fix: add string normalization for special characters in node names

Fixes #270

## Problem
Connection operations (addConnection, removeConnection, etc.) failed when node
names contained special characters like apostrophes, quotes, or backslashes.

Default n8n Manual Trigger node: "When clicking 'Execute workflow'" caused:
- Error: "Source node not found: \"When clicking 'Execute workflow'\""
- Node shown in available nodes list but string matching failed
- Users had to use node IDs as workaround

## Root Cause
The `findNode()` method in WorkflowDiffEngine performed exact string matching
without normalization. When node names contained special characters, escaping
differences between input strings and stored node names caused match failures.

## Solution
### 1. String Normalization (Primary Fix)
Added `normalizeNodeName()` helper method:
- Unescapes single quotes: \' → '
- Unescapes double quotes: \" → "
- Unescapes backslashes: \\ → \
- Normalizes whitespace

Updated `findNode()` to normalize both search string and node names before
comparison, while preserving exact UUID matching for node IDs.

### 2. Improved Error Messages
Enhanced validation error messages to show:
- Node IDs (first 8 characters) for quick reference
- Available nodes with both names and ID prefixes
- Helpful tip about using node IDs for special characters

### 3. Comprehensive Tests
Added 6 new test cases covering:
- Apostrophes (default Manual Trigger scenario)
- Double quotes
- Backslashes
- Mixed special characters
- removeConnection with special chars
- updateNode with special chars

All tests passing: 116/116 in workflow-diff-engine.test.ts

### 4. Documentation
Updated tool documentation to note:
- Special character support since v2.15.6
- Node IDs preferred for best compatibility

## Affected Operations
All 8 operations using findNode() now support special characters:
- addConnection, removeConnection, updateConnection
- removeNode, updateNode, moveNode
- enableNode, disableNode

## Testing
Validated with n8n-mcp-tester agent:
 addConnection with apostrophes works
 Default Manual Trigger name works
 Improved error messages show IDs
 Double quotes handled correctly
 Node IDs work as alternative

## Impact
- Fixes common user pain point with default n8n node names
- Backward compatible (only makes matching MORE permissive)
- Minimal performance impact (normalization only during validation)
- Centralized fix (one method fixes all 8 operations)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
czlonkowski
2025-10-05 16:05:19 +02:00
parent 1c56eb0daa
commit 4f81962953
4 changed files with 295 additions and 14 deletions

View File

@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@ Add **ignoreErrors: true** to removeConnection operations to prevent failures wh
'continueOnError breaks atomic guarantees - use with caution',
'Order matters for dependent operations (e.g., must add node before connecting to it)',
'Node references accept ID or name, but name must be unique',
'Node names with special characters (apostrophes, quotes) work correctly since v2.15.6 (Issue #270 fixed)',
'For best compatibility, prefer node IDs over names when dealing with special characters',
'Use "updates" property for updateNode operations: {type: "updateNode", updates: {...}}',
'cleanStaleConnections removes ALL broken connections - cannot be selective',
'replaceConnections overwrites entire connections object - all previous connections lost'