During the Awesomate Hub onboarding flow, you may see the error "Verification failed — We couldn't reach your n8n instance" when trying to connect your n8n instance. This article explains why this happens and walks you through how to recover the connection, including what to do if you've already clicked "I've Added It".

Why this error happens

The verification step needs to reach your n8n instance using an API key. The error usually appears for one of the following reasons:

  • The API key hadn't been created yet, or wasn't entered before you clicked to verify.
  • The API key was entered incorrectly (for example, an extra space, a missing character, or a copy-and-paste error).
  • A temporary issue meant the endpoint we were trying to reach didn't respond in time.

In most cases this is straightforward to fix by checking your API key and retrying.

How to fix it

  1. Double-check the API key you entered. Make sure it matches your n8n instance API key exactly, with no extra spaces or missing characters.
  2. Re-enter the API key if there's any doubt, then retry the verification.
  3. If you see "Verification failed" again, wait around one minute and then retry. This clears most temporary endpoint issues.
  4. If verification still fails after retrying, take a screenshot or record a quick Loom of what you're seeing and send it to hello@awesomate.ai. Our team will troubleshoot the issue with you.

If you've already clicked "I've Added It"

If you clicked "I've Added It" to move past the onboarding step but the connection didn't complete, you don't need to start over. You can finish connecting your n8n instance directly from your Hub settings.

  1. Log in to the Awesomate Hub.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Open Manage your n8n connection.
  4. Enter or re-enter your API key, making sure it's correct.
  5. Verify the connection. If it fails, wait about one minute and retry, following the steps in the section above.

Still stuck?

If you've checked your API key, retried after waiting a minute, and verification continues to fail, send a screenshot or Loom recording to hello@awesomate.ai and we'll help you get connected.