Show HN: Sim – Apache-2.0 n8n alternative

(github.com)

97 points | by waleedlatif1 4 hours ago

6 comments

  • hbarka 31 minutes ago
    I wonder how the free open-source in this stacks up to the free open-source in n8n.
    • waleedlatif1 4 minutes ago
      n8n uses a "Sustainable Use License"—source available, but not OSI-approved open source. This means you can only use it for internal business purposes or non-commercial use. Sim is Apache 2.0.
  • brene 2 hours ago
    How does it deal with loops? I’ve often see workflow builders struggle at that?
    • waleedlatif1 2 hours ago
      for loops we use two sentinel nodes with a backwards edge, and before each iteration, we check the condition and update loop variables.

        sentinel -> body -> sentinel (condition with backwards edge to first sentinel)
      
      in the UI, this is just represented as another block, and depending on the varying types of loops you can either define a collection or the number of iterations
    • Natfan 2 hours ago
      and specifically nested loops. if you're spinning up full runtime copies for each loop, you're gonna have a hard time
      • waleedlatif1 1 hour ago
        at the moment, we don't support 'loops in loops' on the client-side, but not for any other reason asides from it becoming confusing for users. since we don't actually make copies for each loop, it wouldn't be a performance issue.
  • SCUSKU 1 hour ago
    A bit of feedback, the readme gifs are a little too fast, it's hard to tell what exactly is happening.
    • waleedlatif1 1 hour ago
      thanks for the feedback, I was actually thinking this the other day. we'll slow them down.
  • malcolmgreaves 2 hours ago
    What does “n8n” stand for? I’m assuming it’s a shortening of a longer word, like k8s.
  • spflueger 28 minutes ago
    [dead]
  • ianacl 2 hours ago
    [dead]