is it really FOSS?

n8n

A workflow automation platform

Nope!
It's not FOSS, and it doesn't currently claim to be, although it may have been in the past.

Details

The project is licensed under a mix of licenses, with including a custom enterprise license, with most code appearing to be a “Sustainable Use License” which sets limits upon commercial & non-personal use, modification & distribution.

The project used to market itself as open source when its was provided under a non-open Apache 2.0 with commons clause, which was raised on their GitHub resulting in a heated debate.

They no longer appear to market themselves as open source, instead choosing to advocate for “Fair-code”.

The project appears to have raised at least $73.5m in funding from investors which include Highland Europe, HV Capital, Sequoia, Felicis, and Harpoon. The project also generates revenue from hosted and enterprise versions of its application.

Details last reviewed 2025-06-09. Our reviews are performed manually, without legal expertise, and therefore may be inaccurate or missing detail relevant for your use. Please don't treat this as legal guidance or assurance of any kind.

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