n8n Workflow Automation
Zapier, Make (Integromat), Power Automate... these automation services make life easier, but your data transits through American servers, and execution limits quickly drive up the bill. Bunker hosts n8n, an open source workflow automation platform with no limits.
Why n8n?
n8n is a low-code workflow automation platform. Drag-and-drop visual interface, 400+ native integrations, and an execution engine that runs on your infrastructure.
What sets it apart:
- 400+ integrations: CRM, databases, emails, Slack, REST API, webhooks, and much more
- Visual interface: build your workflows by drag and drop, no coding required
- Code when needed: insert JavaScript or Python in any node
- No execution limits: your workflows run as much as needed
- Webhooks: real-time triggering via HTTP
- Self-hostable: your data stays with you
Comparison with Alternatives
| Criteria | Bunker | Zapier | Make (Integromat) | Power Automate | Temporal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | Yes (Fair-code) | No | No | No | Yes (MIT) |
| Sovereign hosting | Yes (Europe) | No (USA) | No (USA) | No (USA) | Depends on you |
| Execution limits | None | 100-50k/month | 1k-10k ops/month | Variable | None |
| Visual interface | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (code) |
| Custom code | Yes (JS/Python) | Limited | Limited | Limited | Yes |
| 400+ integrations | Yes | Yes (7000+) | Yes (1500+) | Yes (1000+) | No (SDK) |
| Real-time webhooks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High availability | Guaranteed (Queue mode) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Your responsibility |
| Ops cost | Zero | $19-$599+/month | $9-$299+/month | $15+/month | Time + server |
What Really Changes
No execution limits. With Zapier, the Pro plan at 750 tasks/month costs $19.99/month. At 50,000 tasks, it's $599/month. With n8n hosted by Bunker, your workflows run without a meter.
Your data stays in Europe. Workflows often handle sensitive data: customer contacts, financial data, API tokens. With n8n on Bunker, nothing leaves the territory.
The source code is auditable. Fair-code license: you can inspect exactly how your data is processed.
You Keep Control
- JSON export: export all your workflows in one click
- REST API: manage your workflows, executions and credentials via API
- Migration: reimport your workflows on any n8n instance
- Community: 400+ workflow templates shared by the community
Why Bunker Instead of Self-Hosting?
You could install n8n on your own server. But:
| Aspect | Self-hosting | Bunker |
|---|---|---|
| High Availability mode | To configure (workers + Redis + PostgreSQL) | Included (Queue mode) |
| Parallel workers | To size | Concurrency 10, pre-configured |
| Database | PostgreSQL to manage | CNPG PostgreSQL (2 replicas) |
| Message queue | Redis to deploy | Redis replication included |
| Encryption | N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY to generate | Generated and secured |
| Storage | To provision | 20 Gi ceph-rbd included |
| Backups | To configure | Automatic |
| Security updates | To monitor | Applied |
| 24/7 monitoring | To set up | Included |
In Queue mode, n8n separates workflow editing from execution. Workers process tasks in parallel (concurrency 10), ensuring your workflows execute even under heavy load.
Quick Start
1. Deploy from the Console
- Go to console.getbunker.net
- Create your account or log in
- Deploy n8n from the service catalog
- Wait a few minutes for the instance to be ready
2. Create a First Workflow
- Open the n8n visual editor
- Click "+" to add a trigger node (Webhook, Schedule, etc.)
- Add action nodes (send email, call API, write to database)
- Connect nodes by drag and drop
- Test with "Execute Workflow"
- Activate the workflow
3. Configure a Webhook
Webhooks let you trigger a workflow via HTTP:
- Add a "Webhook" node as trigger
- Configure the method (GET, POST) and path
- n8n generates a unique URL
- Send an HTTP request to this URL to trigger the workflow
# Example: trigger a workflow via webhook
curl -X POST https://your-instance.getbunker.net/webhook/my-workflow \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"event": "new_order", "order_id": 12345}'
Advanced Features
Queue Mode (High Availability)
Queue mode separates components for reliable execution:
- Main: manages the interface, webhooks, and sends tasks
- Workers: execute workflows in parallel (concurrency 10)
- PostgreSQL: stores workflows and execution history (CNPG, 2 replicas)
- Redis: message queue between main and workers
REST API
Manage everything via API:
# List workflows
curl https://your-instance.getbunker.net/api/v1/workflows \
-H "X-N8N-API-KEY: YOUR_KEY"
# Activate a workflow
curl -X PATCH https://your-instance.getbunker.net/api/v1/workflows/123 \
-H "X-N8N-API-KEY: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"active": true}'
Scheduled Executions
Schedule recurring workflows:
- Data synchronization every hour
- Daily report sent by email
- Weekly database cleanup
- Monthly token renewal
Best Practices
- Use n8n credentials to store your API tokens (encrypted with N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY)
- Enable error notifications to be alerted if a workflow fails
- Regularly export your workflows as JSON (or use the API)
- Use sub-workflows to factorize common logic
- Test your workflows in manual mode before activating them
Next Steps
- n8n Documentation for advanced features
- Community Templates to get started quickly
- External Backups for complete protection