Open-source Zapier alternatives

n8n is a workflow automation platform for connecting apps, moving data between them and triggering actions without writing a full integration from scratch. Workflows are built on a visual canvas, and when a step needs more logic you can drop in JavaScript or Python and use npm packages. It is often compared with Zapier and Make, but the source is public and it can run on your own infrastructure.

Recent versions put a lot of weight on AI. You can build multi-step agents and LLM workflows that call OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or open-source models, add human approval steps, and inspect what happened afterward. The project advertises over a thousand integrations and a large library of ready-made workflow templates, and you can extend it with your own nodes.

n8n is distributed under a fair-code model: the Sustainable Use License, plus a separate enterprise license for additional features. The code is always visible and can be self-hosted, for example with Docker, but it is not an OSI-approved open-source license, so commercial redistribution is restricted. A managed cloud edition is available if you would rather not run it yourself.

Huginn lets you build agents that carry out automated online tasks on your behalf. These agents can browse the web, watch for events and take action for you. Agents create and consume events and pass them along a directed graph. The README compares it to a hackable version of IFTTT or Zapier running on your own server, so you always know who holds your data. It is written in Ruby and released under the MIT license.

Example uses listed by the project include getting an email when rain is forecast, monitoring terms on social media for spikes, watching for travel or shopping deals, scraping websites and receiving an alert when they change, and sending digest emails at set times. Huginn can connect to many services, including Slack, IMAP, FTP, JIRA, MQTT, Pushover, RSS, Twilio and others.

Agents can also exchange webhooks, execute your own JavaScript, record your location over time, and build Amazon Mechanical Turk workflows. It suits developers and tinkerers who want programmable monitoring and notification workflows that run on their own infrastructure.

Activepieces is an open-source replacement for Zapier, positioned as an all-in-one AI automation tool. Automations are built from pieces, which are type-safe TypeScript npm packages, and the interface is meant to work for both technical and non-technical users. The topics also describe it as an alternative to n8n. The repository metadata lists the license as Other.

Pieces that are contributed to the project automatically become available as MCP servers, so LLM clients such as Claude Desktop, Cursor and Windsurf can use them. The platform includes native AI pieces for working with different providers, an AI SDK for building agents inside the builder, and human-in-the-loop steps that delay execution or require approval. Developers can set up tools, then others in the organization use the no-code builder. It can be self-hosted, including in network-gapped environments, and supports branding customization.

Node-RED is a low-code programming tool for event-driven applications built on flow-based, visual programming. Instead of writing everything as code, you connect nodes that represent inputs, processing steps and outputs, which makes it popular for IoT projects, home automation and wiring together APIs and online services. It is a project of the OpenJS Foundation.

Getting started takes a couple of commands: install it globally with npm, start it with the node-red command, and open it in your browser. A large ecosystem sits around it, with a library of custom nodes and integrations, shared flows and node collections, plus documentation, a forum and a Slack community. Developers can also run the latest code from git by cloning the repository, installing dependencies and building it.

Node-RED is written in JavaScript on Node.js and licensed under Apache-2.0. You run it on your own computer, a Raspberry Pi, a server or in a container, so there is no hosted service to depend on. It suits makers, integrators and engineers who want to prototype and automate event-driven logic quickly.

Pipedream is an integration platform for developers. It is a hosted platform, advertised as free for developers, for connecting applications and building event-driven automations. The GitHub repository holds the code for the pre-built integration components, the product roadmap and the documentation.

Workflows are sequences of steps, which can be pre-built actions or custom code, and each workflow is started by an event such as an HTTP request, a timer or a new row in a spreadsheet. Event sources emit events from services like GitHub, Slack, Airtable and RSS, while actions cover common operations such as sending a message or adding a spreadsheet row. More than 1,000 integrated applications are available, and any Node.js, Python, Go or Bash code can be run for custom logic.

The README says the company has demonstrated SOC 2 compliance. Because the platform itself is run by Pipedream, this is mostly a hosted service with an open repository of components rather than software you install, and the repository lists its license as Other. It suits developers who want webhook-driven glue code without managing servers.

Automatisch is a business automation tool that connects different online services so that tasks flow between them without manual work. It is described as an open-source Zapier alternative, and no programming knowledge is needed to build workflows. The input lists its license only as other, so check the repository for the exact terms.

Its main selling point is control over data: because you run it on your own servers, information stays out of third-party clouds, which matters for industries such as healthcare and finance and for European companies subject to GDPR. The project also stresses the absence of vendor lock-in, since you hold your data and can move to another provider more easily than between cloud services.

Documentation is available at automatisch.io/docs, and the project is written in JavaScript. Automatisch suits small businesses, agencies, and technical teams that want to automate integrations between SaaS tools without paying per-task fees, and that are comfortable hosting a small service.

ByteChef is an open-source platform that brings AI agents and workflow automation into one product. It can be self-hosted or embedded inside a SaaS application, and it is presented as an alternative to tools like Zapier and n8n, with a drag-and-drop workflow editor for building automations across APIs.

An AI Agent component runs the full agent loop of model, tool selection, execution and observation as a step in a durable workflow, so a failed or paused run resumes from that step. The README lists support for many LLM providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, Bedrock, Mistral, Groq, DeepSeek and Ollama, components that double as agent tools, several memory backends, and guardrails. Topics also mention MCP, embedded iPaaS and Workato-style integrations.

The core is licensed under Apache 2.0 according to the README, while the repository metadata lists the licence as other. ByteChef is written in Java and TypeScript, with an embedded edition for shipping the same agents in your own product, plus documentation, templates and a connector developer guide. It suits engineering teams that want automation and agents under their own control.

Flow-Like is a developer platform for building and running application logic as typed workflows. A Flow is a single executable process whose graph is run by a Rust runtime, either on a developer's machine or on configured infrastructure. Logic sits next to the interfaces, data, packages, access rules and releases it belongs to, so a team can follow how a change was built and what it did.

Flows can be edited as FlowScript, a typed text form, or on a live node canvas, and edits in either view update the same underlying Board. Work is organized into Apps that bundle Flows with Events and Pages: an Event can expose a Flow as an API, schedule, chat, form, Page, REST endpoint or MCP server. Studio, a desktop application, handles editing, data inspection, local runs and tracing; a browser app and backend provide shared access and remote execution.

The repository's topics place it in the same space as n8n, Retool and Temporal, and it targets AI agent and LLM integration alongside conventional automation. It is described as source-available, with the license listed as Other, so review the terms before commercial use. It can be self-hosted, and an online trial and a downloadable Studio app are offered.

LiveContext is a self-hosted AI automation platform. You describe the job in a chat message, and it builds a readable workflow, AI agents with scoped access and spending budgets, and a small app your team can use, all on one canvas that combines chat, workflow, agent and app.

Workflows are drawn as a readable graph and can be wrapped in an interface with forms, dashboards and approval screens. Each agent has its own model, tools, files, credit budget and audit trail so you can see what it did, built-in data tables are available to workflows and agents without an external database, and every run is charted by calls, tokens, success rate and duration. The stack uses Java with Spring Boot, a Next.js front end and Docker, with topics mentioning MCP.

The project is positioned as a source-available alternative to n8n, Zapier and Make with agents built in, uses a fair-code style license listed as Other, and also offers a hosted version to try. It is aimed at teams that want AI automation they can run on their own infrastructure.

LoomFlow is a workflow builder for individuals and small teams that starts from a plain-language idea. You describe what you want, it generates a runnable workflow on a visual canvas, you adjust it, and then you publish it as an authenticated HTTP API with shareable pages. It also includes built-in evaluation, evolution and quality gates for the AI steps. It is aimed at indie developers, content creators, small studios and automation hobbyists.

The README compares it with Dify and n8n. It describes Dify as a heavier platform for team LLM apps with knowledge bases and complex deployment, and n8n as general-purpose automation where AI is one node type among many. LoomFlow positions itself as the lightweight, AI-first option that is quick to start and easy to run.

Deployment is a single Docker command for self-hosting, and the README says the setup runs on modest hardware. The application is built with TypeScript and Next.js, uses Supabase according to its topics, and is licensed under MIT. The README warns users to change the default administrator credentials after installation.