n8n
Visual workflow automation you can host, with a fair code license
n8n connects apps and APIs in visual workflows, like Zapier or Make, and adds code steps and AI agent nodes when the visual blocks are not enough. You can self host it, under the Sustainable Use License rather than an open source one.
Best for when
- you automate tasks between apps and do not want per task pricing
- you want to mix visual steps with real code
- you want AI agent workflows that call your own tools
Watch out for
- the license is source available, not open source, and forbids reselling it as a service
- it stores credentials for many services, so a breach of the instance is a breach of all of them
- some team features are reserved for paid plans
Install
Run with Docker
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8nAutomation without per task pricing
You build workflows by linking nodes: a trigger such as a webhook or a schedule, then steps that call APIs, transform data or ask a model. Hundreds of integrations ship with it, and a code node covers the gaps in JavaScript or Python.
Self hosted, you pay for the server, not for each task, which changes the economics of automations that run thousands of times. It is popular for connecting AI models to business tools for exactly this reason.
Read the license and plan the hosting
The Sustainable Use License lets you use and modify n8n for your own business, but not sell it as a hosted service to others, and some enterprise features sit in separately licensed files. It is source available, not open source in the OSI sense.
A single container with SQLite is fine to start. Real usage wants PostgreSQL, and webhooks need a public URL. Your workflows hold API keys for many services, so the instance is a valuable target: keep the editor private and back up the database and its encryption key.
