# Grok and n8n workflows, and open-source ways to build them

People searching for "Grok Bot n8n workflows" usually want one of two things. Some want a ready workflow for a job, such as a Telegram assistant or a support bot. Others want to know how to get Grok into n8n in the first place.

The short version is that n8n talks to the Grok API, not to Grok Bot. You add an xAI API key to n8n's xAI Grok Chat Model node and pay xAI per token. Grok Bot is a separate app that runs its own skills and routines. Below are free Grok templates for each job, the official setup docs, and step-by-step builds that do the same jobs with open-source tools and a model you choose.

> We track 6 open-source workflow automation tools, each checked for licence, commercial use, hardware, paid services and setup. Huginn, Activepieces and Langflow run on your own machine, allow commercial use and need no paid service (you still choose a model: a paid API key or a free local one). Easiest to set up: Langflow. Facts checked 2026-10-21.

Give this to your agent: "Help me with this: "Grok and n8n workflows, and open-source ways to build them", using the RepoQuarry guide at https://repoquarry.dev/guides/grok-n8n-workflows.md. Read the whole guide first, including its builds and links. Recommend the option that fits what I am building and why, check each project's official docs (linked there) before installing anything, ask me before spending money or using my accounts, and tell me what you set up when you finish."

## Step-by-step builds
Each build lists the repos, how they connect and the steps, with a prompt for your coding agent.
- [Build a personal AI assistant for email, calendar and Telegram with open-source software](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/personal-ai-assistant.md): Message an assistant on Telegram, by text or voice, and it checks your email, books calendar slots and remembers what you tell it.
- [Build an AI customer support bot that answers from your own documents](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/support-bot-from-docs.md): An AI agent answers customers on your website, email or Telegram from your own help docs, and hands hard questions to a person.
- [Build a social media content automation that turns links into posts and images](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/social-content-autopilot.md): Paste a link or an idea and get platform-ready captions and an image, scheduled to all your social accounts.
- [Build a daily AI news brief from the sources you choose](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/daily-news-brief.md): Every morning, the sites, blogs and feeds you follow are read, summarised and sent to you as one short digest.
- [Build a brand, topic and sentiment monitor with alerts using open-source software](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/topic-and-sentiment-monitor.md): Track what's being said about your brand, competitors or a topic, score the mood, and get an alert when something spikes.
- [Build an AI agent that wakes up on a webhook, email or chat message](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/webhook-agent.md): When an email arrives, a form is filled or someone posts in chat, an AI agent starts, does the task and reports back.

## Compared
| Project | Runs locally | Commercial use | Paid services | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [n8n](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/n8n.md) | Yes | Conditions · Custom licence | Optional only | Medium |
| [Huginn](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/huginn.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | None required | Medium |
| [Activepieces](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/activepieces.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | Medium |
| [Windmill](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/windmill.md) | Yes | Conditions · AGPL-3.0 | Optional only | Medium |
| [Dify](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/dify.md) | Yes | Conditions · Custom licence | Optional only | Medium |
| [Langflow](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/langflow.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | Easy |

## Common questions
### Can Grok Bot connect to n8n?
Not directly, as far as xAI's docs show. They describe two ways to start a Grok Bot routine, on a schedule or after an event from a Cursor account integration such as a Slack message or a GitHub notification. We found no documented Grok Bot API or webhook on 21 October 2026. To use Grok inside n8n, use the Grok API through n8n's xAI Grok Chat Model node. (source: https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/skills-routines-and-automations)

### Grok Bot or the Grok API, which do I need for n8n?
The Grok API. n8n's xAI credential takes one thing, an API key created on the xAI Console API Keys page, and works with the Chat xAI Grok node. Grok Bot is the app-based teammate included with Premium, Super and Ultra on The X Subscription. It needs no n8n, but it runs on xAI's computers rather than yours. (source: https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/credentials/xai/)

### How do I get a Grok chat model API key for n8n?
Create an xAI account, make a key on the API Keys page of the xAI Console, then add it in n8n as an xAI credential and pick it in the xAI Grok Chat Model node. The model list in the node is loaded from the API. (source: https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/credentials/xai/)

### How much does Grok cost in an n8n workflow?
The API is billed per token. On 21 October 2026 xAI listed grok-4.7 at $2.00 per million input tokens and $6.00 per million output tokens for prompts under 200k tokens, and $4.00 and $12.00 above that. n8n itself is free to self-host under its own licence. (source: https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing)

### Where can I download free Grok n8n workflows?
n8n's template library lists free workflows that use the xAI Grok Chat Model node, and you import them straight into n8n. The links below are the ones we opened for each job. The big GitHub collections of n8n workflow files had no Grok workflows when we searched them, but you can swap any chat model node in those files for the Grok one. (source: https://n8n.io/integrations/xai-grok-chat-model/)

### Is n8n open source?
Not by the usual definition. n8n uses the Sustainable Use License, a fair-code licence. It lets you use or modify n8n for your own internal business, non-commercial or personal use, but not resell it as a service. If you need a fully open-source tool, the comparison table lists Activepieces and others with their licences. (source: https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE.md)

### Can I run these workflows without paying for Grok?
Yes. Huginn needs no paid service at all. n8n, Activepieces, Windmill, Dify and Langflow are free to run, with paid services (usually a hosted model API) optional. The software is free; the AI model is the usual cost. A local model through Ollama or LM Studio costs nothing per request but needs a capable computer.

### Which automation tools can I use commercially?
Confirmed: Huginn (MIT), Activepieces (MIT) and Langflow (MIT). With conditions: n8n, Windmill and Dify. This is not legal advice; read each licence.

## Templates, tutorials and docs
Outside pages, checked on the date shown. Templates are third-party: read what a workflow does before you import it.
- Official docs: [xAI Grok Chat Model node](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/cluster-nodes/sub-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatxaigrok/). n8n's official node for Grok. You pick the model and can set temperature, maximum tokens and JSON output. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Official docs: [xAI credentials in n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/credentials/xai/). The one field you need is an API key from the xAI Console. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Official docs: [Grok Bot skills and routines](https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/skills-routines-and-automations). How Grok Bot saves a task as a skill and runs it on a schedule or after a Slack or GitHub event. Useful if you want Grok Bot itself rather than n8n. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Free template: [Multi-tool personal assistant with Telegram, Grok-4, Gmail, Calendar & Memory](https://n8n.io/workflows/7452-multi-tool-personal-assistant-with-telegram-grok-4-gmail-calendar-and-memory/). A Telegram assistant that reads Gmail, manages Google Calendar, remembers facts in Airtable and accepts voice notes. It uses Grok for chat and OpenAI to transcribe voice. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Free template: [Build a customer support agent with Grok-4, Google Docs, and Telegram \[RAG\]](https://n8n.io/workflows/6017-build-a-customer-support-agent-with-grok-4-google-docs-and-telegram-rag/). Answers customer questions in Telegram from a Google Doc knowledge base, with conversation memory. It uses Grok. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Free template: [Generate viral social media carousels with xAI Grok for Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn & X](https://n8n.io/workflows/11024-generate-viral-social-media-carousels-with-xai-grok-for-instagram-tiktok-linkedin-and-x/). Turns a theme into carousel slides with Grok and saves them to Google Drive. It overlays text on a fixed background rather than generating images, and it does not post for you. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Free template: [Daily cybersecurity news summarizer with Grok AI for Telegram](https://n8n.io/workflows/9137-daily-cybersecurity-news-summarizer-with-grok-ai-for-telegram/). Every morning it reads an RSS feed, summarises the news and posts the digest to Telegram. It reaches Grok through OpenRouter rather than the xAI node. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Free template: [Analyze vendor security risk from Jira tickets using Grok, Claude and Slack](https://n8n.io/workflows/15029-analyze-vendor-security-risk-from-jira-tickets-using-grok-claude-and-slack/). An event-triggered agent. A Jira webhook wakes it, and it posts a report to Slack. It uses Grok, Claude and Perplexity through OpenRouter. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Free template: [X (Twitter) brand sentiment analysis with Gemini AI & Slack alerts](https://n8n.io/workflows/9400-x-twitter-brand-sentiment-analysis-with-gemini-ai-and-slack-alerts/). Collects posts with the Apify Tweet Scraper and scores sentiment, then alerts Slack. It uses Gemini; the only Grok template we found for X monitoring was paid. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Repository: [Zie619/n8n-workflows](https://github.com/Zie619/n8n-workflows). A large MIT-licensed collection of downloadable n8n workflow JSON files. We found no Grok workflows in it, but you can swap any model node in the files for the Grok one. (checked 2026-10-21)
- Repository: [enescingoz/awesome-n8n-templates](https://github.com/enescingoz/awesome-n8n-templates). A curated list of n8n templates by use case, licensed CC BY 4.0. It had no Grok workflows when we searched it. (checked 2026-10-21)

## By paid product
- [Open-source alternatives to Grok Bot](https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/grok-bot.md)
- [Open-source alternatives to Zapier](https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/zapier.md)
- [Open-source alternatives to Make](https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/make.md)
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/guides/grok-n8n-workflows). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.