How to Use Static Data in n8n to Persist State Between Executions

1// Get the global static data object
2const staticData = $getWorkflowStaticData('global');
3
4// Read a value (undefined on first run)
5const lastRun = staticData.lastRunAt;
6
7// Write a value (saved automatically at end of execution)
8staticData.lastRunAt = new Date().toISOString();
9staticData.executionCount = (staticData.executionCount || 0) + 1;
10
11return [{
12  json: {
13    lastRun: lastRun || 'First execution',
14    currentRun: staticData.lastRunAt,
15    totalExecutions: staticData.executionCount
16  }
17}];

1// Get node-specific static data
2const nodeData = $getWorkflowStaticData('node');
3
4// This data is isolated to this specific node
5nodeData.processedIds = nodeData.processedIds || [];
6
7// Track processed items
8const items = $input.all();
9const newItems = [];
10
11for (const item of items) {
12  if (!nodeData.processedIds.includes(item.json.id)) {
13    nodeData.processedIds.push(item.json.id);
14    newItems.push(item);
15  }
16}
17
18return newItems.length > 0 ? newItems : [{ json: { message: 'No new items' } }];

1const staticData = $getWorkflowStaticData('global');
2staticData.processedIds = staticData.processedIds || [];
3
4const items = $input.all();
5const newItems = [];
6
7for (const item of items) {
8  const id = item.json.id;
9  
10  if (!staticData.processedIds.includes(id)) {
11    staticData.processedIds.push(id);
12    newItems.push(item);
13  }
14}
15
16// Keep only the last 1000 IDs to prevent unbounded growth
17if (staticData.processedIds.length > 1000) {
18  staticData.processedIds = staticData.processedIds.slice(-1000);
19}
20
21return newItems.length > 0
22  ? newItems
23  : [{ json: { message: 'All items already processed', skipped: items.length } }];

1const staticData = $getWorkflowStaticData('global');
2
3// Get the last processed timestamp (default to 24 hours ago)
4const lastProcessed = staticData.lastProcessedAt
5  || new Date(Date.now() - 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
6
7// Use this timestamp in your API call or query
8// For example, set this as a parameter in the HTTP Request node:
9// URL: https://api.example.com/records?since={{ $json.since }}
10
11const items = $input.all();
12
13if (items.length > 0) {
14  // Find the most recent timestamp from the results
15  const timestamps = items.map(i => new Date(i.json.createdAt).getTime());
16  const maxTimestamp = new Date(Math.max(...timestamps)).toISOString();
17  
18  // Update static data for next run
19  staticData.lastProcessedAt = maxTimestamp;
20}
21
22return [{
23  json: {
24    since: lastProcessed,
25    itemsFound: items.length,
26    nextRunWillFetchFrom: staticData.lastProcessedAt || lastProcessed
27  }
28}];

1// Clear all global static data
2const staticData = $getWorkflowStaticData('global');
3
4// Option 1: Delete specific keys
5delete staticData.lastProcessedAt;
6delete staticData.processedIds;
7delete staticData.executionCount;
8
9// Option 2: Clear all keys
10for (const key of Object.keys(staticData)) {
11  delete staticData[key];
12}
13
14return [{
15  json: {
16    message: 'Static data cleared',
17    clearedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
18    remainingKeys: Object.keys(staticData)
19  }
20}];