What is n8n?

n8n is a workflow automation platform that combines business process automation with artificial intelligence capabilities. It enables visual design of workflows, integration with applications and application programming interfaces (APIs), data processing, and extension of logic with custom code when needed. In the official documentation, n8n is defined as a fair-code workflow automation tool that integrates AI capabilities with business process automation.

In practical use cases, the n8n platform is used for data synchronization, orchestration of actions across services, building AI-driven processes, document pipelines, and chatbots. Among the officially described use cases is the Self-hosted AI Starter Kit, a set of components for building self-hosted AI workflows with a vector database, local models, and a database layer.

Additionally, n8n supports deployment in the cloud or on private infrastructure, and the official repository lists over 400 integrations, combining visual workflow design with custom code capabilities. This makes the platform suitable for technical teams that require flexible automation, control over the execution environment, and rapid assembly of complex workflows without building a separate intermediary layer from scratch.