_snippets/integrations/creating-nodes/testing.md

You can test your node as you build it by running it in a local n8n instance.

1. Install n8n using npm:

npm install n8n -g

2. When you are ready to test your node, publish it locally:

# In your node directory
npm run build
npm link

3. Install the node into your local n8n instance:

# In the nodes directory within your n8n installation
# node-package-name is the name from the package.json
npm link <node-package-name>

/// note | Check your directory
Make sure you run `npm link <node-name>` in the nodes directory within your n8n installation. This can be: 

* `~/.n8n/custom/`
* `~/.n8n/<your-custom-name>`: if your n8n installation set a different name using `N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS`.
///

4. Start n8n:

n8n start

5. Open n8n in your browser. You should see your nodes when you search for them in the nodes panel.

   /// note | Node names Make sure you search using the node name, not the package name. For example, if your npm package name is n8n-nodes-weather-nodes, and the package contains nodes named rain, sun, snow, you should search for rain, not weather-nodes. ///

Troubleshooting

• There's no custom directory in ~/.n8n local installation.

You have to create custom directory manually and run npm init

# In ~/.n8n directory run
mkdir custom 
cd custom 
npm init