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Overview

This node integrates with the BookStack API to manage "Shelf" resources, specifically supporting the Update operation. It allows users to update the properties of an existing shelf in a BookStack instance. This is useful for scenarios where you want to rename a shelf or modify its description programmatically within an automation workflow.

For example, you might use this node to:

  • Rename a shelf after reorganizing your documentation structure.
  • Update the description of a shelf to reflect new content or purpose.
  • Automate maintenance tasks on your BookStack shelves based on external triggers.

The node supports two modes for specifying the operation:

  • Automatic mode, where a natural language request description is parsed to determine the resource and operation.
  • Manual mode, where the user explicitly selects the resource ("Shelf") and operation ("Update") and provides required parameters.

Properties

Name Meaning
Tool Description Choose how to determine the resource and operation:
- Set Automatically
- Set Manually
Request Description (Shown if Tool Description is "automatic") Describe your request in natural language; the system will parse it to select resource and operation automatically. Example: "Update the shelf named 'Documentation'".
ID The unique identifier of the shelf to update. Required for update operations.
Name The new name for the shelf. Required when updating a shelf.
Description The new description for the shelf. Optional when updating a shelf.

Output

The node outputs JSON data representing the updated shelf resource as returned by the BookStack API. The output includes all standard fields of a shelf object, such as its ID, name, description, creation date, and other metadata provided by the API.

No binary data output is produced by this node.

Example output snippet (conceptual):

{
  "id": 123,
  "name": "New Shelf Name",
  "description": "Updated description of the shelf",
  "created_at": "2023-01-01T12:00:00Z",
  ...
}

Dependencies

  • Requires connection to a BookStack instance via its API.
  • Needs an API authentication token credential configured in n8n with:
    • Base URL of the BookStack API.
    • Authorization token and secret.
  • The node uses HTTP requests authenticated with these credentials to perform operations.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing or invalid ID: The update operation requires a valid shelf ID. Ensure the ID parameter is set and corresponds to an existing shelf.
  • Authentication errors: Verify that the API token and base URL are correctly configured in the credentials.
  • Permission issues: The API token must have sufficient permissions to update shelves.
  • Malformed request descriptions (automatic mode): If using automatic mode, ambiguous or unclear descriptions may cause incorrect operation/resource detection. Use manual mode for precise control.
  • API endpoint errors: Check the BookStack API documentation for any changes or limitations on shelf updates.

Links and References

Discussion