feat: remove unnecessary 5-operation limit from n8n_update_partial_workflow

The 5-operation limit was overly conservative and unnecessary. Analysis showed:
- Workflow is cloned before modifications (no original mutation)
- All operations validated before any are applied (true atomicity)
- First error causes immediate return (no partial state possible)
- Two-pass processing handles dependencies correctly

Changes:
- Remove hard-coded 5-operation limit check from workflow-diff-engine.ts
- Update tool descriptions and documentation to reflect unlimited operations
- Add tests verifying 50 and 100+ operations work successfully
- Add example showing 26 operations in single request

The system already ensures complete transactional integrity regardless of
operation count. Bottleneck is workflow size, not operation count.

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

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/workflow-diff-examples.md

@@ -296,6 +296,193 @@ The `n8n_update_partial_workflow` tool allows you to make targeted changes to wo
 }
 ```
 
+### Example 5: Large Batch Workflow Refactoring
+Demonstrates handling many operations in a single request - no longer limited to 5 operations!
+
+```json
+{
+  "id": "workflow-batch",
+  "operations": [
+    // Add 10 processing nodes
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Filter Active Users",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
+        "position": [400, 200],
+        "parameters": { "conditions": { "boolean": [{ "value1": "={{$json.active}}", "value2": true }] } }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Transform User Data",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
+        "position": [600, 200],
+        "parameters": { "values": { "string": [{ "name": "formatted_name", "value": "={{$json.firstName}} {{$json.lastName}}" }] } }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Validate Email",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
+        "position": [800, 200],
+        "parameters": { "conditions": { "string": [{ "value1": "={{$json.email}}", "operation": "contains", "value2": "@" }] } }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Enrich with API",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
+        "position": [1000, 150],
+        "parameters": { "url": "https://api.example.com/enrich", "method": "POST" }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Log Invalid Emails",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
+        "position": [1000, 350],
+        "parameters": { "jsCode": "console.log('Invalid email:', $json.email);\nreturn $json;" }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Merge Results",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.merge",
+        "position": [1200, 250]
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Deduplicate",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.removeDuplicates",
+        "position": [1400, 250],
+        "parameters": { "propertyName": "id" }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Sort by Date",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.sort",
+        "position": [1600, 250],
+        "parameters": { "sortFieldsUi": { "sortField": [{ "fieldName": "created_at", "order": "descending" }] } }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Batch for DB",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitInBatches",
+        "position": [1800, 250],
+        "parameters": { "batchSize": 100 }
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addNode",
+      "node": {
+        "name": "Save to Database",
+        "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
+        "position": [2000, 250],
+        "parameters": { "operation": "insert", "table": "processed_users" }
+      }
+    },
+    // Connect all the nodes
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Get Users",
+      "target": "Filter Active Users"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Filter Active Users",
+      "target": "Transform User Data"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Transform User Data",
+      "target": "Validate Email"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Validate Email",
+      "sourceOutput": "true",
+      "target": "Enrich with API"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Validate Email",
+      "sourceOutput": "false",
+      "target": "Log Invalid Emails"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Enrich with API",
+      "target": "Merge Results"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Log Invalid Emails",
+      "target": "Merge Results",
+      "targetInput": "input2"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Merge Results",
+      "target": "Deduplicate"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Deduplicate",
+      "target": "Sort by Date"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Sort by Date",
+      "target": "Batch for DB"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addConnection",
+      "source": "Batch for DB",
+      "target": "Save to Database"
+    },
+    // Update workflow metadata
+    {
+      "type": "updateName",
+      "name": "User Processing Pipeline v2"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "updateSettings",
+      "settings": {
+        "executionOrder": "v1",
+        "timezone": "UTC",
+        "saveDataSuccessExecution": "all"
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addTag",
+      "tag": "production"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addTag",
+      "tag": "user-processing"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "addTag",
+      "tag": "v2"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+This example shows 26 operations in a single request, creating a complete data processing pipeline with proper error handling, validation, and batch processing.
+
 ## Best Practices
 
 1. **Use Descriptive Names**: Always provide clear node names and descriptions for operations

src/mcp/tool-docs/workflow_management/n8n-update-partial-workflow.ts

@@ -4,18 +4,18 @@ export const n8nUpdatePartialWorkflowDoc: ToolDocumentation = {
   name: 'n8n_update_partial_workflow',
   category: 'workflow_management',
   essentials: {
-    description: 'Update workflow incrementally with diff operations. Max 5 ops. Types: addNode, removeNode, updateNode, moveNode, enable/disableNode, addConnection, removeConnection, updateSettings, updateName, add/removeTag.',
+    description: 'Update workflow incrementally with diff operations. Types: addNode, removeNode, updateNode, moveNode, enable/disableNode, addConnection, removeConnection, updateSettings, updateName, add/removeTag.',
     keyParameters: ['id', 'operations'],
     example: 'n8n_update_partial_workflow({id: "wf_123", operations: [{type: "updateNode", ...}]})',
     performance: 'Fast (50-200ms)',
     tips: [
       'Use for targeted changes',
-      'Supports up to 5 operations',
+      'Supports multiple operations in one call',
       'Validate with validateOnly first'
     ]
   },
   full: {
-    description: `Updates workflows using surgical diff operations instead of full replacement. Supports 13 operation types for precise modifications. Operations are validated and applied atomically - all succeed or none are applied. Maximum 5 operations per call for safety.
+    description: `Updates workflows using surgical diff operations instead of full replacement. Supports 13 operation types for precise modifications. Operations are validated and applied atomically - all succeed or none are applied.
 
 ## Available Operations:
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export const n8nUpdatePartialWorkflowDoc: ToolDocumentation = {
       operations: { 
         type: 'array', 
         required: true, 
-        description: 'Array of diff operations. Each must have "type" field and operation-specific properties. Max 5 operations. Nodes can be referenced by ID or name.' 
+        description: 'Array of diff operations. Each must have "type" field and operation-specific properties. Nodes can be referenced by ID or name.' 
       },
       validateOnly: { type: 'boolean', description: 'If true, only validate operations without applying them' }
     },
@@ -64,12 +64,10 @@ export const n8nUpdatePartialWorkflowDoc: ToolDocumentation = {
     bestPractices: [
       'Use validateOnly to test operations',
       'Group related changes in one call',
-      'Keep operations under 5 for clarity',
       'Check operation order for dependencies'
     ],
     pitfalls: [
       '**REQUIRES N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY environment variables** - will not work without n8n API access',
-      'Maximum 5 operations per call - split larger updates',
       'Operations validated together - all must be valid',
       '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',

src/mcp/tools-n8n-manager.ts

@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ export const n8nManagementTools: ToolDefinition[] = [
   },
   {
     name: 'n8n_update_partial_workflow',
-    description: `Update workflow incrementally with diff operations. Max 5 ops. Types: addNode, removeNode, updateNode, moveNode, enable/disableNode, addConnection, removeConnection, updateSettings, updateName, add/removeTag. See tools_documentation("n8n_update_partial_workflow", "full") for details.`,
+    description: `Update workflow incrementally with diff operations. Types: addNode, removeNode, updateNode, moveNode, enable/disableNode, addConnection, removeConnection, updateSettings, updateName, add/removeTag. See tools_documentation("n8n_update_partial_workflow", "full") for details.`,
     inputSchema: {
       type: 'object',
       additionalProperties: true,  // Allow any extra properties Claude Desktop might add

src/services/workflow-diff-engine.ts

@@ -41,17 +41,6 @@ export class WorkflowDiffEngine {
     request: WorkflowDiffRequest
   ): Promise<WorkflowDiffResult> {
     try {
-      // Limit operations to keep complexity manageable
-      if (request.operations.length > 5) {
-        return {
-          success: false,
-          errors: [{
-            operation: -1,
-            message: 'Too many operations. Maximum 5 operations allowed per request to ensure transactional integrity.'
-          }]
-        };
-      }
-
       // Clone workflow to avoid modifying original
       const workflowCopy = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(workflow));
       

tests/unit/services/workflow-diff-engine.test.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { WorkflowDiffEngine } from '@/services/workflow-diff-engine';
 import { createWorkflow, WorkflowBuilder } from '@tests/utils/builders/workflow.builder';
 import {
   WorkflowDiffRequest,
+  WorkflowDiffOperation,
   AddNodeOperation,
   RemoveNodeOperation,
   UpdateNodeOperation,
@@ -60,9 +61,10 @@ describe('WorkflowDiffEngine', () => {
     baseWorkflow.connections = newConnections;
   });
 
-  describe('Operation Limits', () => {
+  describe('Large Operation Batches', () => {
-    it('should reject more than 5 operations', async () => {
+    it('should handle many operations successfully', async () => {
-      const operations = Array(6).fill(null).map((_: any, i: number) => ({
+      // Test with 50 operations
+      const operations = Array(50).fill(null).map((_: any, i: number) => ({
         type: 'updateName',
         name: `Name ${i}`
       } as UpdateNameOperation));
@@ -74,9 +76,46 @@ describe('WorkflowDiffEngine', () => {
 
       const result = await diffEngine.applyDiff(baseWorkflow, request);
 
-      expect(result.success).toBe(false);
+      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
-      expect(result.errors).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(result.operationsApplied).toBe(50);
-      expect(result.errors![0].message).toContain('Too many operations');
+      expect(result.workflow!.name).toBe('Name 49'); // Last operation wins
+    });
+
+    it('should handle 100+ mixed operations', async () => {
+      const operations: WorkflowDiffOperation[] = [
+        // Add 30 nodes
+        ...Array(30).fill(null).map((_: any, i: number) => ({
+          type: 'addNode',
+          node: {
+            name: `Node${i}`,
+            type: 'n8n-nodes-base.code',
+            position: [i * 100, 300],
+            parameters: {}
+          }
+        } as AddNodeOperation)),
+        // Update names 30 times
+        ...Array(30).fill(null).map((_: any, i: number) => ({
+          type: 'updateName',
+          name: `Workflow Version ${i}`
+        } as UpdateNameOperation)),
+        // Add 40 tags
+        ...Array(40).fill(null).map((_: any, i: number) => ({
+          type: 'addTag',
+          tag: `tag${i}`
+        } as AddTagOperation))
+      ];
+
+      const request: WorkflowDiffRequest = {
+        id: 'test-workflow',
+        operations
+      };
+
+      const result = await diffEngine.applyDiff(baseWorkflow, request);
+
+      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+      expect(result.operationsApplied).toBe(100);
+      expect(result.workflow!.nodes.length).toBeGreaterThan(30);
+      expect(result.workflow!.name).toBe('Workflow Version 29');
     });
   });