belong to those platforms, not to Vantegrate or your n8n instance.
Frequently asked questions about the n8n integration
What technical and sales teams usually ask before orchestrating Salesforce with n8n workflows.
How do I integrate n8n with Salesforce?
How do I integrate n8n with Salesforce?
With n8n's Salesforce node, which connects to your org over OAuth 2.0 through an External Client App or a Connected App. The node creates, updates, upserts and queries leads, accounts, contacts, opportunities and cases, and runs SOQL queries on standard and custom objects. Vantegrate designs the workflow and puts it into production; your team authorizes the connection, validates the workflow and starts using it. Learn about the sales agent in Sellium.
What operations can the Salesforce node run in n8n?
What operations can the Salesforce node run in n8n?
CRUD operations on standard and custom objects (create, update, upsert, delete, get), plus adding notes, adding leads to campaigns, handling cases and tasks, and running SOQL queries. With the Salesforce Trigger, an On Created or On Updated event in your org starts the workflow. The operations available depend on the node's version.
How does the integration authenticate: OAuth or an API key?
How does the integration authenticate: OAuth or an API key?
It depends on the layer. The connection to Salesforce uses OAuth 2.0 through an app registered in your org. n8n's own public API (to manage workflows and executions) uses an API key in the X-N8N-API-KEY header. They are separate things; Vantegrate sets up both with the minimum permissions the use case needs.
Is n8n free, and can I self-host it?
Is n8n free, and can I self-host it?
n8n is source-available (fair-code), not open source in the OSI sense: the self-hosted version runs on your own infrastructure (Docker or a VPS), without taking the data out of your environment. n8n Cloud is also available as a paid service. Check n8n's official site for the current plans and prices, because they change.
Salesforce integration
How the AI agents read and write your org over OAuth 2.0, in real time.
Learn moreAll integrations
The full map: the CRMs, ERPs and tools the AI agents connect to.
Learn moreAI agents for enterprises
The full Vantegrate suite: sales, marketing, documents, data and logistics.
Learn moreLet's connect n8n to your Salesforce
Tell us what you want to automate and we'll show you how the workflow looks: which objects the Salesforce node reads and writes, which permissions we request and where the AI agent comes in. A 30-minute conversation, no commitment.
Francisco Morales, co-founder, takes your call. We reply on WhatsApp within 4 business hours, no strings attached.
