YNAB

Overview

This node integrates with the YNAB (You Need A Budget) API to automate budget management tasks. Specifically, the "List Transactions" operation under the "Transactions" resource fetches a list of transactions from a specified YNAB budget. It supports filtering transactions by a starting date ("Since"), allowing users to retrieve only recent or relevant transactions.

Common scenarios where this node is beneficial include:

• Synchronizing recent financial transactions into other systems for reporting or analysis.
• Automating bookkeeping workflows by fetching updated transaction data regularly.
• Filtering transactions after a certain date to process only new entries since the last run.

For example, a user can configure this node to pull all transactions from their YNAB budget starting from January 1st, 2024, and then use that data to update a spreadsheet or trigger alerts for large expenses.

Properties

Output

The node outputs JSON data containing the transactions retrieved from the YNAB API. The structure corresponds to the API's response for listing transactions, typically including:

• An array of transaction objects, each with details such as:
  • id: Unique identifier of the transaction.
  • date: Date of the transaction.
  • amount: Amount in milliunits (e.g., 1000 = $1.00).
  • account_id: Identifier of the account associated with the transaction.
  • payee_id / payee_name: Payee information.
  • category_id: Category assigned to the transaction.
  • memo: Optional note about the transaction.
  • Other fields like cleared status, approved status, and subtransactions if any.

No binary data output is produced by this operation.

Dependencies

• Requires an active YNAB API key credential configured in n8n for authentication.
• Needs the budget ID to be specified or resolved dynamically to construct API requests.
• Uses the YNAB REST API endpoint: https://api.ynab.com/v1/budgets/{budgetId}/transactions.
• Relies on the luxon library internally for date formatting.

Troubleshooting

• Common issues:

  • Invalid or missing API key credential will cause authentication failures.
  • Incorrect or missing budget ID will result in 404 or authorization errors.
  • Providing an invalid date format for the "Since" property may cause request errors.

• Error messages:

  • Authentication errors typically indicate problems with the API key setup.
  • "Not Found" errors suggest the budget ID does not exist or is inaccessible.
  • Validation errors from the API may occur if the "Since" date is malformed; ensure it is a valid ISO date string.

To resolve these:

• Verify the API key credential is correctly configured and has necessary permissions.
• Confirm the budget ID is correct and accessible by the API key.
• Use a valid date format (ISO 8601) for the "Since" parameter.

Links and References

• YNAB API Documentation - Transactions
• YNAB Official Website
• Luxon Date Library