Code or a workflow platform?

Platform first, almost always. Code for the parts the platform strains at. Most businesses end with both: n8n for the ordinary flows and a small codebase for the core.

Who maintains it after you?

Any developer, because it is written and documented to be handed over. That is a design requirement, not a courtesy. I have handed things off to myself more than once and I build as if I will have to again.

What languages and hosting?

TypeScript or Python, deployed on Vercel, a VPS or your cloud account. Chosen per project for what the work needs and what your team can support.

Custom code, when the workflow tool is the wrong shape

Some automation does not fit a workflow tool: heavy data, complex rules, a user interface for staff, or a process that needs to be a proper service with tests. That is code, written in a repository you own, deployed on infrastructure you control, documented so another developer can pick it up.

Send me the situation How it works

Read and answered by me, usually within the day. If a spreadsheet and a checklist would do, that is the answer you get.

My own companies run several internal platforms as code, alongside n8n. Sync engines, agents, and a full internal operating system. This is how I have built most of what I run.
Scoped in writing, priced before work starts
Your account, your data, documented as it is built
Not affiliated with your own repository. No resale, no commission.

Twelve

companies operated, six of them his own, on automations he built

15,868

records synced between two systems every run, zero failures

3,984

recorded calls transcribed and graded by an agent, not a person

1,350

pages produced by one 24-agent workflow, every one reviewed

What Custom code is good at

First

Anything a workflow platform does awkwardly: heavy data, complex rules, real user interfaces, proper testing.

Second

Ownership. The code is yours, in your repository, with no platform licence between you and it.

Third

Longevity. A well-built service runs for years without a vendor changing the rules.

Where it is the wrong tool

The simple connection between two tools that Zapier does in an hour. Code has a maintenance cost and a change cost, and a workflow platform is the cheaper home for most ordinary automation.

Who should pick it

Businesses with a core process that is genuinely theirs, data that needs a real database, or staff who need a screen built for the job. Usually the second engagement, after the workflow platform has shown where its limits are.

What a Custom code setup covers

A scoped build with a written specification, a repository under your account, deployment on your cloud or server, tests for the parts that matter, and documentation. I use AI as an engineering team and I review and sign off every line, which is why a scope that used to be months is now weeks.

Asked about Custom code

Code or a workflow platform?: Platform first, almost always. Code for the parts the platform strains at. Most businesses end with both: n8n for the ordinary flows and a small codebase for the core.
Who maintains it after you?: Any developer, because it is written and documented to be handed over. That is a design requirement, not a courtesy. I have handed things off to myself more than once and I build as if I will have to again.
What languages and hosting?: TypeScript or Python, deployed on Vercel, a VPS or your cloud account. Chosen per project for what the work needs and what your team can support.

Where to start

Workflow automationThe map of how work flows, then the automation that runs it. On n8n, Zapier, Make or code.Data sync between systemsYour CRM, accounting, inventory and spreadsheets agreeing with each other, on a schedule.Reporting automationThe numbers you actually run the business on, built and sent every Monday without anyone opening a spreadsheet.AI agent developmentA custom agent with one defined job, a defined place a person checks, and a log of everything it did.

Other platforms

n8nSelf-hostable, code-friendly, fair pricing at volume. What my own companies run on.ZapierThe widest app library and the fastest start. Per-task pricing that grows with you.MakeA visual builder that handles branching and data well, at a lower price than Zapier. Formerly Integromat.Power AutomateIncluded with many Microsoft 365 plans and deep inside Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Excel. Awkward outside them.AirtableA database that looks like a spreadsheet, with automations and interfaces built in. For teams whose work lives in tables.

Tell me what is in the way.

One form, read by the person who would build it. If the honest answer is a checklist and no software, that is what you will hear.

Send me the situation Email instead