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The gateway ships as a verified n8n community node, n8n-nodes-manifest. It installs from n8n’s own Community Nodes screen on n8n Cloud and on self-hosted n8n alike, and gives you two nodes:

Manifest Chat Model

A language-model sub-node. Plug it into the AI Agent or Basic LLM Chain node in place of the OpenAI Chat Model, and the gateway routes every request the agent makes.

Manifest

An action node for calling the gateway directly from a workflow: list models, create a chat completion, or create a Responses API call.
Both nodes are plain HTTP clients for the gateway. Nothing about routing, limits, or Autofix changes because the caller is n8n.

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Install the node

1

Open Community Nodes

In n8n, go to Settings > Community Nodes and select Install.
2

Enter the package name

Enter n8n-nodes-manifest, confirm the community-node notice, and install.
3

Find the nodes

Search the node panel for Manifest. The Chat Model sub-node appears where n8n lists language models, and the action node appears with the regular nodes.
The Chat Model sub-node needs an n8n version that ships @n8n/ai-node-sdk (2026 releases). The action node works on older versions.

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Create the credential

Both nodes share one Manifest API credential with two fields.
The Base URL is the origin only, without /v1. The nodes append /v1/models, /v1/chat/completions, and /v1/responses themselves. A Base URL ending in /v1 sends requests to /v1/v1/... and every call fails. Select Test on the credential. It calls GET /v1/models, so a passing test confirms that n8n can reach your instance and that the key is valid.

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Reaching a self-hosted instance from n8n

The credential test fails with a connection error when n8n cannot reach the gateway. Where the two run decides the address:
  • n8n and the gateway in Docker on the same host. localhost inside the n8n container is n8n itself. Put both containers on a shared Docker network and use the gateway service name as the host, or use http://host.docker.internal:2099 on Docker Desktop.
  • n8n on another machine. The bundled compose file binds the gateway to 127.0.0.1 only. Set HOST_BIND_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0 in the gateway’s .env, as described in Exposing on the LAN, so the port answers on the network.
  • Plain http:// is fine. The calls are server to server. The dashboard’s browser security rules do not apply to them.
The keyless loopback shortcut that a development build of the gateway accepts does not exist in the production image. n8n always needs a real mnfst_ key.

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Use the gateway behind an AI Agent

1

Add the Chat Model

On an AI Agent or Basic LLM Chain node, select the Model connector and choose Manifest Chat Model.
2

Pick the credential and model

Select the Manifest API credential. The model list is loaded from your instance. Leave it on auto to let your routing rules pick the model, or choose a model ID to pin one.
3

Run the workflow

Streaming and tool calling work as they do with the OpenAI Chat Model, so agent tools run unchanged. Each call appears on the harness’s Requests page with the model that served it and its cost.
An option on the sub-node switches it from Chat Completions to the Responses API. Leave it off unless a model you route to needs Responses.

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Call the gateway from a workflow

The Manifest action node has three operations: For a first test, choose Create Chat Completion, set Model to auto, and use these messages:
Your routing decides whether the route answers with buffered JSON or a stream. The node handles both: a buffered response is returned as the API’s JSON object, and a streamed response is collected until it finishes and returned as its parsed server-sent events. Do not set stream in Additional Body. The node ignores that field.

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Troubleshooting