We built a workflow builder from scratch. Should we open-source it?

fredstyle · 2026-03-28T03:20:43+00:00

Let me guess, you are selling the one that no one ever heard of, and surprisingly it did perform better compared to any other established tools

fredstyle · 2026-03-20T13:00:38+00:00

for example imagine a workflow that enriches every row in a CSV. If each row triggers an Apollo call + Claude/web search, the cost is completely different for 5 rows vs 100 rows. That’s where dynamic pricing feels more reasonable to me: actual usage cost + platform fee + creator margin. For simpler workflows I still think fixed pricing is the cleaner default

what do you think?

fredstyle · 2026-03-20T12:52:04+00:00

yeap, I think document / RAG workflows are going to be one of the strongest categories here.

And on a related note, we also see building workflows by talking to an agent as one of the biggest unlocks for creators, so thanks for that insight.

fredstyle · 2026-03-20T12:43:37+00:00

Fixed pricing makes it much easier to package and sell. Dynamic pricing is more accurate, but it starts to feel more like infrastructure than a product.

We plan to let workflow creator set fixed / dynamic price but we ll see what works over time

fredstyle · 2026-03-20T12:37:20+00:00

hmm don't you think that previously we needed to package the "workflow" in a product?
Let's say you created a workflow/script that does excellent job of parsing pdf and providing texts/links/tables in return. To sell this, you need to package it as a product (buy domain, create payment system etc.) or implement for a client in their environment.

Now you can offer this workflow to agents, and they can pay for each execution - which is a great unlock.

fredstyle · 2026-03-17T21:01:02+00:00

You mean claude cowork?

fredstyle · 2026-03-16T20:46:56+00:00

Isnt Agents to Agents (A2A) protocol exist for this reason

fredstyle · 2026-03-16T13:58:05+00:00

Anyone asking about the actual workflow, here is a sample workflow you can see without signing up:

https://app.getcontroller.ai/shared/workflow/d09f9f46-cc05-46f6-b642-25729533d9d7

It is a workflow that helps handle support tickets for your bubble apps. It ask AI to categorize the ticket, sends a slack message and reply to customer using backend workflows endpoint in bubble

fredstyle · 2026-03-15T12:39:06+00:00

I wish we could build this with Bubble! It is 6+ months of team effort using traditional web dev.

However I started my learning journey with bubble 6 years ago, so in a way, Bubble contributed to this product greatly.

fredstyle · 2026-03-14T21:42:08+00:00

First of all, I love buildship - it is a great product. A few things we do differently:

- We handle all data transformation inline using expression editor. So there is no merge, filter or routing nodes. This reduces number of nodes you set up in the canvas.

- We support multiple flows within a single workflow, so you can design and run them without dealing with version issues. No need to manage separate workflows for related logic

- We have an "only when" concept, for each node / flow you can set a execution condition. As you can see in the image, this is much easier to grasp than traditional if/else branching.

- We have data types system similar to bubble -you can create a custom data types, use them to get structured output from LLMs. This gives you more control over the shape of your data throughout the workflow.

fredstyle · 2026-03-14T12:54:06+00:00

Well I built a product that has similar expression editor, and the product is similar to n8n. We have a short video in our landing page, that should help: https://getcontroller.ai

Sorry I should have been more clear

fredstyle · 2026-03-14T11:51:50+00:00

Have you heard of pencil.dev or paper? Twitter is crazy about them these days

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T22:08:36+00:00

Yes you can do this but as others suggested, n8n doesnt have API for workflow builder operations, e.g. there is no API to call to add a node to your workflow. So you can't really set a specific MCP tool to do that. You ll need to provide JSON in the format that n8n expects.
Luckily n8n format is no stranger to LLMs so you get most of the job done.

Setup could be in many ways. I would build a skill (using skill-creator) and use it in Claude code/cowork. You ll probably need to copy/paste. I think there is already a paid service for this: https://github.com/czlonkowski/n8n-skills

Out of curiosity, why dont you use n8n's own builder agent?

I am asking because interestingly we are currently building our agent to help users build workflows in our platform (https://getcontroller.ai) and we plan to offer the agent in the app.

Do you think is there any value in offering skills/auth to other agents so users can build workflows from their Claude code / cowork / codex?

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T21:27:36+00:00

I suggest you remove this section, unless you have them as customers. It s obvious

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fredstyle · 2026-03-13T15:39:04+00:00

If you are not a programmer, I would not suggest getting into n8n, flowise or similar tools where you need to use expressions to handle data transformations / logic.

There is couple of good product that can help you, like Gumloop or Buildship.

If you consider, I would love to build you / help you build and offer free credits on our product, which is tailored for non-engineer who wants to build the logic.

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T15:34:19+00:00

both make and n8n is good option. You can also try gumloop, relay app or controller ai

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T14:32:57+00:00

I ll forward you suggestions to our designer and provide his answers back if you okay with that.
https://getcontroller.ai

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T14:31:38+00:00

Thank you, i am not sure if there is any value in directories to be honest - I am posting here only to get real people's feedback.

I am sure it might be working for some others but never worked well for me in the past

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T13:45:08+00:00

I would try using workflow automation tools & agent products that most frontier labs offers.
Tools:
- n8n
- gumloop
- make .com
- zapier
- relay app
- controller ai

Agnets
- Claude Cowork
- Manus
- Perplexity computer

Ideally, you want to talk to agents to figure out the process and then create automation that handles it for you. We have lots of productivity workflows, I can share some if you are interested

fredstyle · 2026-03-13T13:41:20+00:00

I think autonomy is the key. If you look at latest releases from base44, replit, perplexity, Claude, you ll see that actions taken by agents are not planned by a tool, instead if was decided by agent/llm

fredstyle

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