n8n - 💡(How to fix) Fix "Paired item data unavailable" when using "Continue with Error output"

n8n2026-05-07 23:31:48

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Error Message

When an operation has "Continue (using error output)" enabled, and at least one item fails, downstream expressions using {{ $('Node Name').item }} fail with: This appears to affect programmatic nodes on the error output, and declarative nodes on both success and error outputs, but only if the error output is used. Success outputs work correctly iff the error output is never used. This does not happen when using "Continue on error" + IF node.

Set Error Handling → Continue (using error output). This same error occurs in three places in the example below:
On the Error line for OpenWeatherMap
On the Error line for Brevo
On the Success line for Brevo only if the error line was triggered Pairing metadata (pairedItem) should be preserved correctly on both success and error outputs, so .item expressions continue to work on both branches.
error: all

Root Cause

An expression here won't work because it uses .item and n8n can't figure out the matching item. The node 'XXX' didn't return enough information.

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Workaround: This does not happen when using "Continue on error" + IF node.

Code Example

Paired item data for item from node 'XXX' is unavailable. Ensure 'XXX' is providing the required output.

An expression here won't work because it uses .item and n8n can't figure out the matching item. The node 'XXX' didn't return enough information.

---

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -496,
        -208
      ],
      "id": "1bf8ceee-a4d0-44f1-a20d-69348cd52507",
      "name": "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fieldToSplitOut": "Cities",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitOut",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -48,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "96f9913b-3794-4595-9029-a64c5c8dd662",
      "name": "Split Out"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "8a80d89e-855a-48ef-aa18-359078eecc42",
              "name": "City",
              "value": "={{ $json.Cities }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "e0c0b2d6-91ee-4f4e-8a59-3345bdf7881c",
              "name": "Index",
              "value": "={{ $itemIndex }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        176,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "7d1b85a7-5fd4-4ed7-a4ed-ed1e9872edf6",
      "name": "Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "cityName": "={{ $json.City }}"
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.openWeatherMap",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        400,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "9d8a24e0-3be2-47f3-acb9-91fd2914ae32",
      "name": "OpenWeatherMap for $json.City",
      "credentials": {
        "openWeatherMapApi": {
          "id": "N8gPX7DlK08dOVJW",
          "name": "OpenWeatherMap account"
        }
      },
      "onError": "continueErrorOutput"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "c9984a92-c2c6-4fac-bef9-54f2bdddb50f",
              "name": "SuccessOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -112
      ],
      "id": "1701060b-9225-419b-b849-7fcba965be05",
      "name": "Set SuccessOutput = Index"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "fe3bc89a-3143-48b4-9e15-5f9a25f89771",
              "name": "ErrorOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        80
      ],
      "id": "0fa37493-73b7-418c-834d-87075293ab46",
      "name": "Set ErrorOutput = Index",
      "alwaysOutputData": false
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "2b7a2243-0252-48a6-9016-cee34a3b95cb",
              "name": "Cities",
              "value": "={{ ['not a city', 'Whitehorse'] }}",
              "type": "array"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        -272,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "7361cd59-e2d3-4499-bf5d-02280f60c3c3",
      "name": "Set Cities = ['not a city', 'Whitehorse']"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "resource": "contact",
        "operation": "get",
        "identifier": "={{ $json.Contact }}",
        "requestOptions": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.sendInBlue",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        400,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "a65b9a54-8f5b-4592-afdf-e80ebd8db5a7",
      "name": "Get a contact",
      "credentials": {
        "sendInBlueApi": {
          "id": "Ncd1OuLYK8uerDzX",
          "name": "Brevo account"
        }
      },
      "onError": "continueErrorOutput"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "a8950200-d8fb-4cf5-bf2b-a476ef49747f",
              "name": "Contacts",
              "value": "={{ ['broken', '[email protected]'] }}",
              "type": "array"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        -272,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "4757cb9e-c931-4773-8ea3-126bf987ec6d",
      "name": "Set Contacts = ['broken', '[email protected]']"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fieldToSplitOut": "Contacts",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitOut",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -48,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "936457b5-0b79-45d2-b164-d3ce39e2c2cd",
      "name": "Split Out2"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "ff7aeda8-0f4c-4b61-9163-26972c704692",
              "name": "Contact",
              "value": "={{ $json.Contacts }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "6ea756b3-3aa6-498c-9f18-fba987a6a633",
              "name": "Index",
              "value": "={{ $itemIndex }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        176,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "087fab61-fe8d-4c3b-b966-6cc7b7bcef20",
      "name": "Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "7c55bec9-fb0c-4217-a24c-6726f2174956",
              "name": "SuccessOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -496
      ],
      "id": "983b61ed-2fc1-4b97-a7ea-165b1e7745db",
      "name": "Set SuccessOutput = Index2"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "7c55bec9-fb0c-4217-a24c-6726f2174956",
              "name": "ErrorOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -304
      ],
      "id": "1dd9bb54-6c3b-42fb-b2fe-d9392c934fdf",
      "name": "Set ErrorOutput = Index2"
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Cities = ['not a city', 'Whitehorse']",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          },
          {
            "node": "Set Contacts = ['broken', '[email protected]']",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Split Out": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "OpenWeatherMap for $json.City",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "OpenWeatherMap for $json.City": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set SuccessOutput = Index",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "node": "Set ErrorOutput = Index",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Cities = ['not a city', 'Whitehorse']": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Split Out",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Get a contact": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set SuccessOutput = Index2",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "node": "Set ErrorOutput = Index2",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Contacts = ['broken', '[email protected]']": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Split Out2",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Split Out2": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Get a contact",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "pinData": {},
  "meta": {
    "templateCredsSetupCompleted": true,
    "instanceId": "2722d3a0d15ba505bcf3a46e0cd7fdca1653a33ea0d52c156d989ff1a5507b20"
  }
}

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug Description

When an operation has "Continue (using error output)" enabled, and at least one item fails, downstream expressions using {{ $('Node Name').item }} fail with:

Paired item data for item from node 'XXX' is unavailable. Ensure 'XXX' is providing the required output.

An expression here won't work because it uses .item and n8n can't figure out the matching item. The node 'XXX' didn't return enough information.

This appears to affect programmatic nodes on the error output, and declarative nodes on both success and error outputs, but only if the error output is used. Success outputs work correctly iff the error output is never used.

Workaround: This does not happen when using "Continue on error" + IF node.

To Reproduce

Use any node that can produce errors (e.g. Brevo - Get a Contact).
Set Error Handling → Continue (using error output).
Create a workflow that sends multiple items, where some succeed and some fail (see attached workflow).
Use an expression referencing the node with .item on any node after the node.

IMPORTANT NOTE This same error occurs in three places in the example below:

On the Error line for OpenWeatherMap
On the Error line for Brevo
On the Success line for Brevo only if the error line was triggered

This has also been tested with OfficeRnD - Get a member (another declaractive operation) with the same results as Brevo - Get a contact.

Here's an example flow testing both OpenWeatherMap and Brevo:

And here's the JSON:

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -496,
        -208
      ],
      "id": "1bf8ceee-a4d0-44f1-a20d-69348cd52507",
      "name": "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fieldToSplitOut": "Cities",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitOut",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -48,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "96f9913b-3794-4595-9029-a64c5c8dd662",
      "name": "Split Out"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "8a80d89e-855a-48ef-aa18-359078eecc42",
              "name": "City",
              "value": "={{ $json.Cities }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "e0c0b2d6-91ee-4f4e-8a59-3345bdf7881c",
              "name": "Index",
              "value": "={{ $itemIndex }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        176,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "7d1b85a7-5fd4-4ed7-a4ed-ed1e9872edf6",
      "name": "Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "cityName": "={{ $json.City }}"
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.openWeatherMap",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        400,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "9d8a24e0-3be2-47f3-acb9-91fd2914ae32",
      "name": "OpenWeatherMap for $json.City",
      "credentials": {
        "openWeatherMapApi": {
          "id": "N8gPX7DlK08dOVJW",
          "name": "OpenWeatherMap account"
        }
      },
      "onError": "continueErrorOutput"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "c9984a92-c2c6-4fac-bef9-54f2bdddb50f",
              "name": "SuccessOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -112
      ],
      "id": "1701060b-9225-419b-b849-7fcba965be05",
      "name": "Set SuccessOutput = Index"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "fe3bc89a-3143-48b4-9e15-5f9a25f89771",
              "name": "ErrorOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        80
      ],
      "id": "0fa37493-73b7-418c-834d-87075293ab46",
      "name": "Set ErrorOutput = Index",
      "alwaysOutputData": false
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "2b7a2243-0252-48a6-9016-cee34a3b95cb",
              "name": "Cities",
              "value": "={{ ['not a city', 'Whitehorse'] }}",
              "type": "array"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        -272,
        -16
      ],
      "id": "7361cd59-e2d3-4499-bf5d-02280f60c3c3",
      "name": "Set Cities = ['not a city', 'Whitehorse']"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "resource": "contact",
        "operation": "get",
        "identifier": "={{ $json.Contact }}",
        "requestOptions": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.sendInBlue",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        400,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "a65b9a54-8f5b-4592-afdf-e80ebd8db5a7",
      "name": "Get a contact",
      "credentials": {
        "sendInBlueApi": {
          "id": "Ncd1OuLYK8uerDzX",
          "name": "Brevo account"
        }
      },
      "onError": "continueErrorOutput"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "a8950200-d8fb-4cf5-bf2b-a476ef49747f",
              "name": "Contacts",
              "value": "={{ ['broken', '[email protected]'] }}",
              "type": "array"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        -272,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "4757cb9e-c931-4773-8ea3-126bf987ec6d",
      "name": "Set Contacts = ['broken', '[email protected]']"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fieldToSplitOut": "Contacts",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitOut",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -48,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "936457b5-0b79-45d2-b164-d3ce39e2c2cd",
      "name": "Split Out2"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "ff7aeda8-0f4c-4b61-9163-26972c704692",
              "name": "Contact",
              "value": "={{ $json.Contacts }}",
              "type": "string"
            },
            {
              "id": "6ea756b3-3aa6-498c-9f18-fba987a6a633",
              "name": "Index",
              "value": "={{ $itemIndex }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        176,
        -400
      ],
      "id": "087fab61-fe8d-4c3b-b966-6cc7b7bcef20",
      "name": "Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "7c55bec9-fb0c-4217-a24c-6726f2174956",
              "name": "SuccessOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -496
      ],
      "id": "983b61ed-2fc1-4b97-a7ea-165b1e7745db",
      "name": "Set SuccessOutput = Index2"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "7c55bec9-fb0c-4217-a24c-6726f2174956",
              "name": "ErrorOutput",
              "value": "={{ $('Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex').item.json.Index }}",
              "type": "number"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        624,
        -304
      ],
      "id": "1dd9bb54-6c3b-42fb-b2fe-d9392c934fdf",
      "name": "Set ErrorOutput = Index2"
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Cities = ['not a city', 'Whitehorse']",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          },
          {
            "node": "Set Contacts = ['broken', '[email protected]']",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Split Out": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set City = $json.Cities, Index = $itemIndex": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "OpenWeatherMap for $json.City",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "OpenWeatherMap for $json.City": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set SuccessOutput = Index",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "node": "Set ErrorOutput = Index",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Cities = ['not a city', 'Whitehorse']": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Split Out",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Get a contact": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set SuccessOutput = Index2",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "node": "Set ErrorOutput = Index2",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Contacts = ['broken', '[email protected]']": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Split Out2",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Split Out2": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Contact = Contacts, Index = $itemIndex": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Get a contact",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "pinData": {},
  "meta": {
    "templateCredsSetupCompleted": true,
    "instanceId": "2722d3a0d15ba505bcf3a46e0cd7fdca1653a33ea0d52c156d989ff1a5507b20"
  }
}

Expected behavior

Pairing metadata (pairedItem) should be preserved correctly on both success and error outputs, so .item expressions continue to work on both branches.

Debug Info

Debug info

core

n8nVersion: 2.19.5
platform: docker (self-hosted)
nodeJsVersion: 24.14.1
nodeEnv: production
database: sqlite
executionMode: regular
concurrency: -1
license: enterprise (production)
consumerId: 4a741233-aa84-4c40-a772-dd373f15bb8c

storage

success: all
error: all
progress: false
manual: true
binaryMode: filesystem

pruning

enabled: true
maxAge: 336 hours
maxCount: 10000 executions

client

userAgent: mozilla/5.0 (windows nt 10.0; win64; x64) applewebkit/537.36 (khtml, like gecko) chrome/147.0.0.0 safari/537.36
isTouchDevice: false

Generated at: 2026-05-07T21:26:59.918Z

Operating System

Ubuntu Linux 24.04 LTS

n8n Version

2.19.5

Node.js Version

24.14.1

Database

SQLite (default)

Execution mode

main (default)

Hosting

self hosted

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FAQ

Expected behavior

Pairing metadata (pairedItem) should be preserved correctly on both success and error outputs, so .item expressions continue to work on both branches.

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n8n - 💡(How to fix) Fix "Paired item data unavailable" when using "Continue with Error output"

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