Getting started with n8n is your first step toward reclaiming your time and supercharging your productivity. At its core, n8n is a flexible, source-available workflow automation tool that empowers you to connect different applications and services to create powerful, automated processes. This guide will walk you through the fundamental concepts of nodes, workflows, and triggers, help you decide between n8n Cloud and self-hosting, and provide a practical, step-by-step tutorial to build your very first automation. Whether you’re a developer who loves code or someone who prefers a visual drag-and-drop interface, you’ll find the freedom to build what you need.
What is n8n, Really? Let’s Break It Down
I remember the first time I built a multi-step automation that just worked. It felt like I had discovered a superpower. That’s the feeling n8n aims to give you. The best way I can describe it is like a set of digital LEGO bricks. You have all these different pieces, and you can connect them in nearly infinite ways to build something amazing.
In the world of n8n, these ‘bricks’ are the core components that make up every automation.
The Building Blocks: Nodes and Workflows
- Nodes: These are your LEGO bricks. A node is a single action or step in your process. It could be “Read from a Google Sheet,” “Send a Slack message,” “Create a new task in Asana,” or “Fetch data from an API.” Each node is designed to do one thing really well.
- Workflows: A workflow is the complete structure you build with your nodes. It’s the visual flowchart you see on the n8n canvas, showing how data moves from one node to the next. Your workflow is the entire automated process, from start to finish.
Kicking Things Off: Triggers
So, how does a workflow start? It doesn’t just run randomly (unless you want it to!). Every active workflow begins with a Trigger Node. This special node listens for a specific event and kicks off the workflow when that event happens.
Common triggers include:
- Schedule: Run the workflow every hour, every day, or at a specific time.
- Webhook: Start the workflow when it receives a web request from another application.
- On App Event: Trigger when something happens in an app, like a new row is added in Airtable or a new message is posted in Discord.
The Magic Sauce: Credentials and Expressions
Two other concepts are crucial for getting started with n8n:
- Credentials: To allow n8n to access your apps (like Google Drive or Slack), you need to provide it with credentials, usually an API key or by logging in via OAuth2. n8n stores these securely, so you only have to set them up once per account.
- Expressions: This is where the real power lies. Expressions are tiny snippets of code that let you pass data between nodes. Ever wanted to take the subject line from a new email and use it as the title for a Trello card? That’s done with an expression. It sounds technical, but it’s surprisingly intuitive once you see it in action.
Choosing Your Playground: n8n Cloud vs. Self-Hosting
Before you build, you need to decide where your n8n will live. You have two main options, and there’s no wrong choice—it just depends on your needs.
| Feature | n8n Cloud | Self-Hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Instant. Just sign up and go. | Requires technical setup (usually with Docker). |
| Maintenance | Fully managed by the n8n team. | You are responsible for updates and maintenance. |
| Control | Great features, but within a managed environment. | Full control over your instance, data, and environment. |
| Best For | Beginners, teams who want to move fast without infra overhead. | Users with strict data privacy needs or who want custom configurations. |
Let’s be honest about this: if you’re just getting started with n8n, the Cloud version is your best friend. It removes all the technical hurdles of server setup and lets you focus purely on learning and building. You can always migrate to a self-hosted version later if your needs change.
Your First Automation: A Practical Walkthrough
Enough theory! Let’s get our hands dirty and build something genuinely useful. We’re going to create a workflow that automatically checks a blog’s RSS feed for new posts and sends a notification to a Discord channel.
Step 1: Setting the Stage (The Trigger)
Start with a new, blank workflow. Every workflow needs a trigger.
- Click the
+button to add your first node. - Search for
RSS Feed Triggerand select it. - In the node’s parameters, you’ll see a field for
Feed URL. Find the RSS feed for a blog you like (for example, the n8n blog’s feed ishttps://n8n.io/blog/rss/). - By default, it checks every hour. You can leave that as is.
Step 2: Let’s Add Some Action (The Discord Node)
Now we need to tell n8n what to do when it finds a new post.
- Click the
+on the right side of the RSS Feed Trigger node. - Search for
Discordand add it. - The first thing you’ll need to do is connect your Discord account. Click on the
Credentialdropdown and select ‘Create New’. You’ll be prompted to follow Discord’s instructions to create a webhook URL for the channel you want to post in. It’s a simple copy-and-paste job.
Step 3: Crafting the Message with Expressions
This is where it gets interesting. We want our Discord message to be dynamic, containing the title and link of the new blog post.
- In the Discord node’s
Contentfield, you can type your message. - Let’s write:
New Blog Post Alert! - Now, to add the title, click the ‘Add Expression’ button (the little square icon next to the field). You’ll see data from the previous node. Drag the
titlefield into your message. - It will insert something like
{{$json["title"]}}. That’s not gibberish, I promise! It’s just n8n’s way of saying, “Hey, go back to the previous node’s data and grab the value called ‘title’.” - Your final message in the expression editor might look like this:
New Blog Post Alert! "{{$json.title}}"
Read it here: {{$json.link}}
Step 4: Test and Activate!
Before we set this loose on the world, let’s test it. Click the Test workflow button in the bottom left. n8n will run each node and show you the output. You should see a new message pop up in your Discord channel!
Once you’re happy with it, toggle the switch from Inactive to Active in the top right. Congratulations! You’ve just built your first working automation.
What’s Next on Your n8n Journey?
You’ve taken your first steps, but the road ahead is wide open. You’ve seen how nodes connect and how data flows between them. From here, you can explore:
- The Code Node: For all my fellow developers, this is your escape hatch. If you can’t find a node for what you need, you can write custom JavaScript or Python to do literally anything.
- Workflow Templates: n8n has a massive library of pre-built workflows. It’s the best place to get inspiration or find a solution to a problem someone has already solved.
- The Community: The n8n community forum is one of the most helpful and active places you’ll find. If you get stuck, chances are someone there can help you get unstuck.
Welcome to the world of automation. Go build something amazing!
