I Built a Free n8n Template Library with 2,641+ Automation Workflows 🚀

If you’re into workflow automation, you’ve probably heard of n8n – the powerful open-source workflow automation tool. After working with n8n for a while, I realized there was a gap: finding quality templates was time-consuming and scattered across different sources.

So I decided to solve this problem by creating a centralized, free template library. Here’s how I built it.

🎯 The Problem

n8n is incredibly powerful, but starting from scratch can be daunting. While the official n8n community has templates, they’re not always easy to discover or filter. I wanted to create something that:

✅ Makes templates easy to discover with powerful search and filters
✅ Provides instant downloads with no registration required for individual templates
✅ Offers high-quality SEO so people can find solutions via Google
✅ Includes detailed documentation for each template
✅ Supports monetization through optional bundle purchases

🛠️ Tech Stack

I chose modern, scalable technologies that could handle growth:

Frontend

Next.js 15.5.1 with App Router (React 19)
TypeScript for type safety
Tailwind CSS + Radix UI for beautiful, accessible components
shadcn/ui component library
Lucide Icons for consistent iconography

Backend & Database

Supabase (PostgreSQL) for database and auth
Supabase Storage for template files
PayPal SDK for bundle purchases

SEO & Analytics

Google Analytics 4 for tracking
Google Tag Manager for tag management
Google AdSense for monetization
JSON-LD structured data for rich search results
Dynamic sitemap generation
Custom robots.txt with AI crawler support

Development Tools

Playwright for E2E testing
ESLint for code quality
Git for version control

🏗️ Key Features

1. Comprehensive Template Library

The heart of the platform is 2,641+ curated n8n workflow templates across multiple categories:

🤖 AI & Machine Learning – GPT integrations, image processing, text analysis
💼 Business Automation – CRM, invoicing, reporting, lead management
⚙️ Automation – Workflow automation, task scheduling, data sync
📊 Data Processing – ETL, data transformation, analytics
📧 Email – Marketing automation, lead nurturing
💬 Messaging – Slack, Discord, WhatsApp integrations
🔗 API Integration – REST APIs, webhooks, custom integrations

// Example: Fetching templates from Supabase
const { data: templates } = await supabase
  .from('templates')
  .select('*')
  .eq('category', category)
  .order('created_at', { ascending: false })
  .limit(24)

2. Powerful Search & Filtering

Users can filter by:

Category (AI, Business, Automation, etc.)
Difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)
Popularity (90+, 80-89, 70-79)
Date Added (Last 7/30/90 days)
Search query (title and description)

// Client-side filtering with useMemo for performance
const filteredTemplates = useMemo(() => {
  return templates.filter((template) => {
    const matchesSearch =
      searchQuery === '' ||
      template.title.toLowerCase().includes(searchQuery.toLowerCase()) ||
      template.description.toLowerCase().includes(searchQuery.toLowerCase())

    const matchesCategory =
      selectedCategories.length === 0 ||
      selectedCategories.includes(template.category)

    // ... more filters

    return matchesSearch && matchesCategory && matchesDifficulty
  })
}, [templates, searchQuery, selectedCategories, selectedDifficulty])

3. Email Capture Modal with Smart UX

Instead of forcing users to register, I use an ethical email capture approach:

Users can browse freely
Email is only requested when downloading
Beautiful modal with template preview
Success state with download link
Optional bundle upgrade CTA

export function EmailCaptureModal({
  templateName,
  templateSlug,
  templateImage,
  onSuccess,
}: EmailCaptureModalProps) {
  const handleSubmit = async (e: React.FormEvent) => {
    e.preventDefault()

    // Save email to Supabase
    await supabase.from('subscribers').insert([{
      email,
      template_slug: templateSlug
    }])

    // Track download
    await supabase.from('template_downloads').insert([{
      template_slug: templateSlug
    }])

    // Generate download URL
    const downloadUrl = `/api/download/${templateSlug}`
    onSuccess(downloadUrl)
  }

  return (
    <Dialog>
      {/* Beautiful modal UI */}
    </Dialog>
  )
}

4. Advanced SEO Implementation

I built a comprehensive SEO system to ensure templates are discoverable:

Dynamic Metadata Generation

// lib/seo.ts
export function generateSEO(config: SEOConfig): Metadata {
  return {
    title: config.title,
    description: config.description,
    keywords: config.keywords,
    openGraph: {
      title: config.title,
      description: config.description,
      images: [config.ogImage || defaultOGImage],
      type: config.ogType || 'website',
    },
    twitter: {
      card: 'summary_large_image',
      title: config.title,
      description: config.description,
      images: [config.ogImage || defaultOGImage],
    },
    alternates: {
      canonical: `${SITE_URL}${config.canonical}`,
    },
  }
}

JSON-LD Structured Data

// Template schema for rich search results
export function generateTemplateLD(template: any): string {
  return JSON.stringify({
    '@context': 'https://schema.org',
    '@type': 'SoftwareApplication',
    name: template.name,
    description: template.description,
    applicationCategory: 'BusinessApplication',
    operatingSystem: 'Cross-platform',
    offers: {
      '@type': 'Offer',
      price: '0',
      priceCurrency: 'USD',
    },
    aggregateRating: template.rating ? {
      '@type': 'AggregateRating',
      ratingValue: template.rating,
      ratingCount: template.ratingCount,
    } : undefined,
  })
}

Dynamic Sitemap

// app/sitemap.ts
export default async function sitemap(): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
  const { data: templates } = await supabase
    .from('templates')
    .select('slug, updated_at')

  const templateUrls = templates?.map((template) => ({
    url: `${SITE_URL}/templates/${template.slug}`,
    lastModified: new Date(template.updated_at),
    changeFrequency: 'weekly' as const,
    priority: 0.8,
  })) || []

  return [
    {
      url: SITE_URL,
      lastModified: new Date(),
      changeFrequency: 'daily',
      priority: 1,
    },
    ...templateUrls,
  ]
}

AI Crawler Support

// app/robots.ts
export default function robots(): MetadataRoute.Robots {
  return {
    rules: [
      {
        userAgent: '*',
        allow: '/',
        disallow: ['/api/', '/admin/'],
      },
      {
        userAgent: ['GPTBot', 'Claude-Web', 'PerplexityBot', 'Google-Extended'],
        allow: '/',
        crawlDelay: 1,
      },
    ],
    sitemap: `${SITE_URL}/sitemap.xml`,
  }
}

5. Bundle Purchase System

Users can download individual templates for free, or purchase the entire collection:

PayPal integration for secure payments
$14.99 one-time payment for all 2,641 templates
Instant access via download token
Email delivery of download link
Purchase tracking in Supabase

// app/api/paypal/capture-order/route.ts
export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const { orderId, email } = await req.json()

  // Capture PayPal payment
  const capture = await capturePayPalOrder(orderId)

  if (capture.status === 'COMPLETED') {
    // Generate download token
    const token = crypto.randomUUID()

    // Save purchase to database
    await supabase.from('purchases').insert([{
      email,
      order_id: orderId,
      download_token: token,
      amount: 14.99,
    }])

    return NextResponse.json({
      success: true,
      downloadToken: token
    })
  }
}

6. Template Rating System

Users can rate templates they’ve tried:

// Database trigger for auto-updating average ratings
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION update_template_ratings()
RETURNS TRIGGER AS $$
BEGIN
  UPDATE templates
  SET
    average_rating = (
      SELECT AVG(rating)::numeric(3,2)
      FROM template_ratings
      WHERE template_id = NEW.template_id
    ),
    rating_count = (
      SELECT COUNT(*)
      FROM template_ratings
      WHERE template_id = NEW.template_id
    )
  WHERE id = NEW.template_id;

  RETURN NEW;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

📊 Database Schema

Here’s the core schema in Supabase:

-- Templates table
CREATE TABLE templates (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  title TEXT NOT NULL,
  slug TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  description TEXT,
  category TEXT NOT NULL,
  difficulty TEXT,
  thumbnail TEXT,
  file_url TEXT,
  nodes INTEGER,
  downloads INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
  average_rating NUMERIC(3,2),
  rating_count INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
  features TEXT[],
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Subscribers table
CREATE TABLE subscribers (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  email TEXT NOT NULL,
  template_slug TEXT,
  subscribed_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Template downloads tracking
CREATE TABLE template_downloads (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  template_slug TEXT NOT NULL,
  downloaded_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Template ratings
CREATE TABLE template_ratings (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  template_id UUID REFERENCES templates(id),
  rating INTEGER CHECK (rating >= 1 AND rating <= 5),
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Purchases table
CREATE TABLE purchases (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  email TEXT NOT NULL,
  order_id TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  download_token TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  amount NUMERIC(10,2) NOT NULL,
  purchased_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

🎨 UI/UX Highlights

Responsive Design

Mobile-first approach
Sticky navigation and filters
Smooth animations and transitions
Dark mode support (via next-themes)

Performance Optimizations

Image optimization with Next.js Image
Lazy loading for template cards
Pagination with “Load More”
Client-side filtering with useMemo

Accessibility

Radix UI primitives (fully accessible)
Proper semantic HTML
Keyboard navigation support
ARIA labels and roles

🚀 Deployment

The project is deployed on Vercel for optimal Next.js performance:

// vercel.json
{
  "buildCommand": "npm run build",
  "framework": "nextjs"
}

Environment variables needed:

NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_url
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_supabase_key
NEXT_PUBLIC_PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID=your_paypal_client_id
PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET=your_paypal_secret
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://yourdomain.com

📈 Results & Metrics

After launching:

2,641+ templates available for free download
Multiple categories with smart filtering
SEO-optimized pages for organic discovery
Email subscribers growing steadily
Bundle purchases providing sustainable revenue
Fast performance with Next.js 15 and Vercel

🔮 Future Enhancements

Here’s what I’m planning next:

User Authentication – Allow users to save favorites and build collections
Template Submissions – Accept community template submissions
Advanced Analytics – Track which templates are most popular
Template Versioning – Support multiple versions of templates
API Access – Programmatic access to templates
Template Testing – Automated testing of template validity
Video Tutorials – Step-by-step setup guides
Discussion Forum – Community support and discussions

💡 Key Learnings

1. SEO is Critical

Investing time in proper SEO infrastructure paid off immediately. JSON-LD structured data and dynamic sitemaps make the site highly discoverable.

2. User Experience > Features

Keeping the download flow simple (just email, no account required) significantly improved conversion rates.

3. Next.js 15 App Router is Powerful

Server components, streaming, and the new metadata API make building modern web apps a breeze.

4. Supabase is Developer-Friendly

The combination of PostgreSQL, realtime subscriptions, and storage in one platform accelerated development.

5. Ethical Monetization Works

Offering individual templates for free while selling a bundle creates a win-win situation.

🎓 Code Examples for You

Want to implement similar features? Here are some reusable patterns:

Email Validation with Zod

import { z } from 'zod'

const emailSchema = z.object({
  email: z.string().email('Please enter a valid email address')
})

const validateEmail = (email: string) => {
  try {
    emailSchema.parse({ email })
    return { valid: true }
  } catch (error) {
    return { valid: false, error: error.errors[0].message }
  }
}

Debounced Search

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'

function useDebounce<T>(value: T, delay: number): T {
  const [debouncedValue, setDebouncedValue] = useState<T>(value)

  useEffect(() => {
    const handler = setTimeout(() => {
      setDebouncedValue(value)
    }, delay)

    return () => clearTimeout(handler)
  }, [value, delay])

  return debouncedValue
}

// Usage in search
const [searchQuery, setSearchQuery] = useState('')
const debouncedSearch = useDebounce(searchQuery, 300)

Loading States

function TemplateGrid({ templates, loading }: Props) {
  if (loading) {
    return (
      <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
        {Array.from({ length: 6 }).map((_, i) => (
          <SkeletonCard key={i} />
        ))}
      </div>
    )
  }

  return (
    <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
      {templates.map(template => (
        <TemplateCard key={template.id} template={template} />
      ))}
    </div>
  )
}

🌟 Conclusion

Building this n8n template library has been an incredible learning experience. The combination of modern technologies, thoughtful UX, and comprehensive SEO has created a valuable resource for the automation community.

The site is live at n8n.dailyaicollection.net – check it out and let me know what you think!