Why I stopped building custom integrations and started using n8n
After years of writing integration glue code, I realized automation platforms solve a real problem—and n8n does it right.
I spent years building Zapier clones for clients. Custom Node.js scripts to sync ERPNext with Telegram, webhooks to connect Odoo to payment gateways, Lambda functions to automate business workflows. It worked, but it was expensive to maintain.
Then I started using n8n on a project, and honestly? It changed how I approach integrations.
The problem with custom code is obvious in hindsight. Every integration is slightly different. A Telegram notification here, a Slack message there, maybe throw in a webhook for inventory updates. You write code once, then spend months maintaining it when APIs change or logic needs tweaking.
With n8n, I got:
No vendor lock-in. I can self-host it. Deploy to my own servers. No SaaS fees eating into margins. That matters when you're building for SMEs who care about costs.
Visibility. Non-technical team members can actually see what's happening. They can't build workflows, but they can understand them. That's huge when you're explaining why something failed.
Speed. Building a workflow to sync ERPNext invoice data to a Google Sheet used to take me 2 hours in code. In n8n? 15 minutes. I'm not exaggerating. Drag, connect, test, deploy.
Extensibility. When n8n doesn't have a node for something, I write one in TypeScript. It's clean. It integrates seamlessly. Better than maintaining a separate service.
I still write custom automation code—especially for complex AI workflows or things that n8n genuinely can't do. But for standard integrations? For connecting SaaS apps, syncing databases, handling business logic between systems?
I use n8n now.
The weird part is how many developers dismiss it. They think automation platforms are toys. I thought that too, until I realized I was spending 30% of my time maintaining integration code instead of building actual features.
If you're writing integration glue code by hand, try n8n once. You might surprise yourself. And if you're already in the open source community—n8n is genuinely open source. That matters.