n8n: The Workflow Looked Finished and Never Ran. Save vs Execute vs Publish, Explained

Description and use

<p>Here's a story I hear in some form almost every week.</p> <p>A made-up bookkeeping office builds an n8n workflow on Friday. New-client intake forms go to a webhook, the details land in a Google Sheet, and the office manager gets an email. They test it. Row 2 fills in perfectly. Everyone goes home happy.</p> <p>On Monday, three new clients have filled in the form. The sheet is empty. Nobody got an email. One client has already called to ask whether the form worked.</p> <p>Nothing was broken. The workflow was never published.</p> <h2> What "publish" means in n8n </h2> <p>Publishing a workflow

Problem

<p>Here's a story I hear in some form almost every week.</p> <p>A made-up bookkeeping office builds an n8n workflow on Friday. New-client intake forms go to a webhook, the details land in a Google Sheet, and the office manager gets an email. They test it. Row 2 fills in perfectly. Everyone goes home happy.</p> <p>On Monday, three new clients have filled in the form. The sheet is empty. Nobody got an email. One client has already called to ask whether the form worked.</p> <p>Nothing was broken. The workflow was never published.</p> <h2> What "publish" means in n8n </h2> <p>Publishing a workflow

Outcome

<p>Here's a story I hear in some form almost every week.</p> <p>A made-up bookkeeping office builds an n8n workflow on Friday. New-client intake forms go to a webhook, the details land in a Google Sheet, and the office manager gets an email. They test it. Row 2 fills in perfectly. Everyone goes home happy.</p> <p>On Monday, three new clients have filled in the form. The sheet is empty. Nobody got an email. One client has already called to ask whether the form worked.</p> <p>Nothing was broken. The workflow was never published.</p> <h2> What "publish" means in n8n </h2> <p>Publishing a workflow

Evidence

n8n: The Workflow Looked Finished and Never Ran. Save vs Execute vs Publish, Explained

Source