Jen Soltys, building in public
I Build My Own n8n Workflows, AI Tools, and Small Apps
I build my own stuff because I like the challenge, and because I want every feature exactly the way I want it. Everything here is something I actually built and use.
TRY THE FREE TOOLSREAD THE LATEST
Free, right here on the blog
Tools I Built Because I Needed Them
They’re free and they run right in your browser, and I use every one of them myself.
Cron Expression Builder
Pick a schedule, get the expression, and see it back in plain English before you trust it.
Open the builder →
Webhook Tester
Grab a unique URL, paste it anywhere, and watch every request land in real time.
Open the tester →
Automation ROI Calculator
Find out whether a workflow pays for itself before you spend a Saturday building it.
Run the numbers →
n8n Cost Calculator
Self-host or cloud. Put your real execution count in and see where the line falls for you.
Compare the cost →
SOP to Workflow
Paste a messy process and get a node-by-node n8n outline built from the live node catalog.
Turn a process into a flow →More on the way
I build these when something annoys me twice. Tell me what keeps annoying you.
Send me an idea →More tools live inside the posts
I build a lot of these right into the post they belong to instead of giving them their own page. Keep an eye out while you read.
Read the posts →Latest builds
What I Built Recently
Every post is something I built for my own business first, including the parts that broke.
- How I Update Old Blog Posts Without Remembering To
- The Claude Code To-Do List That Works Before I Do
- I Built a Strength Training Plan for Women Over 40 at Home
- I Built My Own New Tab Page to Replace Toby
- How I Do My Own Bookkeeping Without QuickBooks
- How I Sync Apple Health to Airtable Next to My Food Log
Browse by topic
Pick What You’re Into
Workflows & Blueprints
Step-by-step n8n builds, from the first node to the thing running.
Browse →Tools I’m Testing
What I’m actually poking at, and whether it survived the week.
Browse →Built With Claude Code
The apps, games and small tools I build for myself, and how each one came together.
Browse →Ideas & Experiments
Half-finished ideas and side experiments in progress.
Browse →Lessons & Fails
What broke, and what I’d build differently now.
Browse →What this site is
I’m Jen Soltys. I build n8n workflows, AI tools, and small web apps for my own business, then I write up exactly how each one works.
Everything on jen8n.com is something I built and use, not something I read about somewhere else. The tools on this page are free with no signup. Some of the apps I write about are paid, and I say which is which on the post. The write-ups include the parts that broke.
I build my own software because I like the challenge of making the thing I want, and because building it myself means I control every feature instead of waiting for someone else to add it. Mostly, I just love building stuff.
These days I build all of it with Claude Code, including the n8n workflows themselves. That part is new. I’ve had AI helping me since the beginning, but for a long time I was still placing every node by hand. Now n8n is where my automations run, and Claude Code is how they get made.
Questions I get
Common Questions
Who is Jen8n?
Jen8n is Jen Soltys, a solo builder who makes n8n workflows, AI tools, and small web apps for her own business and publishes how each one works.
What’s free here, and what costs money?
Every build write-up is free to read, and the browser tools on this page are free with no signup. Some of the web apps I write about are paid products, and I say so on the post itself.
Do I need to know how to code to use n8n?
No. n8n is drag-and-drop for most builds. You’ll want a Code node eventually, and I show the exact JavaScript when a workflow needs one.
What’s the difference between n8n and Claude Code?
They do different jobs, and I use both on the same build. n8n is where an automation runs, on a schedule or a trigger, over and over. Claude Code is how I build the thing in the first place. I write my n8n workflows with Claude Code now, though I spent a long time placing every node by hand before that.
Do I have to self-host n8n?
No, cloud works fine to start. Self-hosting pays off past a certain execution count, which is the line my free cost calculator draws for you.
Can I build these workflows myself?
That’s what the write-ups are for. Each one walks the build node by node so you can rebuild it in your own n8n, change whatever you want, and ship it.