Huginn

Open source alternative to Zapier, IFTTT and Make

50.1K stars
MIT
Active this week
Last commit 3 days ago

Last verified Oct 21, 2026

Huginn is an open-source system for building self-hosted agents that perform automated online tasks, acting as a hackable, private version of IFTTT or Zapier.

Visit website GitHub50.1K 1-click deploy on Hostinger

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Huginn is for#

Operators monitoring external signals

Track prices, feeds, weather, social terms, or site changes and route the resulting event into email, Slack, or another service.

Skip if:

Your workflow is a standard SaaS-to-SaaS trigger that Zapier already covers well.

Developers replacing cron scripts

Move one-off scraping and notification scripts into an inspectable agent graph with retries and event history.

Skip if:

You do not want to operate a Rails app or background worker stack.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Hosted automation tools are easy until a workflow needs custom scraping, unusual event routing, or private data that should not pass through a third-party platform. Teams then maintain brittle scripts or pay for task runners that still cannot express the exact workflow they need.

how Huginn solves it

How it solves it#

Directed event graph

Huginn agents create and consume events along a directed graph, so a watcher can feed filters, notifications, webhooks, and custom scripts.

Web and feed monitoring

The README lists weather alerts, Twitter term spikes, shopping deals, RSS monitoring, site-change detection, and project-name tracking as common scenarios.

Broad service connectors

Huginn includes agents for Slack, Twilio, MQTT, IMAP, Jabber, JIRA, Pushbullet, Pushover, FTP, Bash, and other services.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Hackable Zapier alternativeHuginn exposes the workflow logic in your own app rather than hiding it inside a hosted automation builder.
Strong fit for monitoring workflowsThe event model is especially useful when the job starts with watching feeds, pages, APIs, or public signals before sending an alert.

Trade-offs

-Older Rails operational footprintHuginn is powerful but not lightweight. Teams need to run and maintain a Rails application plus background jobs.
-Less polished than modern no-code toolsZapier and Make are faster for non-technical users who only need common SaaS connectors and a hosted UI.

versus alternatives

Huginn vs alternatives#

Huginn vs Zapier

Huginn is better when the workflow needs custom monitoring, scraping, private data handling, or source-level control. Zapier is better when the team wants a hosted builder, polished app directory, and no server maintenance. Huginn rewards technical operators who want automation they can inspect and extend.

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: JavaScriptRuby
Frameworks: Rails
Databases: MySQLPostgreSQL
Tooling: esbuild

frequently asked

FAQ#

Can Huginn replace Zapier?

Yes, Huginn can replace Zapier for self-hosted event monitoring and automation workflows. Zapier remains easier for non-technical users and common SaaS connectors.

What are Huginn agents?

Agents are workflow components that watch sources, create events, filter data, and trigger actions. Agents pass events through a directed graph.

Is Huginn good for web scraping?

Yes, Huginn can monitor websites and extract changes, but complex JavaScript-heavy scraping may still require a dedicated browser-based scraper.

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by category

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191

Hostinger

Run Huginn on your own server

Hostinger sets Huginn up as a one-click app on a VPS.

Deploy on Hostinger

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Who Huginn is for#