Frequently Asked Questions

Pre-Purchase

What is Automation Hub?

Automation Hub is a self-hosted, AI-powered workflow automation platform built with Laravel 12, React 19, and TypeScript. It allows you to visually build event-driven automations connecting email, WhatsApp, AI services, webhooks, and more — all running on your own infrastructure with no per-task pricing or vendor lock-in.

How is Automation Hub different from Zapier, n8n, or Make?

Key differences:

• Self-hosted — Your data never leaves your server (unlike Zapier/Make which are cloud-only)
• Built-in AI — Native Claude and GPT nodes, not just third-party connectors
• Multi-tenant — Organization-level isolation with RBAC (most competitors lack this)
• One-time license — No monthly subscription fees or per-execution charges
• Native WhatsApp — First-class Meta and Twilio integration with 24h window management
• 4 languages + RTL — Full i18n support including Arabic with RTL layout

What does "self-hosted" mean?

Self-hosted means you install and run Automation Hub on your own server (VPS, dedicated server, or cloud instance like AWS/DigitalOcean/Hetzner). You own the code, control the data, and are not dependent on any external service for the platform itself. External services (email providers, WhatsApp API, AI APIs) are optional and configured by you.

What is the difference between Regular and Extended License?

Can I use Automation Hub to build a SaaS product?

Yes, with the Extended License. The multi-tenant architecture is designed for exactly this use case — each of your clients gets their own isolated organization with separate users, workflows, API keys, and data. You can white-label the landing page, branding, and all UI elements.

Installation

What are the system requirements?

Does Automation Hub work on shared hosting?

It depends. You need SSH access to run artisan commands and queue workers. Most traditional shared hosting (cPanel) will work for the web interface, but queue workers require a process manager (like Supervisor). We recommend a VPS (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS Lightsail) for the best experience, starting at ~$6/month.

Is Docker supported?

The codebase is compatible with Docker. While we don't ship a pre-built Docker image, you can containerize it using a standard Laravel Docker setup (PHP-FPM + Nginx + MySQL + Redis). The queue worker and scheduler run as separate containers or processes.

How do I update Automation Hub?

1. Download the new version from your purchase source
2. Back up your database and .env file
3. Replace the application files (preserve .env, storage/, and vendor/)
4. Run composer install --no-dev
5. Run php artisan migrate --force
6. Run npm install && npm run build
7. Run php artisan config:cache && php artisan route:cache
8. Restart queue workers: php artisan queue:restart

Can I migrate workflows from another automation tool?

There is no direct import from Zapier, n8n, or Make, as workflow formats are proprietary to each platform. However, you can recreate workflows using the visual canvas or the REST API. The 42 pre-built templates cover most common use cases and can be customized to match your existing automations.

Functionality

Is there a maximum number of workflows?

No. There is no artificial limit on the number of workflows you can create. The practical limit depends on your server resources and database capacity. Organizations with hundreds of workflows perform well on modest hardware.

Is there a maximum number of nodes per workflow?

There is no hard limit. The visual canvas handles workflows with 50+ nodes comfortably. For very large workflows (100+ nodes), we recommend splitting them into sub-workflows connected via events for better maintainability and debugging.

What are the delay/wait limits?

The Delay node supports waits from 1 second to 30 days. Delays are implemented via scheduled queue jobs, so they persist across server restarts. For longer delays, use the Schedule trigger instead.

Can I schedule workflows to run at specific times?

Yes. Workflows support cron-based scheduling. You can set workflows to run every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, or with any custom cron expression (e.g., "every Monday at 9 AM"). Requires the Laravel scheduler to be configured via cron.

How does polling work?

Polling triggers check an external API at a configured interval (minimum: every 1 minute). When new data is detected (compared to the last known state), the workflow triggers. Polling respects the SSRF protection rules and only makes requests to public URLs.

Modules & Services

Which email providers are supported?

Automation Hub supports two email providers out of the box:

• SMTP — Works with any SMTP server (Gmail, Outlook, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark, etc.)
• Resend — Modern email API with high deliverability and detailed analytics

Each organization can configure its own provider independently.

What is the WhatsApp 24-hour window?

Meta's WhatsApp Business API only allows free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After 24 hours, you must use a pre-approved template message. Automation Hub handles this automatically — if the window is closed, it falls back to the configured fallback_template.

How does the AI token budget work?

Each organization has a configurable monthly token budget (set in Settings > Modules > AI). The budget tracks total input + output tokens across all AI node executions. When the budget is reached, AI nodes return an error instead of making API calls. The budget resets on the 1st of each month.

Can I add custom modules?

Yes. Automation Hub includes a Module SDK that allows you to create custom modules with their own node types. See the Customization guide for a complete tutorial with code examples.

Does Automation Hub include captcha/bot protection?

Yes. Automation Hub includes built-in support for Cloudflare Turnstile (recommended, free, GDPR-compliant) and Google reCAPTCHA v3 (invisible, score-based). Captcha is applied to all public authentication forms (login, register, forgot password). It's disabled by default — enable it by setting CAPTCHA_ENABLED=true in your .env file and configuring the provider keys. See the Security documentation for setup details.

What are the requirements for the Courier (Deprixa Plus) integration?

You need:

• A running instance of Deprixa Plus (the logistics/courier management platform)
• An API key from Deprixa Plus with webhook permissions
• A publicly accessible URL for Automation Hub (for receiving shipment status webhooks)

Performance & Scale

How many executions can Automation Hub handle?

Performance depends on your server and queue configuration:

These are conservative estimates. Actual throughput varies based on node complexity and external API response times.

Should I use Redis or the database for queues?

Redis is recommended for production. It offers significantly better performance for queue operations compared to the database driver. The database driver works fine for development and low-traffic deployments (under 100 executions/hour). Switch to Redis when you need higher throughput or lower latency.

Can I deploy Automation Hub across multiple servers?

Yes. The architecture supports horizontal scaling:

• Web servers — Multiple app servers behind a load balancer (use database/Redis sessions)
• Queue workers — Dedicated worker servers processing the queue
• Database — Centralized MySQL server (or managed RDS/PlanetScale)
• Redis — Shared Redis instance for queues and caching

Customization

How do I change the branding (logo, name, colors)?

Navigate to Settings > General to change the organization logo, favicon, and name. For the public landing page, use Settings > Landing Page to customize all sections, upload a separate landing logo, and toggle between dark/light themes.

Can I add more languages beyond the 4 included?

Yes. Create a new translation file at resources/js/locales/{locale}/common.json, copy the English file as a base, translate all keys, and register the locale in the i18n configuration. For RTL languages, set the direction flag. See the Customization guide for details.

Can I modify the landing page without coding?

Yes. The admin panel at Settings > Landing Page provides a full visual editor for all landing page sections (hero, features, modules, pricing, about, CTA, footer). You can toggle sections on/off, edit text in all 4 languages, upload images, and switch between dark/light themes — all without touching code.

Support

How do I get support?

Support is available through the item's comment section on the marketplace where you purchased it. Include your purchase code, Laravel version, PHP version, and a description of the issue. For faster resolution, attach relevant log entries from storage/logs/laravel.log.

How do I report a bug?

To report a bug, provide:

• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Expected behavior vs. actual behavior
• PHP version, Laravel version, and browser
• Relevant log entries or error messages
• Screenshots if applicable

Submit bug reports through the marketplace support channel.

Can I request new features?

Yes. Feature requests are welcome through the marketplace comments or support channel. Popular requests are prioritized for future releases. The modular architecture means many features can be added as new modules without affecting the core platform.

Is there a community forum or Discord?

Currently, support is provided through the marketplace platform. A community forum or Discord channel may be introduced in future versions based on demand. Check the Changelog for announcements about community resources.