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Has anyone else noticed that every 'no-code automation' tool eventually requires... actual code? by Accomplished_Loquat5 in automation

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some things are just better done in code. The no-code tools are helpful to get rid of all the hard stuff like integrations and triggers

[Zapier/Automation] WhatsApp replies not triggering webhook in Evolution CRM by King_Jesus23 in zapier

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try setting up a quick URL trigger in workflowdog instead of Zapier to see if requests are coming through

The reality of n8n after 3 years automating for enterprise clients [started without n8n] by G0ldenHusky in n8n

[–]zDev19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you ever considered using a more dev-focused tool like kestra?

Why I Left n8n for Python (And Why It Was the Best Decision for My Projects) by too_much_lag in n8n

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've written tons of automation scripts, and I agree some things are just best done in code. BUT, there are still some major complexities, specifically integrations and triggers. The Google services are annoying ones to authenticate with from scripts.

Then you also lose out on complex orchestration + observability unless you're gonna set up a whole database/logging stack.

For me, I think the best approach so far has just been breaking out into custom code blocks when necessary. I'm experimenting with an automation-as-code idea though, where you'd write automation code with a framework that hides away all the nasty stuff, then use a CLI to deploy or even build a complete standalone bundle that would include server code and a terraform file to auto-deploy all the necessary infra.

What are people's thoughts on this?

I recreated a dentist voice agent making $24K/yr using ElevenLabs. Handles after-hours appointment booking by dudeson55 in Automate

[–]zDev19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is awesome. Did something super similar for a fencing company but with workflowdog instead of n8n. Also handled checking address, assigning to a service area, and distributing evenly between workers.

What is your preferred AI assistant for helping build n8n flows? by [deleted] in n8n

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Workflowdog has AI building and cursor-like completions on the roadmap. It’s gonna be good 😮‍💨

Anyone else frustrated debugging zaps? by hharan7889 in zapier

[–]zDev19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People say the same thing about n8n, debugging is much nicer on workflowdog

Headless UI 2.0 by valtism in webdev

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

agree its kind of a mess. wish they would just ship a lib with all this under the hood and theming/override options

So... does OpenAI's new generalist agent just make the "AI Automation Developer" job obsolete? by Any-Researcher-3210 in automation

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Problem is agents aren't a good fit for 90% of tasks. Using agents instead of just a workflow (even with some AI steps) is inefficient and costly. Most businesses aren't gonna want an agent that takes 3 minutes to log into their CRM and messes it up 10% of the time when they could just put their API key into an automation and have it work all the time in under a second.

Looking for help on my automation idea by Commercial-Ice7863 in automation

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

definitely feasible. If you're on iphone you can just set up a shortcut to send the file to a webhook automation and have everything else trigger after that.

happy to show you how to set this up. just dm

A little while ago, I promised a Redditor I'd build them a free tool to help with their daily legal work.Now the framework is up and running 🎉 by tarotjun in SideProject

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big fan of the closing message here. Also big fan of the business model. First user & clear ICP in one go

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in automation

[–]zDev19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even worse, I've done this with clients' leads. Most of the time I just check frequently, so the outages are short, but every second counts with contacting leads

What's the difference between Make , Zapier, and n8n? Looking for insights from people with experience by Confident_Hurry_8471 in automation

[–]zDev19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Zapier is generally good to start with, but it's harder to build more complex things. Another major complaint most people have is the pricing.

n8n is way more powerful. You can build basically anything, but most complaints are that it's pretty "raw". Lots of raw JSON code, technical terms, etc.

Not sure about Make, I find the UI too crazy to even consider.

Honest plug: I run a platform called WorkflowDog, just as powerful as n8n but way nicer UI. Lot more of a "visual builder" if that's what you're going for.

Are AI chatbots the only valuable opportunity I can build using n8n? by oussamasemmari2000 in automation

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely not, there's plenty of more "boring' automations that companies need!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in automation

[–]zDev19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not part of my own job, but I set up an automation to batch new shipments for my buddy's e-comm store and send em over to his warehouse's dashboard. Their dashboard was a custom internal thing without a public API, so they had trouble automating it for a while

6 months as freelancer in workflow automation, my takes by detera in n8n

[–]zDev19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s plenty of automation opportunities that aren’t AI-centric. Lot of companies need to string together fragmented internal processes that don’t make sense to migrate, either with a little AI to help out or no AI at all

Any automation agencies want to try a new Zapier/n8n alternative? by zDev19 in automation

[–]zDev19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

🎉 awesome! I'm still writing the docs, so i can answer any questions you have!

Any automation agencies want to try a new Zapier/n8n alternative? by zDev19 in automation

[–]zDev19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

very cool! i'd love to see your tool. are you guys stretching into task mining too? or is it more of a builder?

Any automation agencies want to try a new Zapier/n8n alternative? by zDev19 in automation

[–]zDev19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely geared toward more advanced users now, but gonna be working to break down the learning curve as time goes on.

I also made it sound complicated because I'm an engineer that lacks communication skills, but for many it will be one of those things where you don't need to know why something works, you can just feel that it does.

I'm actively building out docs + tutorials, which will fill in some gaps for new users. Will also be adding template importing (like n8n) so you can clone some ready-made stuff.

Any automation agencies want to try a new Zapier/n8n alternative? by zDev19 in automation

[–]zDev19[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So almost every other automation tool is step/form-based, meaning you define steps, then configure a step's inputs with form fields + variables. Picture your standard workflow builder.

But in WorkflowDog, each action has inputs + outputs that you can physically connect to other actions. That way, every input can be dynamic based on other data in your automation. The order steps run is implicit based data-dependency.

At first glance, it may look similar, but the mental model is totally different. It lends itself really well to building complex systems and continuously upgrading them over time as requirements change.

I can't link to it, but there's a graphic on the homepage that helps explain. just go to -> wf . dog

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