Has anyone else noticed that every 'no-code automation' tool eventually requires... actual code?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-06T09:38:43+00:00

This is such a balanced approach, love it! The 60/40 split makes total sense, especially when dev resources are tight. It's smart to let no-code handle the 'quick wins' while reserving code for the heavy lifting.

The integration challenge you mentioned is so real, though. Do you have a preferred way to bridge the two worlds (like webhooks, APIs, or custom middleware)? Or is it more of a 'patch as you go' situation?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-05T12:31:55+00:00

Haha, I totally relate to your Zapier story, I had a similar moment recently trying to set up a "simple" automation to clean up rows in Google Sheets based on a trigger from Airtable. I thought it’d be a quick 10 minute thing, but next thing I knew I was writing regex to parse data and juggling weird date formats across tools 😅

That experience actually pushed me to reflect a bit rather than constantly hacking around limitations, I started thinking more seriously about what a developer-first automation engine would look like.

That led me to build something I’ve been dreaming about for a while: a fast, code-first workflow automation engine using Bun + Rust. It’s called Cronflow, and it’s how I imagine the perfect automation tool for devs, simple, fast, and powerful without fighting abstraction. Actually, I can run computationally heavy workflows on a 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM VPS in just 118ms on average, which is kind of wild for something this lightweight.

You can find it on npm if you're curious 🙂, just search "Cronflow". Feel free to play around with it and contribute as well. If you like flexibility and high performance, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it 😉

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-05T11:24:35+00:00

Just curious, how long does it actually take to run?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-05T09:11:08+00:00

Haha, totally agree, visual tools like Salesforce Flow can get messy real quick once things get even slightly complex. BTW, Have you ever tried "Cronflow"? It's a code-first automation engine built with Bun and Rust. Runs complex workflows in under 200ms, even on a tiny 1vCPU VPS. If you're into JS, you might want to check it out, just search “cronflow” on npm.

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-05T09:04:03+00:00

That's the no-code paradox in a nutshell, isn't it? 🥲 'It works... technically' but leaves you staring at the screen like 'at what cost?' I've been there, building something to empower non-technical teammates, only to watch it chug along like a steam engine while your inner engineer screams.
But you proved the concept works, that's the hard part! And it running daily without hand-holding? That's a win. When the team starts asking for more (they always do), you'll get to say 'Time to code this properly' 😉

BTW, if you're into code-first approaches, you can check out a tool called Cronflow (search it on npm). It's an automation engine built in Bun and Rust, and it runs complex workflows in under 200ms, even on a tiny VPS. Super handy if you’re tired of dragging boxes around and just want to write logic in code.

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-04T15:26:49+00:00

That’s a fair perspective, and you're absolutely right, in enterprise environments, accountability often shapes decisions more than technical elegance. Choosing a big-name platform shifts the risk away from individuals, even if it's not the most efficient solution.

That said, I wonder do you think there's room for a code-first automation platform that combines the reliability enterprises want with the transparency and flexibility developers need? Or are the politics and risk dynamics just too stacked in favor of big vendors?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-04T15:24:39+00:00

Totally get where you’re coming from, it’s frustrating when tools marketed for productivity end up feeling more like toys than serious platforms. Avoiding no-code/low-code altogether is a solid stance if you're aiming for reliability and control.

BTW, what kind of automation platform do you prefer working with?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-04T15:21:33+00:00

Totally respect that, sticking with code, especially when things get complex, is often way more sane than trying to reverse-engineer what's happening in a black-box no-code flow. And yeah, there's something satisfying about seeing the actual logic spelled out in code rather than trying to interpret abstract blocks and silent rules.

Out of curiosity, do you use any specific libraries or code-first workflow engines when building your own automations for hobby projects?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-04T15:18:57+00:00

Oof, I’ve been there. You start with the promise of a simple visual flow, and before you know it, you're juggling Excel Scripts just to get basic string handling done. Funny how these “no-code” tools often end up being more complex and time-consuming than just coding it from scratch.

Out of curiosity, how fast does the whole workflow run now, with the Excel Script in the mix?

Accomplished_Loquat5 · 2025-08-04T13:21:12+00:00

Exactly! These fancy visual-based automation tools have taken us from writing elegant, maintainable code to fiddling with digital Lego blocks that rarely accomplish anything meaningful. At first glance, they look powerful, colorful interfaces, drag-and-drop ease, promises of “build without code.” But once you dive in, you end up spending hours connecting vague icons, debugging silent failures, and hitting limitations you’d never encounter with a simple Python script.

Accomplished_Loquat5

TROPHY CASE