n8n: what it is, how to install & alternatives

by n8n-io · MCP Server · ★ 207.4k

Last updated: · Indexed by AgentSkillsHub · Auto-synced every 8h

🔒 Is n8n safe to install? View the security audit →

About n8n

n8n - Secure Workflow Automation for Technical Teams n8n is a workflow automation platform that gives technical teams the flexibility of code with the speed of no-code. With 400+ integrations, native AI capabilities, and a fair-code license, n8n lets you build powerful automations while maintaining full control over your data and deployments. Key Capabilities Code When You Need It: Write JavaScript/Python, add npm packages, or use the visual interface AI-Native Platform: Build AI agent workflows based on LangChain with your own data and models Full Control: Self-host with our fair-code license or use our cloud offering Enterprise-Ready: Advanced permissions, SSO, and air-gapped deployments Active Community: 400+ integrations and 900+ ready-to-use templates Quick Start Try n8n instantly with npx (requires Node.js): Or deploy with Docker: Access the editor at http://localhost:

How to install n8n

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

Taken from the project's README on GitHub. Check the security audit before running it.

Security audit verdict: SAFE · quality 61/100

No red flags found in any of the 11 categories — no credential harvesting, no data exfiltration, no curl-pipe-shell installer. Scanned against the SlowMist agent-security taxonomy, refreshed every 8 hours. Full audit →

aiapisautomationclidata-flowdevelopmentintegration-frameworkintegrationsipaaslow-code

Quick Facts

Stars207,356
Forks61,135
LanguageTypeScript
CategoryMCP Server
Quality Score60.8783623302422/100
Open Issues1185
Last Updated2026-10-14
Created2019-06-22
Platformscli, mcp, node
Est. Tokens~14k

Compatible Skills

These tools work well together with n8n for enhanced workflows:

  • sim — semantic(0.18)+complementary+rare_topics+same_lang+similar_pop+shared_platform (65%)
  • ToolJet — semantic(0.34)+complementary+rare_topics+similar_pop+shared_platform (61%)
  • coze-studio — semantic(0.22)+complementary+rare_topics+same_lang+similar_pop+shared_platform (57%)
  • tribe — semantic(0.16)+complementary+rare_topics+same_lang+shared_platform (49%)
  • agentic-signal — semantic(0.28)+complementary+rare_topics+same_lang+shared_platform (49%)

n8n alternative? Top 6 similar tools

Looking for a n8n alternative? If you're comparing n8n with other mcp server tools, these 6 projects are the closest alternatives on Agent Skills Hub — ranked by topic overlap, star count, and community traction.

  • dify by langgenius · ⭐ 158.4k

    Build Agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, with rich AI model and tool support on one collaborative workspace. De

  • gemini-cli by google-gemini · ⭐ 107.3k

    An open-source AI agent that brings the power of Gemini directly into your terminal.

  • Scrapling by D4Vinci · ⭐ 87.3k

    🕷️ An adaptive Web Scraping framework that handles everything from a single request to a full-scale crawl! Do

  • open-webui by open-webui · ⭐ 155.6k

    User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...)

  • Agent-Reach by Panniantong · ⭐ 97.2k

    Give your AI agent eyes to see the entire internet. Read & search Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, GitHub, Bilibili,

  • awesome-claude-skills by ComposioHQ · ⭐ 75.3k

    A curated list of awesome Claude Skills, resources, and tools for customizing Claude AI workflows

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is n8n?

n8n is Fair-code workflow automation platform with native AI capabilities. Combine visual building with custom code, self-host or cloud, 400+ integrations.. It is categorized as a MCP Server with 207.4k GitHub stars.

What programming language is n8n written in?

n8n is primarily written in TypeScript. It covers topics such as ai, apis, automation.

How do I install or use n8n?

The README on GitHub (github.com/n8n-io/n8n) gives: npx n8n , then docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n. Usage details are in the same README.

What are the best alternatives to n8n?

The top alternatives to n8n on Agent Skills Hub include dify, gemini-cli, Scrapling. Each offers a different approach to the same problem space — compare them side-by-side by stars, quality score, and community activity.

How this security grade is produced

Grades come from a rule-based scan built on the SlowMist agent-security taxonomy, covering 11 red-flag categories including credential harvesting, data exfiltration, and curl | sh installers. It is a first-layer scan, not a manual audit — we say so rather than overstate it.

The scale of the problem is documented independently: Liu et al. (2026), in a study of 31,132 agent skills, report that 26.1% contain security vulnerabilities. Our own full-catalog census is published as a citable open dataset.

Sources & who's responsible:

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