Switch from n8n to Task Machine
A practical guide to moving judgment-heavy recurring work from n8n's builder canvas to Task Machine's approval inbox and verifier-backed agent workflows.
Prefer the side-by-side comparison?n8n is a self-hostable workflow automation platform with a visual node-based canvas, code nodes anywhere you need them, 400+ official integrations, and a deep AI layer including an AI Agent node and connector support. It is a builder's tool: the unit of work is a workflow you assemble, and the main surfaces are the canvas and the executions log. Task Machine is an operate-and-approve layer: the unit of work is a task you direct via chat, review in one inbox, and dig into when needed. Most people who switch keep n8n for plumbing and move the work where human review is the actual bottleneck.
Why do people switch from n8n?
- There is no cross-workflow approval inbox. n8n's human-in-the-loop is per-run: a "Send and wait for response" action or Wait/Form nodes that pause a single run into a configured Slack, Telegram, or email channel. Approvals scatter across channels. Task Machine puts every approval and question step from every workflow into one shared inbox.
- No verifier in the production graph. n8n's evaluations feature is a dev-time testing tool. Task Machine workflows carry verifier steps that check output inside the live run, before it reaches you or a customer.
- You maintain the canvas. Every change means opening the builder and rewiring nodes. Task Machine is built for directing outcomes: describe the job, pick a playbook, and review the results — deterministic, verifiable workflows without owning the wiring.
- License friction for agencies. n8n's Sustainable Use License forbids reselling worker access, which is real friction for agencies running many clients on one instance. Task Machine's connectors act on the accounts your clients own.
What maps to what?
| In n8n | In Task Machine |
|---|---|
| A workflow on the canvas | A workflow — steps with agents, branches, checks, and approval points |
| Webhook, schedule, form, and chat triggers | Schedules, task intake from outside systems, or a chat instruction |
| Nodes and integrations | Agents acting through connectors to your accounts |
| Send-and-wait or Wait/Form nodes | Approval and question steps in one shared inbox |
| The executions log | Step-level run history on every workflow run |
| Dev-time evaluations | Verifier steps inside the production run |
What do you give up?
A fair amount, honestly. n8n wins today on integration breadth and maturity — 400+ official integrations, over 1,000 counting community nodes — on deterministic, replayable node-level execution, on self-hosting and data sovereignty, and on per-execution economics at high volume. High-volume, zero-judgment data movement should stay in n8n. The workflows worth moving are the ones where a human keeps having to check, fix, or approve the output anyway.
How does the switch work?
- List the workflows where someone reviews or repairs the output by hand, or where approvals live in a Slack channel nobody watches. Those are the candidates. The plumbing stays.
- Join the Task Machine waitlist, connect the accounts those workflows touch, and pick playbooks that match the jobs.
- Rebuild each candidate as a workflow with agent steps where judgment lives, an approval step where you want the final say, and a verifier step where quality has to be checked.
- Run both in parallel for a cycle, compare outputs from the step-level run history, then retire the n8n version.
Common questions
Does Task Machine replace n8n completely?
Usually not. n8n remains better for high-volume integration plumbing, and many teams run both: n8n moves the data, Task Machine runs the judgment-heavy work that needs an inbox.
Can I self-host Task Machine like n8n?
Task Machine is a hosted product, but agents run on machines you connect — local workers today, cloud workers later — so execution happens where you put it.
Do agents act without my approval?
Only where you allow it. Each agent has an autonomy level, the default routes consequential actions to your inbox, and token and money budgets alert you at 80% and 100%.
Details about n8n reflect its public materials at the time of writing; check their site for current terms.