Hello,
I am new to N8N so no flames if this is a basic question please. I have played with n8n to create AI agents/workflows (customer support chatbots,…). Works quite well and easy to use no-code environments and connection to all major data sources. Now, if I am a consultant to an enterprise that wants to deploy my workflows I developed on my local instance inside their network, what I have not understood so far is how I can publish my wokflows into my customer network. Assume they have a self hosted enterprise version of n8n. How can their end user simply run those chatbots and AI workflows as end users - no access to the node configurations, just run chatbots embedded in a webpage/intranet? All I found so far is how to share the JSON so they can import those workflows in their environment. But how do these AI workflow get deployed, ie used by end users who do not want access to the node configurations? Thanks JS
Describe the problem/error/question
What is the error message (if any)?
Please share your workflow
(Select the nodes on your canvas and use the keyboard shortcuts CMD+C/CTRL+C and CMD+V/CTRL+V to copy and paste the workflow.)
If the customer is self-hosting n8n and you’re just building or deploying workflows for them, you’re fine under the Sustainable Use License — no extra license needed.
However, there are two situations where you’d need to look at paid licensing:
n8n Enterprise License →
If the customer wants Enterprise features like advanced RBAC, SSO, projects, source control integration, or premium support, they’d need an Enterprise subscription.
n8n Embed License →
If you want to host n8n yourself and provide it to external customers as part of a SaaS or white-labelled solution, then you’d need an Embed License. (keeps everything hidden)
For your case — consulting, deploying workflows, and even managing their instance for them — you’re covered under the free Sustainable Use License, unless they specifically need Enterprise-only features. But you can’t really hide the workflows from them.
So you should be fine consulting/managing it for them, editing nodes etc, if they dont want to manage this, but it must be on their own license for you to be legal.
Hope that makes sense, am quite sure this is right, but if anyone else has input feel free..
I am also interested in the technical aspects of ‘publishing workflows for end users’. I see that people use webhooks nodes to trigger workflows, but integrating those flows in a UI for say intranet publishing seems more tricky and more hands on. I see some developers uisng standard app dev frameworks like bubble or lovable but the integration with flows does not seem that automated or straight forward. Unlike agent platforms like Dust or Make, by default you run n8n flows in the n8n environment and UI, Not great for enterprise deployment where there may be one developers and many end users that do want a decent UI, not to see the nodes editing panel.
I was wondering if there is a standard or recommended way(s) to publish those workflows for end user to use/execute the flows, outside of the node UI of n8n. Thanks for any pointers.
My understanding is, if @julsig doesn’t use his own instance, and the business he is consulting for own and is there instance as long as it’s internal business use ie n8n isn’t the core business it’s under community license?
It crosses the line if it’s @julsig instance he uses and hosts and uses his customers creds, then this would need an actual license?
@julsig you mentioned here “flows in the n8n environment and UI, Not great for enterprise deployment where there may be one developers and many end users that do want a decent UI, not to see the nodes editing panel.“
You mention “intranet“ so I would assume it’s internal business use, multiple employees? Which should be okay under community license.
Are these end users all part of the same company? or separate company/individuals?
Consulting and creating workflows for people is no problem at all. If you dev and deploy or just dev on the client machine no issues whatsoever.
The license is needed when 1 n8n instance running somewhere is connecting to client credentials. This would mean u need a license for the commercial offering u are providing. (or your client provides their clients)
Think for example a simple use case. Customer support. You make a RAG agent to browse product documentation, give it as an internal tool to 100 customer support advocates to use to answer customer queries.
I found plenty of examples of RAG agents I can start form to build the workflow.
I found little to no documentation about how once I build the workflow and make it available on the customer internal n8n instance (with proper licensing), how do the 100 customer advocates acces the agent as a stand alone web app on the intranet? Maybe that is obvious, but I did not find any documentation about this on how you can make it easy for a webapp to interact with the workflow.
