Use the Execute Once Option for Nodes That Do Not Need Per-Item Processing

When a node receives many items but only needs to run once -- fetching config, an auth token, or a shared lookup -- enable Execute Once in its settings. The node runs for the first item only and applies the result to all items, saving N-1 redundant API calls. A single checkbox can save meaningful cost.

What does the Execute Once option do?

When a node receives multiple items but only needs to run once (e.g., fetching a configuration, getting an auth token, or looking up a shared resource), enable Execute Once in the node settings. This runs the node for only the first item and applies the result to all items, saving N-1 redundant API calls.

Real-world example: A workflow processes 100 orders. Each order needs the current exchange rate. Without Execute Once, the exchange rate API is called 100 times with identical results.

# Node settings panel (gear icon) on the HTTP Request node

Settings:
  Execute Once: true    # <-- This is the key setting

  Retry On Fail: true
  Max Retries: 3

# The node receives 100 items but only executes the HTTP request once.

# All 100 items receive the same exchange rate result.

Which nodes are good candidates for Execute Once?

Identify candidates for Execute Once in your workflows:

Good candidates for Execute Once:
  - Fetching configuration or settings
  - Getting authentication tokens
  - Looking up exchange rates or reference data
  - Checking feature flags
  - Fetching shared resources (templates, schemas)

Bad candidates (must run per item):
  - Processing individual records
  - Making API calls with per-item parameters
  - Writing individual records to a database
  - Sending personalized emails

How do you get Execute Once behavior while merging the result?

When you need the shared result merged back into each item, do it in a Code node:

// Alternative: Manual deduplication in a Code node
// Use this when you need Execute Once behavior but also need to
// merge the result back into each item

const items = $input.all();

// Get the shared data from the first item only
const sharedConfig = items[0].json.configData;

// Merge it into all items
return items.map(item => ({
  json: {
    ...item.json,
    exchangeRate: sharedConfig.rate,
    configVersion: sharedConfig.version
  }
}));

For 100 items with a $0.001 API call, Execute Once saves $0.099 per execution. At 50 executions per day, that is $4.95/day or $148.50/month from a single checkbox.

Related: Use Structured Output (JSON Mode) for Parseable Responses · Configure Payload Size and Binary Data Mode for Large Files