Give your n8n workflows the customer record behind the trigger.

n8n runs your automations on a schedule or a trigger. Add Pathbound as a remote MCP server and an n8n AI Agent can read the contact, company, timeline, and recent activity behind a new signup, a quiet account, or a support event before it acts.

Why connect it

The workflow reads the customer, not a single row.

n8n is built to move data between the tools you run. Pathbound gives an n8n AI Agent one resolved customer record to read first, with identities matched across the sources you have connected, through one remote MCP server. MCP is the open protocol agents use to call tools.

Connect

Connect Pathbound to n8n.

This path uses n8n’s built-in MCP Client Tool, the sub-node you attach to an AI Agent node. No community node is required.

  1. Create a read-only Pathbound key

    In Pathbound, open REST API keys and create a key with contacts:read, companies:read, and events:read. Leave write and action scopes off.

  2. Store the key as an n8n credential

    In n8n, create a Bearer Auth credential and paste the key as the token. n8n keeps it in its credential store, apart from the workflow itself.

    n8n · Bearer Auth token
    sk_your_api_key
  3. Add the MCP Client Tool to your AI Agent

    On your AI Agent node, add an MCP Client Tool. Set Server Transport to HTTP Streamable, enter the Pathbound endpoint, and select the Bearer credential. Set Tools to Include to the read tools the workflow needs.

    Endpoint
    https://mcp.pathbound.ai/mcp
  4. Run it once against a known customer

    Execute the node with one account you can check. A prompt like “Summarize Acme from Pathbound and list everything from the last seven days, with the source and date” should return the record. Confirm it matches your dashboard before you put the workflow on a schedule.

n8n’s MCP Client Tool reference covers transport, authentication, and tool selection. Use a recent n8n version — HTTP Streamable is the current transport and SSE is deprecated.

What you can build

Three workflows to start with.

Each one runs an n8n AI Agent over the Pathbound record, so the automation reads the resolved customer before it decides what to do.

More patterns live in the use-case recipes. Start read-only, then add a single write step once the read side is right.

Access

Keep the first connection read-only.

An n8n workflow can run without a person watching. Treat what the agent can read and what it can change as separate decisions.

In Pathbound

Use the smallest API key scope that serves the job. Rotate or revoke the key from the Pathbound dashboard. A key without actions:write receives no action tools.

In n8n

Store the key as a credential, never in workflow parameters. Limit who can edit the workflow and its credentials, and keep the first version read-only before you schedule it.

n8n and Pathbound.

Can Pathbound connect directly to n8n?

Yes. n8n’s MCP Client Tool consumes a remote MCP server. Point it at https://mcp.pathbound.ai/mcp over HTTP Streamable, authenticate with a scoped Pathbound API key, and attach it to your AI Agent node.

Do I need a community MCP node?

No. The MCP Client Tool ships with n8n, and Pathbound already exposes its tools over MCP. Older community nodes exist, but the built-in tool covers this connection.

Should I use HTTP Streamable or SSE?

Use HTTP Streamable. Pathbound serves the current Streamable HTTP transport, and n8n’s SSE option is deprecated. If the agent reports connection errors or a retry loop while HTTP Streamable is selected, update n8n — some 2026 builds shipped a transport-selection bug — and confirm the endpoint ends in /mcp.

Why an API key instead of OAuth?

A scoped key is predictable for an unattended workflow and can stay read-only. The MCP Client Tool also supports OAuth2 when each run should carry a person’s own Pathbound identity and permissions.

Can n8n write back through Pathbound?

Only when the key includes the required write scopes and the connected source allows the tool. Keep the first workflow read-only. Governed write-back is rolling out; versioning and rollback are not live yet.

Related
Try it on your own data

Within five minutes, your agent is querying real customer context.

Sign up, connect one CRM or drop the events snippet, and point your MCP client at mcp.pathbound.ai/mcp.