What is n8n (Workflow Automation)?

What is n8n?

n8n is a workflow automation tool that connects business applications, APIs, databases, and file sources through visual nodes. Teams can create flows such as opening a CRM record after a form submission, drafting an invoice after payment, or generating a scheduled report.

n8n can be used as a cloud service or hosted on your own infrastructure. Its source code is available and teams can build custom nodes, but its license model is source-available/fair-code rather than a conventional open-source license.

How n8n Works

An n8n workflow is made of nodes. A trigger node starts the flow; the following nodes read data, transform it, check conditions, or send requests to other systems.

• Trigger: Webhook, schedule, email, app event, or manual start
• Action node: Send a Slack message, create a database record, or make an HTTP request
• Expression: Use data from previous nodes in dynamic fields
• Credential management: Store API keys and account connections separately from the workflow logic

Business Use

n8n is used for sales notifications, quote approvals, support ticket routing, inventory alerts, and recurring reports. When automation cannot be solved with standard app connectors, the HTTP Request node or a custom node can connect internal services.

Compared with fully managed tools such as Zapier, n8n’s self-hosting option can help with data residency, private network access, and cost control. The tradeoff is that server maintenance, backups, upgrades, and credential security become the team’s responsibility.