Skip to main content

Automation Layer — Workflow Engine

The automation layer handles everything that happens outside the user session — background jobs, integrations, scheduled tasks, and event-driven workflows.

Role in the Stack​

External APIs & Services
        ↕
   ┌──────────┐
   │   n8n    │  ← Triggers, webhooks, schedules
   └────┬─────┘
        ↕
   ┌──────────┐
   │ NocoDB   │  ← Reads and writes data
   └──────────┘
        ↕
   ┌──────────┐
   │ Flutter  │  ← Users trigger workflows via webhook
   └──────────┘

Common Workflow Patterns​

Data Sync​

Pull data from external APIs and write it to NocoDB tables on a schedule.

Notifications​

Watch NocoDB for new records or changes, then send alerts via email, push, or messaging platforms.

Business Logic​

Process payments, generate invoices, update account statuses — all triggered by data changes in NocoDB.

User-Triggered Automation​

Flutter calls an n8n webhook endpoint. n8n processes the request against NocoDB and returns the result.

Connecting to NocoDB​

Every n8n workflow uses the NocoDB REST API via standard HTTP Request nodes:

  • Read: GET records from a table or view
  • Write: POST/PATCH records to a table
  • Trigger: Watch for new records via polling

Why n8n​

  • Visual workflow builder — non-developers can see the logic
  • 400+ integrations out of the box
  • Self-hosted — data never leaves your infrastructure
  • Webhook support for real-time triggers from Flutter