JBON_DATA

Workflow Automation with n8n

n8n has emerged as a powerful open-source alternative to Zapier and Make. Self-hosted, extensible, and free—it's ideal for enterprise automation needs.

What is n8n?

n8n is a workflow automation platform that connects apps and services:

• 300+ built-in integrations
• Visual workflow builder
• Self-hostable (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Custom node development
• Fair-code license

Getting Started

# Run with Docker
docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n

# Or with Docker Compose
version: '3'
services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
    environment:
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=secure_password

volumes:
  n8n_data:

Common Use Cases

1. Lead Processing Pipeline

Webhook Trigger
    ↓
Validate Lead Data
    ↓
Enrich with Clearbit
    ↓
Score Lead
    ↓
Route to CRM/Slack

2. Report Automation

Schedule Trigger (Weekly)
    ↓
Query Database
    ↓
Transform Data
    ↓
Generate Chart (QuickChart)
    ↓
Create PDF
    ↓
Email to Stakeholders

3. Error Alerting

Webhook from Sentry
    ↓
Extract Error Details
    ↓
Check Rate Limit
    ↓
Post to Slack
    ↓
Create JIRA Ticket

Custom Node Development

// Custom node structure
import { INodeType, INodeTypeDescription } from 'n8n-workflow';

export class MyCustomNode implements INodeType {
  description: INodeTypeDescription = {
    displayName: 'My Custom Node',
    name: 'myCustomNode',
    group: ['transform'],
    version: 1,
    inputs: ['main'],
    outputs: ['main'],
    properties: [
      {
        displayName: 'Operation',
        name: 'operation',
        type: 'options',
        options: [
          { name: 'Get', value: 'get' },
          { name: 'Create', value: 'create' },
        ],
        default: 'get',
      },
    ],
  };

  async execute() {
    // Implementation
  }
}

Best Practices

1. Error handling: Use Error Trigger nodes
2. Credentials: Store securely, never in workflows
3. Versioning: Export workflows to Git
4. Monitoring: Track execution history
5. Testing: Use test credentials and data

Comparison: n8n vs Alternatives

n8n democratizes automation while keeping data and control in-house.