Comment by tcdent
What percent of agent devs are using tools like this versus writing code to define their systems?
Seems like a lot, and I find it surprising that people would build real world workflows on platforms like this.
What percent of agent devs are using tools like this versus writing code to define their systems?
Seems like a lot, and I find it surprising that people would build real world workflows on platforms like this.
When did this happen?
I’ve been using n8n for two or so years. Just feels like I woke up one day and everyone else was using it too.
> Also there inevitably is going to be something along the lines of OAuth or similar that will allow agents to sign up for services and create credentials on behalf of users to solve this type of problem.
I agree with you, but the real solution to this is an API.
I recently had to build a production-ready workflow in N8N - it ended up being a spaghetti flow of custom code nodes and custom http requests (because none of the provided connectors did exactly what we needed) that I was left wondering if this wouldn't be easier to code up in Cursor.
Who says they're not writing code? I imagine a declarative DSL with a typescript SDK for the primitives is appealing to some devs. There's an API too.
It's a bit too simplistic for complex workflows, its model assumes a workflow is executed entirely by a single worker...
It looks to me like n8n has suddenly taken over to the point where Automation is now almost synonymous with n8n for most people.
As someone who builds workflows using my own agent system which is based on checklists, subtasks and tool calling with new features or tools based on plugins in Python, it is harder and harder to find an "AI Automation" project where people haven't predetermined that I have to use n8n.
It's ridiculous.
I actually think that defaulting to creating workflows in raw code is not an ideal outcome though because it feels inaccessible to non-programmers.
But I think within X months there will be a lot of people who find out how bad the licensing issues are with n8n and migrate to something similar to my system where workflows are run by agents that have a delegate_subtask command or commands to manage checklists etc. Because most of the workflows can be managed easily by strong models and just described in natural language if the agents have the right tool commands and the system has a scheduling/trigger system.
But then give it another X months or a year or so later and many will start using general purpose computer use agents that they just treat quite similarly to human employees. Because one of the biggest gaps regardless of how you do it is with the inconvenience of setting up OAuth 2 and the operational and bottom line issue of running all of your API requests through some centralized service like n8n.
So we will see people who have agent systems like myself (mindroot on GitHub) start building in computer and browser use capabilities and recipes for accessing websites and creating API keys etc. for their users.
Also there inevitably is going to be something along the lines of OAuth or similar that will allow agents to sign up for services and create credentials on behalf of users to solve this type of problem.
But one of the big advantages n8n has with users right now is that they have OAuth set up with literally everything.