refactor: drop n8n meta + n8n-core dev deps (v2.47.2)#707
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…ectly (v2.47.2) The MCP server reads node metadata from a prebuilt SQLite database and never executes n8n nodes, so depending on the full `n8n` meta package (editor backend, task runner, queue, typeorm, AI workflow builder, etc.) was pure dev-tree overhead. The loader only needs `n8n-nodes-base` and `@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain`. Changes: - package.json: remove `n8n` and `n8n-core`, add `n8n-nodes-base` directly - scripts/update-n8n-deps.js: check each tracked package against its own `latest` dist-tag instead of deriving peer versions from the n8n meta dep - scripts/update-and-publish-prep.sh: read primary version from n8n-nodes-base, drop n8n-core from commit message bullets - src/mcp/tools-documentation.ts: compatibility notice reads from n8n-nodes-base - docs/DEPENDENCY_UPDATES.md: updated tracked packages section - CHANGELOG.md: 2.47.2 entry - data/nodes.db: rebuilt base nodes from fresh n8n-nodes-base@2.15.0, community nodes + AI documentation summaries preserved via backup/restore Impact: - 495 packages removed from dev tree (~25% reduction) - No runtime change: the published npm package has always used package.runtime.json and shipped with zero n8n deps - All 4512 unit tests pass Conceived by Romuald Członkowski - https://www.aiadvisors.pl/en Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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…ally)
Integration tests in CI revealed that dropping n8n-core from our deps
caused Merge, Slack, and other v3/V2 nodes to silently fail to load during
`npm run rebuild`. Root cause: n8n-nodes-base internally `require()`s
n8n-core in 7 of its compiled node files (Merge/v3, Slack/V2, sendAndWait
utilities, etc.) but only declares it as a devDependency. When n8n-nodes-base
is consumed via the `n8n` meta package n8n-core comes along for the ride;
consuming n8n-nodes-base directly leaves it missing.
Fix: add n8n-core back as an explicit direct dependency. Our source code
still never imports it, but the loader needs it present in node_modules
for `require('n8n-core')` in n8n-nodes-base's node files to resolve.
Net dev-tree savings drop from ~495 to ~440 packages — still the bulk of
the reduction, since the `n8n` meta package was the real bloat
(@n8n/ai-workflow-builder, bull, @n8n/typeorm, task-runner, editor backend).
- package.json: re-add n8n-core as direct dep
- scripts/update-n8n-deps.js: re-add n8n-core to trackedDeps
- scripts/update-and-publish-prep.sh: re-add n8n-core to commit message
- docs/DEPENDENCY_UPDATES.md: document why n8n-core stays
- CHANGELOG.md: update 2.47.2 notes to reflect the corrected scope
- data/nodes.db: rebuilt with full 812 base nodes, community nodes restored
Verified: 4512 unit tests + 699 integration tests pass locally.
Conceived by Romuald Członkowski - https://www.aiadvisors.pl/en
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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* refactor: drop n8n meta + n8n-core dev deps, track n8n-nodes-base directly (v2.47.2) The MCP server reads node metadata from a prebuilt SQLite database and never executes n8n nodes, so depending on the full `n8n` meta package (editor backend, task runner, queue, typeorm, AI workflow builder, etc.) was pure dev-tree overhead. The loader only needs `n8n-nodes-base` and `@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain`. Changes: - package.json: remove `n8n` and `n8n-core`, add `n8n-nodes-base` directly - scripts/update-n8n-deps.js: check each tracked package against its own `latest` dist-tag instead of deriving peer versions from the n8n meta dep - scripts/update-and-publish-prep.sh: read primary version from n8n-nodes-base, drop n8n-core from commit message bullets - src/mcp/tools-documentation.ts: compatibility notice reads from n8n-nodes-base - docs/DEPENDENCY_UPDATES.md: updated tracked packages section - CHANGELOG.md: 2.47.2 entry - data/nodes.db: rebuilt base nodes from fresh n8n-nodes-base@2.15.0, community nodes + AI documentation summaries preserved via backup/restore Impact: - 495 packages removed from dev tree (~25% reduction) - No runtime change: the published npm package has always used package.runtime.json and shipped with zero n8n deps - All 4512 unit tests pass Conceived by Romuald Członkowski - https://www.aiadvisors.pl/en Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix: restore n8n-core dependency (Merge, Slack V3 require() it internally) Integration tests in CI revealed that dropping n8n-core from our deps caused Merge, Slack, and other v3/V2 nodes to silently fail to load during `npm run rebuild`. Root cause: n8n-nodes-base internally `require()`s n8n-core in 7 of its compiled node files (Merge/v3, Slack/V2, sendAndWait utilities, etc.) but only declares it as a devDependency. When n8n-nodes-base is consumed via the `n8n` meta package n8n-core comes along for the ride; consuming n8n-nodes-base directly leaves it missing. Fix: add n8n-core back as an explicit direct dependency. Our source code still never imports it, but the loader needs it present in node_modules for `require('n8n-core')` in n8n-nodes-base's node files to resolve. Net dev-tree savings drop from ~495 to ~440 packages — still the bulk of the reduction, since the `n8n` meta package was the real bloat (@n8n/ai-workflow-builder, bull, @n8n/typeorm, task-runner, editor backend). - package.json: re-add n8n-core as direct dep - scripts/update-n8n-deps.js: re-add n8n-core to trackedDeps - scripts/update-and-publish-prep.sh: re-add n8n-core to commit message - docs/DEPENDENCY_UPDATES.md: document why n8n-core stays - CHANGELOG.md: update 2.47.2 notes to reflect the corrected scope - data/nodes.db: rebuilt with full 812 base nodes, community nodes restored Verified: 4512 unit tests + 699 integration tests pass locally. Conceived by Romuald Członkowski - https://www.aiadvisors.pl/en Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Summary
The MCP server reads node metadata from a prebuilt SQLite database and never executes n8n nodes, so depending on the full
n8nmeta package (editor backend, task runner, queue, typeorm, AI workflow builder, etc.) was pure dev-tree overhead. The loader only actually needsn8n-nodes-baseand@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchainat rebuild time.This PR:
n8n(meta) andn8n-corefrompackage.jsonn8n-nodes-baseas a direct dep (the packagesrc/loaders/node-loader.tsalreadyrequire()s)n8n-workflow(type imports only) and@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchainscripts/update-n8n-deps.jsto check each tracked package against its ownlatestdist-tag instead of deriving peer versions from the n8n meta depscripts/update-and-publish-prep.sh,src/mcp/tools-documentation.ts, anddocs/DEPENDENCY_UPDATES.mdto point atn8n-nodes-baseas the primary version referenceImpact
npm installgoes from 2674 → 2179 audited packages.package.runtime.json(8 deps, zero n8n) anddata/nodes.db. End users runningnpx n8n-mcpnever install n8n in the first place.data/nodes.dbwas rebuilt from freshn8n-nodes-base@2.15.0, then community nodes (584) and AI documentation summaries (581) were restored from a backup using the standard n8n update procedure.package.json) will now show the dev tree without the n8n meta dep's bloat — drops things likebull,@n8n/typeorm,@n8n/ai-workflow-builder,@n8n/task-runner.Why we can't drop more
n8n-workflowstays for type imports (erased at compile time, but TypeScript needs them).n8n-nodes-baseand@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchainarerequire()d by the node loader at rebuild time to extract node class metadata into SQLite. Eliminating those would require rewriting metadata extraction to parse source files statically — significant project with fragility downsides.Test plan
npm install— 495 packages removed cleanlynpm run build— cleannpm run typecheck— cleannpm run rebuild— 755 base nodes loaded + community restored = 1339 totaln8n-nodes-baseversion)search_nodes,get_node_essentials,validate_node_operationagainst a few community nodes post-mergeConceived by Romuald Członkowski - https://www.aiadvisors.pl/en