n8n Tutorials & Guides

From installation to advanced AI-powered workflows — everything you need to master n8n.

n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n") is the leading open-source workflow automation platform. Unlike SaaS tools such as Zapier or Make, n8n is self-hostable — you run it on your own server, keep your data private, and pay nothing per automation run.

Why Choose n8n?

Feature n8n Zapier Make
Self-hostable Yes No No
Open source Yes No No
Free tier Self-hosted = free 100 tasks/mo 1,000 ops/mo
Custom code nodes Yes Limited Limited
AI/LLM nodes Yes (built-in) Via Zapier AI Via HTTP
Data privacy Full control Vendor cloud Vendor cloud

How to Install n8n

The fastest way to get started is Docker. Run this on any Linux VPS or local machine:

docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

Then open http://localhost:5678 in your browser to complete setup. For production, use Docker Compose with a reverse proxy (Caddy or Nginx) and persistent volumes.

Key Concepts

  • Workflows — sequences of nodes that run automatically on a trigger
  • Nodes — individual steps: HTTP Request, Webhook, OpenAI, Notion, Slack, etc.
  • Triggers — what starts a workflow: a webhook, a schedule, or a manual run
  • Expressions — dynamic values using {{ $json.fieldName }} syntax
  • Credentials — securely stored API keys, reused across workflows

Popular n8n Use Cases

  • AI content pipeline: RSS feed → GPT summary → publish to WordPress
  • Lead automation: form submission → CRM → Slack notification
  • SEO monitoring: GSC data → spreadsheet → weekly email report
  • Social posting: write once → schedule to Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
  • Server monitoring: cron → HTTP check → alert if down

n8n Tutorials