n8n-nodes-surna-elearning

Official n8n community node for the Surna eLearning Platform. Create and manage eLearning courses through visual workflows and AI-powered automation.

Features

✨ Two Integration Approaches:

• Surna Node: Full-featured node for manual workflow building with visual configuration
• Surna AI Tools: Tools for AI Agent nodes to enable autonomous course creation

🚀 Key Capabilities:

• Create, update, and manage courses, lessons, and content blocks
• Support for 18 block types (text, images, videos, quizzes, interactive elements)
• Batch operations for efficient multi-item creation (3+ items recommended)
• Multi-language course version management
• AI image generation and asset management
• Import/export courses as portable JSON
• Progressive tool discovery with search_tools

⚡ Performance Optimized:

• Batch operations reduce API calls by 60-90%
• Atomic transactions ensure data consistency
• Efficient tool discovery without loading all definitions

Installation

Method 1: Via n8n Community Nodes (Recommended)

1. Open your n8n instance
2. Go to Settings → Community Nodes
3. Click Install a community node
4. Enter: n8n-nodes-surna-elearning
5. Click Install

Method 2: Via npm (Manual)

# In your n8n installation directory
npm install n8n-nodes-surna-elearning

# Restart n8n

Method 3: From Source (Development)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/discoverelearning/n8n-nodes-surna-elearning.git
cd n8n-nodes-surna-elearning

# Install dependencies and build
npm install
npm run build

# Link to your n8n installation
cd /path/to/n8n/installation
npm link /path/to/n8n-nodes-surna-elearning

# Restart n8n

Setup

1. Get Your Surna API Key

1. Log in to your Surna account
2. Go to Settings → API Keys
3. Click Generate New API Key
4. Copy the API key (you won't be able to see it again!)

2. Configure Credentials in n8n

1. In your n8n workflow, add a Surna or Surna AI Tools node
2. Click Create New Credentials
3. Enter:
   • API Key: Your Surna API key
   • API URL: https://app.surna.io/api (default for production)
4. Click Save

Usage

Using the Surna Node (Visual Workflows)

The Surna node provides a visual interface for all operations:

Example 1: Create a Simple Course

[Manual Trigger]
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Course
  Operation: Create
  Title: "Employee Onboarding"
  Description: "Welcome to the team!"
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Lesson
  Operation: Create
  Course ID: {{$node["Surna"].json.id}}
  Title: "Day 1: Introduction"
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Block
  Operation: Create
  Lesson ID: {{$node["Surna1"].json.id}}
  Type: paragraph
  Content: {"text": "Welcome to your first day!"}

Example 2: Batch Create Multiple Lessons

[HTTP Request]
  Fetch course outline from external API
    ↓
[Code Node]
  Transform outline into lessons array:
  [
    {"title": "Introduction"},
    {"title": "Getting Started"},
    {"title": "Best Practices"}
  ]
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Lesson
  Operation: Batch Create
  Course ID: {{$parameter.courseId}}
  Lessons: {{$json.lessons}}

Example 3: Generate AI Image and Use in Course

[Manual Trigger]
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Asset
  Operation: Generate AI Image
  Prompt: "A friendly robot teaching in a modern classroom"
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Block
  Operation: Create
  Lesson ID: {{$parameter.lessonId}}
  Type: imageCentered
  Content: {"assetId": "{{$node["Surna"].json.id}}"}

Using Surna AI Tools (AI Agent Workflows)

Surna AI Tools enable autonomous course creation with AI agents:

Example 1: AI-Powered Course Generator

[Webhook Trigger]
  Receives: {"topic": "Fire Safety", "targetAudience": "office workers"}
    ↓
[AI Agent Node]
  Tools:
    - Surna AI Tools (select: search_tools, create_course,
      batch_create_lessons, batch_create_blocks)
  Model: Claude 3.5 Sonnet
  Prompt: "Create a comprehensive fire safety training course
          with 5 lessons covering prevention, detection, response,
          equipment, and compliance. Include text content, headings,
          and dividers."
    ↓
[Code Node]
  Extract and format course ID from agent response
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Course
  Operation: Export
  Course ID: {{$json.courseId}}
    ↓
[Send Email]
  Attachment: Course export JSON

Example 2: Content Repurposing Pipeline

[Google Drive Trigger]
  Watches: /Training Materials folder
    ↓
[Extract Text Node]
  Extract text from PDF/DOCX
    ↓
[OpenAI Node]
  Model: GPT-4
  Prompt: "Analyze this document and create a structured
          course outline with lesson titles and key topics"
    ↓
[AI Agent Node]
  Tools: Surna AI Tools
  Context: {{$node["OpenAI"].json.outline}}
  Task: "Create a Surna course based on this outline.
         Use batch operations for efficiency. Add appropriate
         headings, paragraphs, and dividers."
    ↓
[Slack Notification]
  Message: "✅ New course created: {{$json.courseTitle}}"

Example 3: Multi-Language Course Creation

[HTTP Request]
  Get master course content
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Course
  Operation: Create
  (Creates English version)
    ↓
[Loop Node]
  Items: ['fr', 'es', 'de', 'ja']
    ↓
[Surna Node]
  Resource: Language
  Operation: Create Version
  Language: {{$item}}
    ↓
[OpenAI Node]
  Translate course content to {{$item}}
    ↓
[AI Agent Node]
  Tools: Surna AI Tools (batch_update_blocks)
  Task: "Update all blocks in this language version
         with the translated content"

Available Operations

Course Operations

• Create: Create a new course
• Get: Retrieve course details
• Get All: List all courses
• Update: Update course properties
• Delete: Delete a course
• Duplicate: Duplicate course with all content
• Export: Export course to JSON
• Import: Import course from JSON
• Reorder Lessons: Change lesson order

Lesson Operations

• Create: Create a new lesson
• Batch Create: Create multiple lessons efficiently (3+)
• Get: Retrieve lesson details
• Get All: List all lessons in a course
• Update: Update lesson properties
• Delete: Delete a lesson
• Duplicate: Duplicate lesson
• Reorder Blocks: Change block order

Block Operations

• Create: Create a new content block
• Batch Create: Create multiple blocks efficiently (3+)
• Batch Update: Update multiple blocks efficiently (3+)
• Get: Retrieve block details
• Get All: List all blocks in a lesson
• Update: Update block content
• Delete: Delete a block
• Duplicate: Duplicate block
• Move Up: Move block up in order
• Move Down: Move block down in order

Asset Operations

• Get: Retrieve asset details
• Get All: List all assets
• Create From URL: Import image from URL
• Generate AI Image: Generate image from text prompt
• Update Metadata: Update caption and alt text
• Delete: Delete an asset

Language Operations

• Create Version: Create new language version
• Get All Versions: List all language versions
• Update Metadata: Update translated metadata
• Delete Version: Delete a language version

Block Types

Surna supports 18 content block types:

Text Blocks:

• paragraph - Plain text paragraph
• heading - Large heading text
• headingParagraph - Heading with paragraph combo
• list - Bulleted or numbered list

Image Blocks:

• imageCentered - Centered image with max-width
• imageFullWidth - Edge-to-edge image
• imageSideBySide - Two images side by side
• imageTextOverlay - Image with text overlay

Interactive Blocks:

• videoEmbed - Embedded video player
• tabs - Tabbed content sections
• accordion - Collapsible content
• flipCards - Interactive flip cards
• cardSort - Drag-and-drop card sorting

Assessment Blocks:

• singleChoice - Single-answer quiz
• multipleChoice - Multiple-answer quiz
• fillInBlank - Text input question

Other Blocks:

• dividerLine - Visual divider
• customButton - Call-to-action button

Batch Operations

For creating or updating 3+ items, use batch operations for better performance:

Batch Create Lessons

{
  "courseId": "course_123",
  "lessons": [
    {"title": "Introduction"},
    {"title": "Getting Started"},
    {"title": "Best Practices"}
  ]
}

Batch Create Blocks

{
  "lessonId": "lesson_456",
  "blocks": [
    {"type": "heading", "text": "Welcome"},
    {"type": "paragraph", "text": "This is lesson 1."},
    {"type": "dividerLine", "height": 2, "color": "#e5e7eb"}
  ]
}

Batch Update Blocks

{
  "updates": [
    {"blockId": "block_1", "updates": {"text": "Updated content"}},
    {"blockId": "block_2", "updates": {"paddingTop": 32}}
  ]
}

AI Tool Discovery

The search_tools tool enables progressive tool discovery:

// In AI Agent workflows
"Use search_tools to find tools for creating lessons"

// Returns relevant tools without loading all definitions
{
  "tools": [
    {"name": "create_lesson", "description": "Add a lesson to a course"},
    {"name": "batch_create_lessons", "description": "Create multiple lessons efficiently"}
  ]
}

Categories:

• courses - Course management tools
• lessons - Lesson operations
• blocks - Content block operations
• batch - Batch operations
• assets - Image and media tools
• languages - Multi-language support

Best Practices

1. Use Batch Operations for Multiple Items

❌ DON'T: Loop over 5 lessons and create individually (5 API calls)
✅ DO: Use batch_create_lessons once (1 API call)

2. Include search_tools in AI Agent Tools

Enable the agent to discover tools dynamically without
loading all tool definitions upfront

3. Set Proper Alt Text for Images

Always provide descriptive alt text for accessibility

4. Validate Block Types

Ensure block type matches available types (18 total)

5. Use Export/Import for Backups

Export courses before major changes
Store exports for version control

Troubleshooting

Error: "Invalid API Key"

• Verify API key is correct in n8n credentials
• Check API URL is https://app.surna.io/api
• Ensure API key hasn't been revoked

Error: "Block type not supported"

• Check block type spelling (case-sensitive)
• Verify type is one of the 18 supported types
• See Block Types section

Batch Operation Fails

• Ensure array is properly formatted JSON
• Validate all required fields are present
• Check for typos in field names

AI Agent Not Creating Content

• Verify Surna AI Tools node is connected
• Check correct tools are selected
• Review agent prompt clarity
• Enable "search_tools" for tool discovery

Development

Building from Source

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Run linter
npm run lint

# Fix lint issues
npm run lintfix

# Format code
npm run format

Project Structure

n8n-nodes-surna-elearning/
├── credentials/
│   └── SurnaApi.credentials.ts      # API credentials
├── nodes/
│   ├── Surna/
│   │   ├── Surna.node.ts            # Main node
│   │   ├── descriptions/            # UI field definitions
│   │   └── operations/              # Operation implementations
│   └── SurnaAiTool/
│       ├── SurnaAiTool.tool.ts      # AI Agent tool
│       └── tool-definitions.ts      # Tool schemas
├── utils/
│   └── SurnaApiClient.ts            # API client
└── package.json

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

Support

• Documentation: https://surna.io/docs
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Email: support@surna.io
• n8n Community: n8n Forum

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

Built with ❤️ by the Surna team for the n8n community.

• Surna Platform: surna.io
• n8n Workflow Automation: n8n.io

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Ready to automate your eLearning content creation? 🚀

Install the node, connect your API key, and start building intelligent course generation workflows today!