Automated Free Udemy Course Tracker and Google Sheet Sync - n8n Workflow

Individuals interested in automated coupon tracking without manual effort.
Digital marketers and affiliates needing real-time, verified lists of free online courses.
Users looking for practical n8n templates integrating external APIs and Google Sheets.
Developers needing an automated system with robust error handling via email notifications.

This automation solves the inefficiency of manually checking for expiring free online courses. By leveraging a scheduled n8n workflow, the system queries a course listing API (via RapidAPI) hourly. The crucial value provided by this n8n workflow is reliability and data cleanliness: it includes an intermediate check using an If n8n node to ensure the API call succeeded and uses a custom n8n node to strictly filter for courses where the sale_price is zero. The resulting, verified data is then reliably updated in a Google Sheet, ensuring your resource list is always current. This comprehensive n8n template demonstrates effective data integration, flow control, and crucial error handling, making it a professional-grade solution for content aggregation.

The process starts with the Schedule n8n trigger, configured to initiate the entire n8n workflow every hour. Next, the Fetch Udemy Coupons n8n node executes an HTTP POST request to the RapidAPI endpoint to retrieve featured courses, using specific headers and form data. The workflow immediately proceeds to the Check API Success If n8n node, which verifies the API response status by checking the success flag in the body. If successful (True path), the flow moves to the Filter Free Courses custom n8n node. This essential code script processes the input items and filters the dataset, isolating only those courses marked as free (sale_price: 0). Finally, the Sync Courses to Google Sheet n8n node uses the appendOrUpdate operation to add new free courses or update existing ones based on a unique course ID. If the initial API check fails (False path), the alternative flow triggers the Send Error Notification n8n node, sending an immediate email alert to the administrator about the API failure. This ensures maximum uptime for the entire n8n workflow.

1. Import the n8n template: Copy the provided JSON code and paste it into your n8n instance using the 'New' -> 'Import from JSON' function.


2. Configure Credentials:

1. Define Google Sheet Target: In the Google Sheets n8n node, specify the Document ID (URL) of your tracking spreadsheet.


2. Activate: Once credentials and destinations are set, activate the Schedule n8n trigger to begin hourly execution of the n8n workflow.

Schedule Trigger: Function: Initiates the entire n8n workflow on a repeating schedule. Key Configuration: Set to run once every hour. This is the starting n8n trigger.
Fetch Udemy Coupons (HTTP Request n8n node): Function: Connects to the RapidAPI endpoint to retrieve featured course data using a POST request. Key Configuration: Requires x-rapidapi-host and x-rapidapi-key headers; ensures the response includes the full body for processing.
Check API Success (If n8n node): Function: Provides critical flow control by verifying if the external API call was successful ($json.body.success is true). Key Configuration: Routes successful data (True) forward for filtering and failure data (False) to the email alert system.
Filter Free Courses (Code n8n node): Function: A crucial custom n8n node that processes the API payload to specifically extract courses where the sale_price property is strictly zero. Key Configuration: Custom JavaScript filtering applied to the input courses array.
Sync Courses to Google Sheet (Google Sheets n8n node): Function: Writes the filtered free course data into the specified Google Sheet, ensuring records are updated by matching the course id. Key Configuration: Operation set to Append or Update; maps 14 specific course fields (ID, name, price, rating, etc.) for syncing.
Send Error Notification (Email Send n8n node): Function: Handles error alerting when the RapidAPI call fails. Key Configuration: Sends an email to the specified admin address with a subject indicating immediate attention is required.