Automatisch: The Open Source Zapier Alternative You Should Know

If you've ever used Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat) to automate workflows, you know how powerful—and expensive—they can be. But what if you could self-host an alternative that gives you the same power without the vendor lock-in or recurring fees? Enter Automatisch, an open-source automation tool that’s gaining traction (12.7k stars on GitHub at the time of writing).

Automatisch lets you connect apps like Twitter, Slack, and more to automate business processes—no coding required. But unlike proprietary SaaS solutions, you control where your data lives. For devs and businesses that care about privacy, cost, or flexibility, this is a game-changer.

What It Does

Automatisch is a workflow automation platform that lets you create "if-this-then-that" (IFTTT) style automations between apps. Need to save Slack attachments to Google Drive automatically? Or tweet new blog posts from your RSS feed? Automatisch handles it.

Key features:

• Self-hosted – Run it on your own infrastructure.
• No-code builder – Drag-and-drop workflow creation.
• GDPR-friendly – Sensitive data stays in-house.
• Extensible – Supports popular apps (with more coming via community contributions).

Why It’s Cool

1. No Vendor Lock-In
   Unlike Zapier, you’re not tied to a subscription. If Automatisch doesn’t fit your needs later, you can switch without losing historical data.

2. Privacy-First
   Healthcare, finance, or EU-based companies? Self-hosting means no third-party cloud dependencies—critical for compliance.

3. Open Source = Community-Driven
   Missing an integration? You (or the community) can build it. The project’s AGPL-3.0 licensed, with an enterprise option for commercial needs.

4. Docker-Friendly
   Spin it up locally in minutes with docker-compose. No complex setup.

How to Try It

Getting started is straightforward:

git clone https://github.com/automatisch/automatisch.git
cd automatisch
docker compose up

Log in with user@automatisch.io (password: sample) and change credentials immediately. For deeper setups, check the docs.

Final Thoughts

Automatisch isn’t just a Zapier clone—it’s a flexible, dev-friendly alternative for teams that want control over their automation stack. It’s early days (some integrations are still evolving), but for privacy-conscious devs or cost-sensitive startups, this is worth a look.

If you’re tired of SaaS pricing models or just love self-hosted tools, give it a spin. And if you build something cool with it, the Discord community would probably love to hear about it.

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