♾️ n8n: what it is, how it works and why it is increasingly used together with artificial intelligence

n8n is a platform for creating automated workflows that connect services, APIs, and tools (such as email, Slack, Google Sheets, databases, webhooks, etc.). Each step in the workflow is represented as a "node," hence the name.

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✅ 1. Introduction: Why is everyone talking about n8n?

In this era when automation and artificial intelligence are increasingly intertwined, we often hear about n8n. But what is it really? An alternative to Zapier? A developer tool? A no-code platform?

In this article, you'll discover what n8n is, how it works, why it's linked to AI, and how to get started using it even without knowing how to code.

⚙️ 2. What is n8n (in simple terms)

n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n," short for node-to-node) is an open-source tool for creating automated workflows.

In practice: it allows you to connect tools, services, and APIs to make them work automatically, without having to write code (but you can, if you want).

It's an alternative to Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), and Pipedream, but much more flexible and free (in the form of an open-source, self-hostable platform), because you can install it on your server or use the cloud version.

🧠 3. Why is n8n increasingly associated with AI?

One of the reasons n8n has become popular is its ability to easily integrate AI models, such as those from OpenAI (ChatGPT, Whisper, DALL·E), Hugging Face, Google AI, and many others.

This allows anyone to create workflows like:

An automatic AI chatbot
A translator with GPT-4
A system that summarizes emails or transcribes audio
A custom content generator

And all this… without writing a single line of code, if you don't want to.

🧱 4. How does a workflow work on n8n?

A workflow is a chain of actions, called nodes, connected in order.

Example:

[Trigger: new email] → [Node: extract text] → [Node: send text to ChatGPT] → [Node: save response to Google Docs]

Each workflow is composed of:

Trigger: the event that starts the flow (e.g., a new email, a message, a time)
Action nodes: process, send, or transform data (e.g., API calls, saves, notifications)
Logic: conditions, loops, transformations

source GitHub n8n

👩‍💻 5. Do you need to code?

No, n8n is no-code, but you can use JavaScript if you want to do advanced operations.

Most workflows are created by dragging and dropping blocks and configuring them graphically. But if you're a developer, you can use:

Function nodes (custom code)
Dynamic Expressions ({{$json["email"]}})
Advanced API Nodes

You can use JavaScript inside nodes called:

Function (code to process data)
Function Item (for operations on each element of an array)

Simple example in a node Function:

return [ 
{ 
  json: { 
    greeting: `Hello, ${$json.name}!`, 
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString() 
  } 
}
];

🚀 6. What can you do with it? Some practical examples

Automatic email translation with GPT-4
Telegram + Whisper + GPT integration for voice chatbots
Automatic creation of daily reports
Saving filled forms to Notion
Creating AI images from prompts via Discord

🛠️ 7. How do I get started? (in brief)

Option 1 – Cloud:
Go to n8n.io and create an account (trial version available)

Option 2 – Self-hosted (for geeks):

docker run -it --rm \
-p 5678:5678 \
-v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n \
n8n/n8n

Open http://localhost:5678 and you're ready to build!

👨‍💻 8. How to create a workflow step by step

8.1. Access n8n

You can:

Use the cloud version of n8n (trial with limits)
Install it locally with Docker or on a server (e.g., docker run n8n/n8n)

8.2. Create a new workflow

Click “New Workflow”
Give it a name, e.g.: "Automatic email translation"

8.3. Add a start (trigger) node

The first node triggers the flow. Examples:

Webhook – to receive an HTTP (API) request
Email – when a new email arrives
Cron – every day/hour/week
Telegram trigger, Discord, RSS, etc.

🔧 Example: Add Webhook → n8n gives you a URL → when it receives data there, it starts the flow.

8.4. Add more nodes

Click the “+” to add new nodes. You can choose between:

Function – write custom JavaScript code
HTTP Request – make API calls (e.g., OpenAI)
Google Sheets, Notion, MySQL, Slack, Discord, etc.
AI: ChatGPT, Whisper, Hugging Face, etc.

🔁 You can also add “If”, “Switch”, “Set”, “Merge” for conditional logic or parallel flows.

8.5. Connect nodes

Drag from one node to another to connect them → data flows along the link.

8.6. Test the flow

Press "Execute Workflow" (for manual testing)
Or activate the workflow and wait for the event (if it's a real trigger)

8.7. Save and Activate

Click “Activate” to make the workflow active → n8n will automatically run it when the trigger occurs.

🔄 9. Differences recompared to other tools

Tool	Open Source	Self-hosted	AI-friendly	No-code	Flexibility
n8n	✅	✅	✅	✅	🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Zapier	❌	❌	❌	✅	🔥
Make	❌	❌	✅	✅	🔥🔥
Pipedream	✅	❌	✅	❌	🔥🔥🔥

📌 10. Conclusion: n8n is for you if…

You want to automate without constraints
You want to integrate artificial intelligence into your work
You want to avoid overly expensive or limited tools
You are a geek, a marketer, a freelancer, a developer, or a team

n8n is the glue between your tools, even the smartest ones.
And the beauty is that glue… you can shape it however you want.

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