n8n-nodes-surna-elearning

![npm version](https://www.npmjs.com/package/n8n-nodes-surna-elearning)
![License: MIT](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

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
- AI Agent integration via Surna Tools node with comprehensive operation support

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

Installation

$3

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

$3

bash

In your n8n installation directory

npm install n8n-nodes-surna-elearning



Restart n8n

$3

bash

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



$3



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!)



$3



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



$3



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}}"}





$3



Surna AI Tools enable autonomous course creation with AI agents. The Surna Tools node provides a comprehensive set of operations that AI agents can discover and use dynamically via the

search_tools

 operation.



Key Features:

- AI agents can discover available tools and their parameters using

search_tools



- Automatic parameter validation with helpful error messages

- Support for all course, lesson, block, asset, and language operations

- Batch operations for efficient multi-item creation



#### Example 1: AI-Powered Course Generator



[Webhook Trigger]

  Receives: {"topic": "Fire Safety", "targetAudience": "office workers"}

    ↓

[AI Agent Node]

  Tools:

    - Surna AI Tools (select: 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



$3

- 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



$3

- 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 All Lessons: Change lesson order in a course



$3

- 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

- Reorder All Blocks: Change order of all blocks in a lesson



$3

- Get: Retrieve asset details

- Get All: List all assets

- Create From URL: Import image from URL

- Generate AI Image: Generate image from text prompt

- Generate AI Narration: Generate narration audio asset from text/SSML

- Get Saved Voices: List saved ElevenLabs voices configured in Surna

- Replace Asset File: Replace an existing asset while keeping the same ID

- Update Metadata: Update caption and alt text

- Delete: Delete an asset



$3

- 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 (text

 field holds the heading)
-

headingParagraph

 - Heading with paragraph combo
-

list - Bulleted or numbered list

Image Blocks: -imageCentered- Centered image with max-width -imageFullWidth- Edge-to-edge image -imageSideBySide - Image with text beside it (assetId, alt, text; optional caption/layout/imageWidthPercent) -imageTextOverlay - Image with text overlay (overlayText plus overlayPosition) Interactive Blocks: -videoEmbed- Embedded video player -tabs - Tabbed content sections (items = { id, title, content } with contentfor the tab body) -accordion - Collapsible content (items = { id, title, content } with contentfor the expanded text) -flipCards - Interactive flip cards (cards[{ id, frontText, backText }]) -cardSort - Drag-and-drop card sorting (requires categories[{ id, label }] for headers — max 3 — and cards[{ id, text, correctCategoryId }]) Assessment Blocks: -singleChoice- Single-answer quiz -multipleChoice- Multiple-answer quiz -fillInBlank - Text input question (question must include ; acceptedAnswers uses string[] for one blank or string[][] for multiple; include caseSensitive, feedback, allowRetries) Other Blocks: -dividerLine- Visual divider -customButton - Call-to-action button (buttonTextis the label)

`Batch Operations`





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



$3

json

{

  "courseId": "course_123",

  "lessons": [

    {"title": "Introduction"},

    {"title": "Getting Started"},

    {"title": "Best Practices"}

  ]

}

$3

json

{

  "lessonId": "lesson_456",

  "blocks": [

    {"type": "heading", "text": "Welcome"},

    {"type": "paragraph", "text": "This is lesson 1."},

    {"type": "dividerLine", "height": 2, "color": "#e5e7eb"}

  ]

}

$3

json

{

  "updates": [

    {"blockId": "block_1", "updates": {"text": "Updated content"}},

    {"blockId": "block_2", "updates": {"paddingTop": 32}}

  ]

}





AI Tool Discovery



Best Practices



$3



❌ DON'T: Loop over 5 lessons and create individually (5 API calls)

✅ DO: Use batch_create_lessons once (1 API call)





$3

Choose the specific tools your workflow requires (courses, lessons, blocks, assets, voices) to keep agent calls focused.



$3



Always provide descriptive alt text for accessibility

$3



Ensure block type matches available types (18 total)

$3



Export courses before major changes

Store exports for version control





Troubleshooting



$3

- Verify API key is correct in n8n credentials

- Check API URL is

https://app.surna.io/api



- Ensure API key hasn't been revoked



$3

- Check block type spelling (case-sensitive)

- Verify type is one of the 18 supported types

- See Block Types section



$3

- Ensure array is properly formatted JSON

- Validate all required fields are present

- Check for typos in field names



$3

- Verify Surna AI Tools node is connected

- Check correct tools are selected

- Review agent prompt clarity



Development



$3

bash

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

$3



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

---

Ready to automate your eLearning content creation? 🚀

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

n8n-nodes-surna-elearning

Features

Installation

$3

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

$3

bash

In your n8n installation directory

npm install n8n-nodes-surna-elearning



Restart n8n

$3

bash

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



$3



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!)



$3



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



$3



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}}"}





$3



Surna AI Tools enable autonomous course creation with AI agents. The Surna Tools node provides a comprehensive set of operations that AI agents can discover and use dynamically via the

search_tools

 operation.



Key Features:

- AI agents can discover available tools and their parameters using

search_tools



- Automatic parameter validation with helpful error messages

- Support for all course, lesson, block, asset, and language operations

- Batch operations for efficient multi-item creation



#### Example 1: AI-Powered Course Generator



[Webhook Trigger]

  Receives: {"topic": "Fire Safety", "targetAudience": "office workers"}

    ↓

[AI Agent Node]

  Tools:

    - Surna AI Tools (select: 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



$3

- 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



$3

- 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 All Lessons: Change lesson order in a course



$3

- 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

- Reorder All Blocks: Change order of all blocks in a lesson



$3

- Get: Retrieve asset details

- Get All: List all assets

- Create From URL: Import image from URL

- Generate AI Image: Generate image from text prompt

- Generate AI Narration: Generate narration audio asset from text/SSML

- Get Saved Voices: List saved ElevenLabs voices configured in Surna

- Replace Asset File: Replace an existing asset while keeping the same ID

- Update Metadata: Update caption and alt text

- Delete: Delete an asset



$3

- 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 (text

 field holds the heading)
-

headingParagraph

 - Heading with paragraph combo
-

list - Bulleted or numbered list

`Batch Operations`





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



$3

json

{

  "courseId": "course_123",

  "lessons": [

    {"title": "Introduction"},

    {"title": "Getting Started"},

    {"title": "Best Practices"}

  ]

}

$3

json

{

  "lessonId": "lesson_456",

  "blocks": [

    {"type": "heading", "text": "Welcome"},

    {"type": "paragraph", "text": "This is lesson 1."},

    {"type": "dividerLine", "height": 2, "color": "#e5e7eb"}

  ]

}

$3

json

{

  "updates": [

    {"blockId": "block_1", "updates": {"text": "Updated content"}},

    {"blockId": "block_2", "updates": {"paddingTop": 32}}

  ]

}





AI Tool Discovery



Best Practices



$3



❌ DON'T: Loop over 5 lessons and create individually (5 API calls)

✅ DO: Use batch_create_lessons once (1 API call)





$3

Choose the specific tools your workflow requires (courses, lessons, blocks, assets, voices) to keep agent calls focused.



$3



Always provide descriptive alt text for accessibility

$3



Ensure block type matches available types (18 total)

$3



Export courses before major changes

Store exports for version control





Troubleshooting



$3

- Verify API key is correct in n8n credentials

- Check API URL is

https://app.surna.io/api



- Ensure API key hasn't been revoked



$3

- Check block type spelling (case-sensitive)

- Verify type is one of the 18 supported types

- See Block Types section



$3

- Ensure array is properly formatted JSON

- Validate all required fields are present

- Check for typos in field names



$3

- Verify Surna AI Tools node is connected

- Check correct tools are selected

- Review agent prompt clarity



Development



$3

bash

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

$3



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