AI developers · Part 08
n8n
Visual workflows that call models and tools with very little code.
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- n8nAn open-source, visual workflow tool. You connect nodes on a canvas and data flows from a trigger through each step. It can be self-hosted.
- Trigger nodeThe node that starts a workflow: a webhook, a schedule (cron), a new email, a GitHub event.
- Action nodeA node that does one thing in an app: send a Slack message, create a Jira issue, insert a DB row.
- $jsonThe data of the current item, passed from one node to the next.
- Code nodeA node that runs your own JavaScript to reshape data, filter items or call a library.
- IF and SwitchBranching nodes: send items down different paths based on a condition.
- HTTP Request nodeCalls any API. Often used to call your own agent endpoint.
- CredentialsStored API keys and OAuth logins for each app, kept out of your workflow logic.
- AI Agent nodeA built-in node (built on LangChain) that runs an agent with a model and tools, right on the canvas.
- ExecutionsA log of every workflow run with the data at each step.
- n8n as the triggern8n calls the agent: a GitHub webhook, a daily 9am digest or a new support email starts an agent run.
- n8n as the handsThe agent calls n8n: each workflow behind a Webhook node becomes a tool, like createJiraTicket or sendSlackMessage.
- Code for thinking, n8n for plumbingKeep reasoning in code (a LangGraph agent behind an API). Keep triggers and app integrations in n8n.