What is n8n?
n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n") is an extendable workflow automation tool. It lets you automate tasks between different services without writing code — but unlike Zapier or Make, you can self-host it and it's open-source.
Key Features
- 400+ Integrations — Slack, Gmail, GitHub, Notion, Airtable, Stripe, databases, APIs, webhooks.
- Visual Editor — Drag nodes onto a canvas and connect them.
- AI Nodes — Built-in LLM nodes. Build AI agents that can trigger automations based on LLM decisions.
- Code Nodes — Drop into JavaScript or Python anywhere in the workflow.
- Webhook Triggers — Any workflow can be triggered by an HTTP request.
- Self-hosted — Full control. Your data stays with you.
Quick Start
npx n8n
Or Docker:
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n
LLM + Automation Use Cases
- Monitor RSS feeds → summarize with GPT → post digest to Slack
- Receive email → classify intent with LLM → route to correct team
- User submits form → generate personalized reply → send email
Licensing
The core is fair-code licensed (source available, free for self-hosted). Cloud plans start at $20/month for hosted.