head to head · open source
n8n vs shepherd
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. shepherd has 2,503 stars, 219 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. n8n leads on adoption by 8,265% (209,375 vs 2,503 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; shepherd is written in Python under MIT. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, shepherd 9%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| n8n | shepherd | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 219 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick n8n if
- You weight community size — 209K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick shepherd if
- You want the shepherd feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and shepherd fits your workflow better
About n8n
n8n – The Platform for AI Agents and Workflow Automation Fair code platform to build and deploy AI agents and workflows. Combine a visual canvas with custom code, run it self hosted or in the cloud, and connect to 1500+ integrations. AI automation you can trust with real work, from prototype to production. Key Capabilities AI Native Automation Platform : Build and operationalize AI workflows and multi step agents using your own data, models, and tools Model Flexibility, No Lock In : Connect to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or open source models and switch providers without changing your architecture From Prototype…
About shepherd
Shepherd: Programmable Meta Agents via Reversible Execution Traces [!IMPORTANT] Shepherd is in early alpha and under active development. APIs may still change between releases. Feedback and issues are very welcome! Install Quickstart Permissions Examples Docs Citation Shepherd is a runtime substrate for agent work that needs inspection, reversibility, and supervision. It records agent runs as durable, inspectable execution traces, with retained workspace outputs that can be reviewed before they are selected, applied, released, or discarded. Platforms. Shepherd requires Python 3.11+ . OS level grant enforcement…
read the full shepherd overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or shepherd more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and shepherd has 2,503. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and shepherd free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and shepherd is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and shepherd?
n8n is written in TypeScript and shepherd in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, n8n or shepherd?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose shepherd if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.