The Post-n8n Automation Stack — the One File That Replaced a 10-Node Workflow, Plus 5 More Rebuilds

The companion kit to the video. On Aug 5, 2026 we built the same competitor-watchdog automation twice on one machine: the n8n way (10 nodes, 40 lines of JavaScript inside a 'no-code' tool, self-hosted 2.33.3) and the one-file way (a single plain-language SKILL.md a coding agent executes). The receipts made the case for us: n8n's first run died at the merge when Reddit blocked the sweep, its code sandbox threw a version-specific itemMatching error, and v2's security default refused to write the digest to disk at all — while the one-file version finished its first full run in 145 seconds, retried the blocked source once, flagged it in the digest header, and kept going. INSIDE: (1) the exact watchdog SKILL.md annotated line by line, (2) the full head-to-head table with every failure documented, (3) five more automations rebuilt the one-file way (inbox triage, content repurposer, receipt filer, weekly metrics digest) each with its cron line, (4) the scheduling page — cron decoded plus the 3 habits that keep automations boring, and (5) the honest page: four situations where n8n still wins (2,003 listed integrations, team canvases, non-developer handoff, high-volume webhooks) and a low-risk 30-day migration plan. Every number measured on camera; nothing staged. Independent kit from Hyperautomation Labs — not affiliated with n8n.

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