n8n as glue between honest systems

What n8n is good at in a self-hosted stack: workflows that connect APIs without pretending every integration deserves a new microservice.

n8n is workflow automation with a node-based editor. It shines when two systems need to talk on a schedule, on a webhook, or after a human clicks a button—and you do not want to own another bespoke daemon.

Glue, not glitter

The best automations are boring: copy a row, post a summary, open a ticket, rotate a token. If a flow is hard to explain in one sentence, split it until it is not.

Official docs at docs.n8n.io cover credentials, error handling, and scaling patterns—read the security section before you point webhooks at the internet.

Stack fit

n8n belongs beside Git and monitoring: observable, backed up, and treated like production because it is production glue.