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Automate Collabin with n8n: the official community node

Published: June 14, 2026

n8n-nodes-collabin is the official n8n community node for Collabin, open source on GitHub. It wraps the REST API and webhooks you'd otherwise call by hand into drag-and-drop nodes: read and manage users, teams, leave types, leave requests and the calendar, react instantly to leave events with signature verification built in, and even hand the whole thing to an AI agent as a tool. This guide installs it, connects it to your account, and walks through both nodes end to end.

What's in the package

ItemTypeWhat it does
CollabinAction nodeRead and manage Users, Teams, Leave Types, Leaves and the Calendar via the /v1 API. Can also be used as a tool by an AI Agent node.
Collabin TriggerTrigger nodeStarts the workflow when Collabin sends a webhook (leave.created, leave.status_changed) — verifies the X-Collabin-Signature header for you.
Collabin APICredentialsStores your API key and the API base URL, shared by both nodes.

What you'll need

  • A Collabin account on the Pro plan — the external API and webhooks are Pro features.
  • Admin or Superadmin access, to generate an API key and (for the trigger) create a webhook.
  • A self-hosted n8n instance, or an n8n Cloud plan that allows installing community nodes — see n8n's community nodes documentation if you're unsure.

Step 1: Install the node

  1. In n8n, go to Settings → Community Nodes → Install.
  2. Enter n8n-nodes-collabin and confirm.
  3. Collabin and Collabin Trigger now appear in the nodes panel.

Step 2: Connect your Collabin account

  1. In the Collabin dashboard, go to Settings → API Keys and create a new key. Choose Read if you only need to fetch data, or Read & Write if you also want to create leave requests or approve/reject them from n8n.
  2. Copy the key (clb_…) — it's shown only once.
  3. Add a Collabin node (or Collabin Trigger) to a workflow, open the credential dropdown and create a new Collabin API credential:
    • API Key: the key from step 2.
    • Base URL: https://api.collabin.eu (the default — leave it as is).
  4. Click Test. A successful test calls GET /v1/leave-types with your key.

Step 3: Read and manage data with the Collabin node

The Collabin node follows n8n's familiar Resource → Operation pattern:

ResourceOperationNotes
UserGet / Get ManyGet Many can be filtered by name or email
UserGet LeavesA user's leave requests, optionally filtered by status
TeamGet / Get ManyIncludes team leaders and members
Leave TypeGet ManyYour organization's leave categories
LeaveGet / Get ManyFilter by user, status, date range, or "updated since"
LeaveCreateNew request, status PENDING — requires a write key
LeaveUpdate StatusApprove or reject a PENDING request — requires a write key
CalendarGetWorkday/holiday calendar for a date range

Two things worth knowing about:

  • Return All + Updated Since: turn on Return All on any "Get Many" operation and the node pages through the API automatically (500 records per request) until everything is fetched. Combined with the Updated Since filter on Leave → Get Many, this is the basis for an incremental sync — a Schedule Trigger that runs hourly and only pulls what changed since its last run.
  • AI Agent tool: every operation is also available as a tool. Add the Collabin node under an AI Agent node's tools, and the agent can answer questions like "How many vacation days does Jane have left this year?" — or, with a write key, act on instructions like "approve Jane's leave request for next week."

Step 4: React to events with the Collabin Trigger node

If you've read our n8n/Make webhook guide, you know that verifying the X-Collabin-Signature header normally means adding a Code node with some HMAC logic. The Collabin Trigger node does this for you — invalid or missing signatures are rejected with 401 before your workflow ever runs.

  1. Add a Collabin Trigger node to a workflow and copy its webhook URL.
  2. In the Collabin dashboard, go to Settings → Webhooks and create a new webhook:
    • URL: the n8n webhook URL from step 1.
    • Events: pick leave.created, leave.status_changed, or both.
  3. Collabin shows a signing secret once — copy it into the node's Signing Secret field.
  4. In the node's Events field, select the same events. This is a local filter: anything Collabin sends that you didn't select here is acknowledged but doesn't start the workflow.

Activate the workflow, submit a test leave request in Collabin, and the trigger fires with the full leave object — including the linked user and leave type — in data.

Example workflows

  • Slack/Teams notifications — Collabin Trigger (leave.created) → a Slack or Microsoft Teams node, so managers see new requests immediately.
  • Approve from anywhere — any trigger (a Slack command, a form, a chatbot) → Collabin node (Leave → Update Status) to approve or reject a PENDING request without opening Collabin.
  • Incremental payroll sync — Schedule Trigger → Collabin node (Leave → Get Many, Updated Since = last run, Return All) → push changes into your payroll or HRIS system.
  • HR assistant — Collabin node as an AI Agent tool, so a chat-based assistant can look up balances, teams, and pending requests on demand.

Good to know

  • Plan requirement: both the /v1 API and webhooks require the Pro plan; calling them on an ineligible plan returns 403 Forbidden.
  • Rate limit: 120 requests per minute per API key — for large exports, prefer Return All (bigger pages) over many small requests.
  • Read vs. write: Create and Update Status need a Read & Write key; everything else works with a Read key.
  • Compatibility: requires Node.js 20.15+ on the n8n instance, the standard requirement for current n8n versions.

Where to go next