Huginn
Huginn is an MIT-licensed system for building agents that perform automated tasks for you online, which its README calls a hackable version of IFTTT or Zapier on your own server. Its agents read the web, watch for events and take actions, passing events along a graph. It sends and receives webhooks, scrapes sites and emails you when they change, runs JavaScript, and connects to Slack, Twilio, RSS and others. It has no AI features.
What does Huginn do?
Huginn is "a system for building agents that perform automated tasks for you online. They can read the web, watch for events, and take actions on your behalf." Its agents "create and consume events, propagating them along a directed graph", and the README calls it "a hackable version of IFTTT or Zapier on your own server." Its privacy line: "You always know who has your data. You do."
Agents watch websites and email you when they change, send digest emails on a schedule, send and receive webhooks, and run custom JavaScript functions. The README names connections to HipChat, FTP, IMAP, Jabber, JIRA, MQTT, Pushbullet, Pushover, RSS, Bash, Slack, StubHub, translation APIs, Twilio, Twitter and Weibo, "to name a few", and new agents can be added as Ruby gems. Its agents are rule-based: the README does not mention language models, AI providers or MCP. It was created in 2013.
Key facts
- Licence: MIT, copyright Andrew Cantino, 2013.
- Agents create and consume events along a directed graph; a hackable IFTTT or Zapier on your own server, by the README.
- Webhooks in and out, web scraping with change alerts, scheduled digest emails, and custom JavaScript.
- Connections named in the README include IMAP, FTP, JIRA, MQTT, RSS, Bash, Slack, Twilio, Twitter and Weibo; new agents install as Ruby gems.
- No language models, AI providers or MCP are mentioned; its agents follow rules you set.
- Install: the official Docker image, a local Ruby install with MySQL or PostgreSQL, Heroku (paid plan), OpenShift or any server.
- The README advises routing outbound requests through an egress proxy if untrusted people can create agents.
- Latest tagged release when read: v2026.09.09 on 2026-09-08; 49,969 stars on 2026-09-17.
What does it replace, and where does it fall short?
Huginn replaces Zapier and IFTTT for someone who wants rule-based automations, watch a page, catch a webhook, send a message, on their own server with every piece of data kept there, under MIT. It is the long-standing, no-AI pick on the open-source alternatives to Zapier page.
Where it falls short: it has no AI features, its integrations are fewer and older than the modern platforms', and building agents is closer to configuration than drag-and-drop. For visual automation with AI agents, Activepieces or n8n.
How does Huginn run?
Run the official Docker image, or install locally with Ruby, MySQL or PostgreSQL and an .env file with an app secret. The README also covers Heroku, which needs a paid plan, OpenShift and manual installs on any server. There is no hosted Huginn from the maintainers.
Who is Huginn for?
A technical user who wants private, rule-based automations such as change alerts, digests and webhooks, with nothing leaving their server. A team that wants AI agents or a no-code builder should pick Activepieces or n8n.
What limits does the README state?
From the README: Huginn launches only on a paid Heroku plan; if people you do not fully trust can create agents, route outbound requests through an egress proxy; the weather agent needs a Pirate Weather key.
Questions people ask
Is Huginn open source?
Yes. Huginn is MIT licensed, copyright Andrew Cantino, and has been open source since it was created in 2013. There is no hosted or paid edition from the maintainers; you run it yourself with Docker, Ruby or a hosting platform.
Does Huginn use AI?
No. Its agents are rule-based workers that read the web, watch for events and take actions you define. The README does not mention language models, AI providers or MCP. For AI agents in an automation platform, see Activepieces, n8n, Dify or Langflow.
What can Huginn automate?
Watching websites and emailing you when they change, scheduled digest emails, sending and receiving webhooks, running JavaScript, and connecting services such as Slack, Twilio, RSS, IMAP, JIRA and MQTT. New agents can be added as Ruby gems.
How does Huginn compare with Zapier?
Its README calls it a hackable version of IFTTT or Zapier on your own server: rule-based automations under MIT, with your data kept on your machine. Zapier is hosted, with AI features and a much larger app list by its own count. The open-source alternatives to Zapier page compares the options.
Is Huginn safe to run for other people?
The README advises that if people you do not fully trust can create agents on your instance, you should route outbound requests through an egress proxy, because agents can make web requests from your server.
Sources
- Huginn README and MIT LICENSE: github.com/huginn/huginn, read 2026-09-17.
Compared with the others
On the open-source alternatives to Zapier page, Huginn is the pick for private rule-based automations. MIT since 2013, with agents that watch the web, send and receive webhooks, run JavaScript and email you when a page changes.
Also on that page: Activepieces for a no-code builder under mit, n8n for the largest integration library, Windmill for code-first automation for developers.
On the open-source alternatives to Make page, Huginn is the pick for private rule-based automations. MIT since 2013, with agents that watch the web, send and receive webhooks, run JavaScript and email you when a page changes.
Also on that page: n8n for the largest integration library, Activepieces for a no-code builder under mit, Langflow for visual ai flows as apis or mcp tools.
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Added September 17, 2026. Every claim above comes from the project's README, LICENSE or model card, read on September 17, 2026, or from the GitHub API on the date shown in the panel. Found an error? Write to reveneau@licheo.com and it is fixed in the next weekly pass. Repository: github.com/huginn/huginn.
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