Huginn: Built My Own IFTTT and Saved $15/Month

Why I ditched IFTTT

Used IFTTT for years. "If This Then That" - simple premise, powerful results. Cross-posted tweets to LinkedIn, saved RSS items to Pocket, turned on lights at sunset. Life was good.

Then they introduced limits. Free plan went from unlimited to 3 applets. Pro plan at $3.99/month still had restrictions. Want to run actions every 5 minutes? Pay more. Need complex logic? Not supported.

Started looking for alternatives. n8n was great but resource-heavy. Zapier was even more expensive.

Then found Huginn. Open-source, self-hosted automation platform built by GitHub's former CTO. Uses "agents" that consume events and trigger actions. Like IFTTT but without limits.

Installation with Docker

Easiest way to run Huginn is Docker. Here's my setup on a $5 VPS.

Docker Compose setup

version: '3'

services:
  huginn:
    image: ghcr.io/huginn/huginn:latest
    container_name: huginn
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    env_file:
      - .env
    volumes:
      - huginn_data:/var/lib/huginn
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  huginn_data:

Environment variables

# .env file
DOMAIN=localhost:3000
EMAIL_DOMAIN=example.com
SMTP_ADDRESS=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USERNAME=your-email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-app-password
EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=huginn@example.com

# Optional: for secure setup
HTTPS_ENABLED=true
SECRET_TOKEN_BASE=$(openssl rand -base64 96)

Start the service

# Generate secret token
SECRET_TOKEN_BASE=$(openssl rand -base64 96)

# Start Huginn
docker-compose up -d

# Check logs
docker-compose logs -f huginn

Initial setup

1. Open http://your-server:3000
2. Create admin account (username: admin, password: choose one)
3. Change default credentials immediately
4. You're in the dashboard - time to create agents

Pro tip: Put Nginx Proxy Manager in front of it for SSL and easy domain access.

Understanding Huginn agents

Everything in Huginn is an agent. Agents consume events, process them, and emit new events. Chain them together to build workflows.

Agent types

• Sources: Generate events from external sources (RSS, websites, weather, Twitter)
• Agents: Process and transform events (filters, formatters, delays)
• Sinks: Send events elsewhere (email, Slack, webhooks, databases)

// Example configuration
{
  "url": "https://example.com/product",
  "type": "html",
  "mode": "on_change",
  "extract": {
    "price": {
      "css": ".product-price",
      "value": "string(.)"
    }
  },
  "expected_update_period_in_days": 10
}

{
  "url": "https://blog.example.com/rss",
  "expected_update_period_in_days": 2
}

{
  "subject": "Rain expected tomorrow!",
  "body": "Don't forget your umbrella. {{temperature}}°C expected.",
  "to": "your-email@example.com"
}

{
  "expected_receive_period_in_days": 1,
  "delay": "24h"
}

Practical workflows I use

Here are real workflows running on my server right now.

Workflow 1: Daily tech news digest

Instead of checking 20 RSS feeds constantly, I get one daily email.

1. RSS Agents monitor 10 tech blogs (Hacker News, TechCrunch, Ars Technica, etc.)
2. Filter Agent keeps only posts with "security" or "privacy" in title
3. Delay Agent accumulates articles for 24 hours
4. Email Agent sends digest at 8 AM with all articles

Result: Morning email with curated security news. Zero effort after setup.

Workflow 2: Price tracking for deals

I track GPU prices and get alerts when they drop below threshold.

1. Website Agent checks Amazon product page every 6 hours
2. Extract current price using CSS selector
3. Comparison Agent checks if price < $500
4. Email Agent sends alert with product link if condition met

// Comparison logic in Liquid template
{% if price < 500 %}
  Price dropped to ${{price}}! Buy now: {{url}}
{% endif %}

Workflow 3: Server monitoring with notifications

Uptime monitoring with multi-channel alerts.

1. Uptime Kuma monitors my servers (separate Docker container)
2. Webhook Agent receives alerts when sites go down
3. Post Agent sends message to Slack channel
4. Email Agent sends critical alerts to email

Result: Instant Slack notification for minor issues, email for critical outages.

Workflow 4: Social media cross-posting

Auto-share blog posts across platforms (with manual approval).

1. RSS Agent monitors my blog's RSS feed
2. Format Agent converts to tweet format with hashtags
3. Delay Agent waits 1 hour (gives me time to edit)
4. Twitter Agent posts formatted tweet

Note: Can disable Twitter agent to manually approve drafts in dashboard.

Workflow 5: Weather-based reminders

Practical automation based on weather forecasts.

1. Weather Agent checks forecast for my location at 7 AM
2. Logic Agent checks conditions (rain, snow, extreme heat)
3. Email Agent sends relevant reminder

// Weather conditions that trigger alerts
if (condition.includes("rain")) {
  sendEmail("Take umbrella today");
}
if (temperature > 30) {
  sendEmail("Wear light clothes, stay hydrated");
}

Advanced agent chaining

Real power comes from chaining agents. Here's how to build complex workflows.

Linking agents

Every agent has a "Create" button to make a new agent linked to it. This sets up automatic event passing.

# Agent chain structure
Source Agent → Filter Agent → Transform Agent → Output Agent

# Example
RSS Agent → Keyword Filter → Format for Slack → Post to Slack

Using Liquid templates

Most agents support Liquid templating for dynamic content.

// Email body with dynamic data
Subject: New post from {{title}}

New article published:
Title: {{title}}
URL: {{url}}
Summary: {{description}}

Posted on: {{published_at}}

Conditional logic

Use if statements in Liquid templates for branching logic.

{% if price < previous_price %}
  Price dropped! Was ${{previous_price}}, now ${{price}}
{% elsif price > previous_price %}
  Price increased! Was ${{previous_price}}, now ${{price}}
{% else %}
  Price unchanged at ${{price}}
{% endif %}

Error handling

Agents can fail. Set up error handling agents to catch problems.

• Error Destination Agent: Catches failed events, logs them, sends alerts
• Retry Logic: Some agents have built-in retry with exponential backoff
• Dead Man's Switch: Agent emits event if no events received for X time

Huginn vs IFTTT vs Zapier

Quick comparison of automation platforms.

When to choose Huginn

• You have technical skills and can self-host
• You need unlimited workflows
• You want data privacy
• You need custom logic beyond "if this then that"
• You're comfortable with Docker and basic config

When to stick with IFTTT/Zapier

• You want something that works in 5 minutes
• You need integrations with obscure services
• You don't want to manage a server
• Complexity scares you

Common issues and fixes

Stuff that breaks and how to fix it.

Tips for production use

Hard-earned lessons from running Huginn in production.

1. Start simple

Don't build 10-agent chains on day one. Start with single agent, test it, then add complexity. Debugging complex chains is painful.

2. Use descriptive names

Name agents like "RSS - Hacker News → Filter - Security → Email - Daily Digest". Future you will thank present you.

3. Monitor agent logs

Check logs regularly. Silent failures are the worst. Set up error notification agents.

4. Test webhooks with curl

Before configuring webhook agent, test endpoint manually. Saves debugging time.

curl -X POST https://huginn.example.com/webhooks/uuid \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "test"}'

5. Export agent configs

Regularly export important agent configurations. Huginn supports JSON export/import. Saved me when I accidentally deleted an agent.

6. Use delay agents for rate limiting

Don't spam APIs. Use Delay Agent to throttle requests. Keeps you from getting banned.

7. Set up monitoring

Use Uptime Kuma or similar to monitor Huginn itself. Create workflow that alerts if Huginn stops emitting events.

8. Document your workflows

Create a note in Obsidian explaining each workflow. Six months later, you'll forget what that agent chain does.

Bottom line

Huginn isn't for everyone. Requires technical skills, server management, and willingness to debug. But if you're comfortable with Docker and basic scripting, it's incredibly powerful.

I've saved $15/month by replacing IFTTT Pro. More importantly, I have unlimited automation without arbitrary restrictions. Can run workflows every minute, chain 20 agents together, build custom logic - all impossible on IFTTT free plan.

Best part: Complete data control. Everything runs on my server. No third-party tracking my automation triggers. My workflows, my data, my rules.

If you're tired of IFTTT limits and Zapier pricing, give Huginn a shot. Start with one simple agent, go from there. Worst case: you learned Docker and automation concepts. Best case: you built your own automation platform that actually serves your needs.

Been running it for 18 months now. 25 active agents, 0 subscription fees, and I automate stuff IFTTT could never handle. That's a win in my book.