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--- |
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title: Binary data |
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description: Understand and use binary data in n8n. |
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contentType: overview |
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tags: |
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- binary data |
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hide: |
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- tags |
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--- |
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# Binary data |
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Binary data is any file-type data, such as image files or documents. |
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This page collects resources relating to binary data in n8n. |
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## Working with binary data in your workflows |
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You can process binary data in n8n workflows. n8n provides nodes to help you work with binary data. You can also use code. |
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### Nodes |
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There are three key nodes dedicated to handling binary data files: |
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- [Read/Write Files from Disk](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.readwritefile.md) to read and write files from/to the machine where n8n is running. |
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- [Convert to File](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.converttofile.md) to take input data and output it as a file. |
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- [Extract From File](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.extractfromfile.md) to get data from a binary format and convert it to JSON. |
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There are separate nodes for working with XML and HTML data: |
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* [HTML](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.html.md) |
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* [XML](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.xml.md) |
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And nodes for performing common tasks: |
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* [Compression](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.compression.md) |
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* [Edit Image](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.editimage.md) |
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* [FTP](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.ftp.md) |
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You can trigger a workflow based on changes to a local file using the [Local File trigger](/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.localfiletrigger.md). |
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To split or concatenate binary data items, use the [data transformation nodes](/data/index.md#data-transformation-nodes). |
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### Code |
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You can use the [Code node](/code/code-node.md) to manipulate binary data in your workflows. For example, [Get the binary data buffer](/code/cookbook/code-node/get-binary-data-buffer.md): get the binary data available in your workflow. |
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## Configure binary data mode when self-hosting |
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You can configure how your self-hosted n8n instance handles binary data using the [Binary data environment variables](/hosting/configuration/environment-variables/binary-data.md). This includes tasks such as setting the storage path and choosing how to store binary data. |
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Your configuration affects how well n8n scales: [Scaling | Binary data filesystem mode](/hosting/scaling/binary-data.md). |
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Reading and writing binary files can have security implications. If you want to disable reading and writing binary data, use the `NODES_EXCLUDE` environment variable. Refer to [Environment variables | Nodes](/hosting/configuration/environment-variables/nodes.md) for more information. |
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