Free n8n workflow

Topic Intake Validator

Validate and normalise a content idea before research, drafting or AI generation. Three nodes, no credentials and no external calls.

Download workflow JSON ↓Free · MIT licence · Manual trigger

What it validates

A clean handoff for every content idea.

The workflow requires a topic, audience, search intent and content pillar, trims the values and returns a predictable validated payload.

See the workflow

Three visible nodes. One reliable intake.

n8n canvas showing the Manual trigger, Sample Topic Input and Validate and Normalise Input nodes connected in sequence — The downloadable workflow as it appears in n8n: a manual trigger, a sample topic payload and a validation step. No credentials or external services are required.

Inside the workflow

Simple enough to learn. Safe enough to extend.

Manual input

Edit a clear sample payload without webhooks or production triggers.

Required fields

Stop immediately when topic, audience, intent or pillar is missing.

Normalised output

Receive a trimmed payload with status = validated for the next stage.

Example use case

Validate a content brief before AI research.

Enter the idea

An editor adds “How to automate content research with n8n”, the target audience, search intent and content pillar.

Catch missing context

If any required field is empty, the workflow stops before an incomplete brief reaches an AI model.

Continue safely

When validation passes, connect the output to a research agent, brief generator or human review queue.

Validated output

{
  "status": "validated",
  "workflow_stage": "topic_intake",
  "topic": "How to automate content research with n8n",
  "audience": "Small teams building AI-powered content operations",
  "search_intent": "learn",
  "content_pillar": "n8n Workflows",
  "primary_cta": "Explore the workflow library"
}

Connect the next step to this validator’s successful output. A caller-supplied status value is not evidence that validation ran.

Safe by default

No credentialsNo API key, OAuth account or external service required.

InactiveThe imported workflow is inactive and runs only when you click execute.

No storage nodeNo separate storage or publishing node. n8n may retain execution data according to your workflow and instance settings; use fictional test data.

Open licenceUse and adapt it under the included MIT licence.

Next step

Need a complete content pipeline?

This free validator is the first stage. If you want to connect intake, AI research, drafting and human review, discuss the workflow directly with Adjair Gouveia.

Discuss a larger workflow →