Is it still worth using no-code tools like n8n, Zapier, in the world with Claude Code, Cursor, etc
I’ve been building full-stack applications for about 14 years — mostly with Python, a few with Node, PHP, and Ruby.
Lately, my workflow has changed drastically.
With tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI, generating reliable, production-ready code has become incredibly fast. These AI coding agents don’t just accelerate development — they often remove the friction entirely.
Because of that, I’ve started rethinking how I approach automation.
Whenever I switch to no-code tools like n8n, Zapier, or Make, I end up spending a lot of time:
🔹 dragging and arranging nodes
🔹 wiring endpoints together
🔹 configuring parameters
🔹 visually debugging flows
At some point, it starts to feel slower than writing the logic directly — especially when an AI assistant can generate 100% of the code in minutes along with a nice beautiful React, Next or any kind of UI/frontend.
So now I’m genuinely curious:
Is it still worth using no-code tools for complex or even simpler automations?
OR
Are these platforms starting to feel like manual labor without leveraging the engineering mind-set, especially when AI-generated code is often faster, clearer, and more flexible?
Replies
TinyCommand
This is such a relevant question, I’ve been wrestling with the same thing lately.
AI coding agents definitely make it feel like writing the workflow directly is faster than stitching blocks visually. But what I’ve noticed is that the real gap isn’t “code vs no-code”… it’s who’s building and who’s maintaining.
For engineers, AI-assisted code feels natural and flexible.
But for cross-functional teams (ops, support, sales, product), code, even AI-generated becomes a bottleneck very quickly. That’s where no-code still wins: not for raw speed, but for shared ownership.
One interesting shift I’m seeing is hybrid tools, where AI generates or edits the workflow, but the system still gives you a visual layer for clarity and collaboration.
Curious: in your experience, is the slowdown happening more during initial build or during ongoing updates?