n8n-binary-and-data
Handle n8n files and binary data across uploads, downloads, transforms, multimodal inputs, agent tools, and chat surfaces.
Profile →npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill n8n-binary-and-data --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# n8n Binary and Data ## When to Use Use this skill when an n8n workflow reads, transforms, stores, uploads, downloads, or transmits files and binary fields, including multimodal agent inputs and chat attachments. Treat uploaded files and generated URLs as potentially sensitive. Obtain approval before sending data to a new external host, use the narrowest retention and access scope available, avoid logging bytes or base64 payloads, and do not embed credentials in URLs or workflow fields. Every n8n item carries two independent slots: `$json` for structured data and `$binary` for file bytes. They travel side by side through the workflow. File contents — the actual PDF, image, or zip — live in `$binary`, never in `$json`. Get that split wrong and you read an empty field, lose a file mid-flow, or hand an AI agent a tool input it can't use. This skill covers where binary lives, how to read and write it, how to keep it from being silently stripped, the hard wall between binary and the AI-agent tool boundary, and why chat surfaces need a URL instead of raw bytes. --- ## The three rules that prevent 90% of binary bugs 1. **File contents are in `$binary`, not `$json`.** After an HTTP downlo
- When to Use
- The three rules that prevent 90% of binary bugs
- The two slots
- Producing binary
- Reading and writing binary in a Code node
- Keeping binary alive across transforms
- The agent-tool binary boundary
- The CDN requirement for chat surfaces
- What's NOT available
- Where Data Tables live
- Anti-patterns
- Reference files
- Integration with Other Skills
- Verifying binary survived
What does the n8n-binary-and-data skill do?
Handle n8n files and binary data across uploads, downloads, transforms, multimodal inputs, agent tools, and chat surfaces.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill n8n-binary-and-data --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, a repository with 44,414 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.