# n8n

> n8n is a tool for automating business workflows, including steps that use AI; it is published under fair-code licences and can run on a company's own infrastructure.

Original page: https://t10.de/en/glossary/n8n
Publisher: total10 GmbH, https://t10.de/en/glossary

n8n's own [hosting documentation](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n) explains how a company can run the tool itself, either on-premises or in a private cloud. Its [licence documentation](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license) names two licences, the Sustainable Use License and the n8n Enterprise License, both based on the fair-code model.

n8n's source code is available under the Sustainable Use License, but the licence restricts how it may be used. The [licence text in the official repository](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE.md) permits use or modification only for the user's own internal business purposes, or for non-commercial or personal use. n8n's documentation notes that, according to the Open Source Initiative (OSI), an open-source licence cannot restrict how software is used, and n8n explicitly does not describe itself as open source.

For simpler workflows, where a workflow tool is the right fit, we host n8n ourselves. One business application we built for a pharmaceutical logistics company still runs its chatbot on n8n, but n8n merely passes on the prompt that the application has put together. In August 2026 we moved that application's other AI functions (document classification and summarisation) off n8n, and they now call the model directly. Some jobs need separate AI agents, review stages or a deliberate choice of model for each task. In our experience n8n could not provide these, so for such jobs we build bespoke software.

## See also

- [AI agent](https://t10.de/en/glossary/ai-agent): An AI agent is a software system, built on a large language model, that carries out actions on its own and uses interfaces to other programs to reach its goal.
- [Prompt](https://t10.de/en/glossary/prompt): A prompt is the input a user gives a generative AI system, which then responds with an output.
- [API](https://t10.de/en/glossary/api): An API (application programming interface) is a defined set of functions and rules that lets one piece of software use the features or data of another system or service.
- [Interface](https://t10.de/en/glossary/interface): An interface is the point at which two systems, programs or components meet and exchange data; the word also covers the user interface between a person and software.

## Where the term appears

- [Custom AI agents for businesses](https://t10.de/en/ai-agents)
- [E-commerce for SMEs: shops, content, AI](https://t10.de/en/ecommerce)
- [AI product copy and SEO content with RAG](https://t10.de/en/seo)
- [The self-driving content machine](https://t10.de/en/blog/self-driving-content-machine)
- [About us: two founders, one team, two worlds](https://t10.de/en/about-us)
- [Online shops: Shopify and Shopware 5 agency](https://t10.de/en/online-shops)

## Sources

1. [n8n Docs (Startseite)](https://docs.n8n.io/), n8n GmbH (n8n Docs), accessed 2026-11-07
2. [Host n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n), n8n GmbH (n8n Docs), accessed 2026-11-07
3. [Community license](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license), n8n GmbH (n8n Docs), accessed 2026-11-07
4. [LICENSE.md (Sustainable Use License, Version 1.0), Branch master](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE.md), n8n GmbH (offizielles Repository n8n-io/n8n), accessed 2026-11-07