n8n: fair-code workflow automation, and how I structure flows with it

Repo: n8n-io/n8n · fair-code under the Sustainable Use License (plus an enterprise licence)

n8n is the workflow automation tool I recommend most often, and it shows up throughout my automation notes. Before getting to how I use it, one thing worth being precise about.

"Open source" — with an asterisk

n8n describes itself as fair-code: the source is public and you can self-host it, but it's distributed under the Sustainable Use License, not a traditional open-source licence. For running your own automations, that's rarely a problem. If you plan to resell n8n itself as a hosted service, read the licence first.

What it's best at

• Connecting SaaS tools — CRM, email automation, forms, spreadsheets, chat — with hundreds of ready-made integrations.
• Mixing visual and code — drop into a code node when a transformation is easier to write than to click.
• Running where your data lives — self-host it next to your database, or use n8n Cloud.
• AI steps — native nodes for calling models, which makes enrichment and classification easy to add.

The pattern I use: n8n at the edges, an API in the middle

Most of my systems look like this:

1. n8n handles triggers and integrations — a new form submission, a schedule, a webhook from a payment provider.
2. One HTTP call to a small FastAPI service does the real logic: validation, AI calls with structured outputs, database writes.
3. n8n handles delivery — the email, the Slack or Telegram message, the CRM update.

The visual flow stays readable for non-developers. The logic stays testable in code. I explain the decision rules in n8n or code?.

Five automations worth building first

• New lead → CRM record → welcome email sequence → notify the owner.
• Order paid → fulfilment sheet → thank-you email → review request a week later.
• Daily report → pull metrics → post a summary to chat.
• Form answers → tag contacts by answer → different follow-ups.
• Error in any flow → message to a monitored channel.

Habits that keep flows healthy

Name every node by what it does, add an error workflow, version-export important flows, and never hide business logic in five nested IF nodes when ten lines of code would say it plainly.