Use Claude to map supplier files through n8n

Felix worked with a colleague using Claude Opus to build a retail data workflow through a self-hosted n8n instance. The business task was turning inconsistent supplier files into records suitable for Oracle EBS. Through MCP, Claude could inspect node configurations and run workflows while also reading reference files and checking Sheets.

The agent examined how the team converted a supplier file with thirteen columns into a forty-seven-column upload format. It identified field mappings, recognized alternate barcode names and helped build season-resolution logic. The larger workflow included file routing, extraction, merging, validation and spreadsheet output.

Debugging exposed both useful analysis and agent mistakes. Claude found cached spreadsheet column names that produced empty rows despite a success status. Its own fuzzy matching also mishandled empty barcodes until the humans described the symptom. An Apps Script race condition required the colleague to introduce a flag and teach the pattern back to Claude. Felix explicitly places the human architect in charge of production sign-off. The result was a implemented workflow with domain corrections, not a fully unattended migration.

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Source: dev.to · Felix