Automate Certificate Generation with n8n

1.1 — Find a template

Let's grab a template and customize it:

1. Go to canva.com and sign up (or log in)
2. In the search bar, type "certificate"
3. Browse the templates and select one you like

1.2 — Customize the template

Click "Customize this template" to open it in the Canva editor. Add your branding — logo, colors, fonts.

1.3 — Remove dynamic text

Delete any text that will change per certificate (recipient name, date, etc.). We'll add these as dynamic fields in TemplateFox.

In my case, for simplicity, I'll just remove the student's first and last name.

1. Select the recipient name text
2. Delete it completely

Tip: Keep your design elements (borders, decorations) — just clear the text that will change per certificate.

1.4 — Export as PNG

Export your certificate as an image:

1. Click Share → Download
2. Choose PNG format
3. Click Download

Why PNG? Simpler to work with — no font embedding issues. Your design becomes a background image.

2.1 — Import the design

Create a new template and import your Canva design:

1. Go to Templates in your dashboard
2. Click Create Template
3. Choose Fixed (single-page documents)
4. Change dimension to A4 Landscape
5. Set zoom to 75% to see the full page
6. Extend the initial section to fill the entire page
7. Click New Element → Image
8. Upload your PNG and extend it to cover the whole background — it should fit perfectly

2.2 — Add dynamic fields

Add text fields that will be populated from n8n. For this demo, we'll start with the recipient name as {{participant_name}}:

1. Add a Text element
2. Type {{participant_name}}
3. Position it where the recipient name should appear
4. Set the font to Great Vibes at size 90 for an elegant signature look
5. Center the text horizontally and align it to the bottom of the text box
6. Adjust line spacing so the text sits properly at the bottom (for Great Vibes, 0.8 works well)
7. Enable Autoscale Down so long names automatically shrink to fit

Repeat for the other fields the n8n workflow will map. The four below match the columns we'll set up in Section 3:

• {{participant_name}} — Recipient name
• {{course_name}} — Course or program name
• {{completion_date}} — Date of completion
• {{instructor}} — Instructor name

Anything that's the same on every certificate (your logo, signatures, org name, footer line) belongs inside the editor — not in n8n. The fewer fields you expose to the workflow, the less there is to wire up later.

3.1 — Google Sheets trigger

Drop a Google Sheets Trigger onto the canvas and connect Google OAuth (n8n walks you through it if you haven't connected Google before — takes about 30 seconds). Then:

• Pick your spreadsheet from the dropdown
• Pick the sheet (tab) inside it — usually Sheet1
• Set Event to Row Added

n8n polls the sheet every minute. When a new row shows up, the trigger emits one execution where each column is available as {{ $json["Participant Name"] }} and so on. Hit Test step with one row already in the sheet — you should see all your columns in the output panel.

3.2 — Map fields to TemplateFox

Add the TemplateFox node. First time? You'll need to grab an API key — head to your dashboard's API keys section, create one (it starts with sk_), and paste it into the credential dialog in n8n. The full details live on the Authentication doc if you want the long version.

Then configure the node:

• Set Operation to Generate PDF
• Pick your certificate template from the dropdown — the four fields you added in Section 2 show up automatically
• Drag each column from the input panel onto the matching template field
• In Options, set PDF Variant to PDF/A-2b — that's the archival standard most training bodies want

3.3 — Download & archive to Drive

Quick gotcha worth knowing: the URL TemplateFox returns is valid for 24 hours. Plenty of time to download it, not anywhere near long enough to put in an email someone might open three months from now. So we download it once and stash a permanent copy in Drive. Two nodes:

1. HTTP Request — Method GET, URL {{ $json.url }}, Response Format File. That gives us the PDF as binary data.
2. Google Drive — Operation Upload, pick your archive folder. Important: in Options, flip Simplify Output to off. Otherwise you don't get back the webViewLink field, and you need it for the next two steps.

That webViewLink is the gold here — it's a permanent URL for the file in Drive that you, your participant, and any future audit can use forever.

3.4 — Email the participant

Add a Gmail node — or Outlook, or whatever your team uses; the wiring is identical. Map the recipient and subject from the trigger row, and put the Drive link in the body:

Why $json.webViewLink and not the TemplateFox URL? Because Gmail sits after the Drive upload in the chain, so $json refers to the Drive node's output. The participant gets the permanent link instead of the 24-hour one, so the email keeps working months later.

3.5 — Write back to the sheet

Last node. This is the bit that turns the workflow from "send and forget" into "send and have a paper trail." Add a second Google Sheets node — same spreadsheet, same sheet — with operation Update:

• Same spreadsheet and sheet as the trigger
• Matching Columns: Email
• Certificate URL → {{ $('Archive to Google Drive').first().json.webViewLink }}
• Issued At → {{ $now.toISO() }}