Collect the documents each case needs in n8n

The same steps work for onboarding, loans, rentals, visas: anything where the paperwork depends on the case. Checked on self-hosted n8n 2.44 with version 0.13.0 of the node.

Before you start

• The Formstep node on an n8n with a public HTTPS address, and a Formstep credential.
• Somewhere to keep the files. The example writes them to n8n’s disk; the last step shows Google Drive instead.

The node is for self-hosted n8n only: n8n Cloud installs only verified community nodes, and ours is not verified yet. See Install the Formstep node.

Import the workflow from

with Import from File. It needs no form in Formstep: the request builds one.

1. Start from the case

The example starts with an Edit Fields node named Claim: claimId, claimType ( water_damage or theft), claimLabel, firstName and email. In your workflow, it is the record that opens the case, such as a CRM deal or a webhook from your claims system.

2. Turn the checklist into blocks

A Code node named Build the checklist looks up the documents for the claim type and writes the form as blocks: a greeting, two hidden fields the greeting reads, one file question per document, and a note.

const checklists = {
  water_damage: [
    { key: 'damage_photos', title: 'Photos of the damage', maxFiles: 10 },
    { key: 'repair_estimate', title: 'Repair estimate from a contractor', maxFiles: 1 },
  ],
  theft: [
    { key: 'police_report', title: 'Police report', maxFiles: 1 },
    { key: 'receipts', title: 'Receipts for the stolen items', maxFiles: 10 },
  ],
}
const documents = checklists[$json.claimType]
if (!documents) throw new Error(`No checklist for claim type ${$json.claimType}`)
const blocks = [
  { type: 'header', content: 'Hi {{first_name}}, a few documents for claim {{claim_id}}' },
  { type: 'paragraph', content: 'Upload each document below. Photos from your phone are fine.' },
  { type: 'hiddenField', key: 'first_name' },
  { type: 'hiddenField', key: 'claim_id' },
  ...documents.map((document) => ({ type: 'file', ...document })),
  { type: 'text', key: 'notes', title: 'Anything we should know?', required: false },
]
return { json: { ...$json, blocks } }

The throw stops the run on an unknown claim type instead of sending a form with no questions. Adding a claim type is a new entry in the object.

Each block takes type, a key and the options of its kind; {{first_name}} in text shows a hidden field’s value. Every block type and option is in Create a form and a request in one call.

3. Send the request with a new form

Add a Formstep Create request node and set Form Source to New Form:

• Form Blocks is {{ JSON.stringify($json.blocks) }}, the blocks from the Code node.

• Context fills the hidden fields: {{ JSON.stringify({ first_name: $json.firstName, claim_id: $json.claimId }) }}.

• Form Options sets the look: a cover color, a logo and a theme.

• Set Recipient Email, turn on Wait for the Outcome, and under Additional Fields set Delivery, Expires At ({{ $now.plus({ days: 14 }).toISO() }}) and an External ID. Test Mode is on in the example.

Email invitations and reminders have plan requirements, and on Free you send the request’s url yourself and chase by hand: see Invitations and reminders. With Test Mode on, nothing is emailed until you turn it off: see Try it on yourself first.

The customer sees only the documents their claim needs:

4. Wait, then make one item per file

Add a Wait node (On Webhook Call) and an If node that checks {{ $json.body.type }} is request.completed. Each file question’s answer is a list of files with a name, a size, a type and a url. The other output of the If node catches an expired or canceled request. A request expires after 30 days unless you set another date, up to 365: see Expiry. A Code node turns the files into one item per file:

// One item per uploaded file, named after the question it answers.
const event = $json.body.data
const items = []
for (const [question, answer] of Object.entries(event.answers)) {
  if (!Array.isArray(answer)) continue
  for (const file of answer) {
    if (file.url) items.push({ json: { question, name: `${question} - ${file.name}`, url: file.url } })
  }
}
return items

It walks the answers instead of naming the questions, so it works for any claim type.

5. Download and save each file

An HTTP Request node downloads {{ $json.url }} with Response Format File, once per item. The example then writes each file with Read/Write Files from Disk, as /home/node/.n8n-files/{{ $('Claim').item.json.claimId }} {{ $json.name }}.

To keep them in Google Drive instead, replace that node with Google Drive › Upload file: Input Data Field Name data, File Name {{ $json.name }}, and the claim’s folder as Parent Folder. S3, Dropbox and SharePoint nodes take the binary field the same way. The files went to Formstep, so your form’s payload limit never applied, and each can be up to 1 GiB within your storage: see File upload.

• The event’s data.submission.pdfUrl, a PDF of all the answers, is set only when the form keeps a PDF: when it has a Signature question or a webhook subscription. A request that only calls back, as here, has none.

• To send the recipient a document to read or sign as well, use a published form with a Documents block, as in Get a manager’s approval. A new form takes no documents.

Next steps