head to head · open source
n8n vs shepherd
n8n has 205,086 GitHub stars, 60,753 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped today. shepherd has 2,430 stars, 210 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. n8n leads on adoption by 8,340% (205,086 vs 2,430 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; shepherd is written in Python under MIT. n8n has attracted 30% 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 | ★ 205K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 210 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick n8n if
- You weight community size — 205K 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 is a visual workflow automation platform built in TypeScript that combines a drag and drop editor with custom code execution. It lives in the integration and automation ecosystem, positioned as an open alternative to proprietary services like Zapier. Users design multi step workflows—called “n8n flows”—that connect apps, services, and custom logic to automate repetitive tasks.
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 is…
read the full shepherd overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or shepherd more popular?
n8n has 205,086 GitHub stars and shepherd has 2,430. 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 (205,086 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose shepherd if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.