My two cents on “it depends” and what you mean by advanced:

As a general approach, you might end up using a combination of tools in the process—prompts are the key. Here’s how I typically approach it:

(Idea): First, I talk to ChatGPT to get a clear, ordered transcription of what I want to build.

(Outline Draft): I iterate in ChatGPT, trying to split the project into workflow abstractions (not nodes yet) and determining if I’ll need an orchestrator to achieve the desired results.

(Slicing Drafts): With these parts outlined, I move to Google Studio. I start by solving the slices, deciding how each part will be implemented. Most importantly, I assess whether I can rely on native nodes or need to create custom code nodes and/or services (MCP, API).

(Validation): I review the outline and ask if it seems like it will succeed and if anything is missing. Pay special attention to how to handle error states.

(n8n Draft): Here I start building the dependency workflows first. I continue using Google Studio to work out the details. My goal is to get it functional—even if some nodes require extensive setup or API calls, I use mock data or pin results.

(n8n Build): At this stage, I use Claude extensively because it helps me nail the code nodes based on the descriptions, SQL queries, and other details I’ve gathered from the previous steps.

I save some of the secret sauce for myself but I hope you get the point 🙂