Relay.app is shutting down - a practical checklist for moving your workflows before the deadline
I had most of my workflows running on Relay, so the shutdown email stung. If you're in the same spot, here are the dates that matter: free accounts lose access on Aug 15, paid on Sep 14. After that, your workflows are gone.
I've spent the past few days moving my own automations to n8n and helping a couple of other stranded teams do the same. A few things I learned the hard way:
Export everything now, not later. Relay built a proper export tool for the wind-down. Use it while the servers are still up — rebuilding from memory is 10x harder than migrating from an export.
Document each workflow before you touch anything. Trigger, steps, connected accounts, and who approves what. A screenshot per workflow is enough.
The human-in-the-loop steps are the tricky part. Most Relay integrations have direct n8n equivalents, but Relay's approval steps don't map one-to-one. In n8n you rebuild them with Wait nodes plus a Slack or form approval. Budget extra time for these.
Rebuild your highest-value workflow first and run both in parallel. Compare outputs for a few days before switching off the Relay side.
Fair warning: n8n is more powerful but less friendly. If Relay felt like home because you never had to think about JSON, expect a learning curve. It's manageable, but it's real.
I wrote the full process up as a free guide here: https://newanv.com/relay-to-n8n
And if you're stuck on one specific workflow, reply here and I'll point you in the right direction; no strings attached. Rough week for a lot of us; Jacob and the Relay team set a high bar for how to wind down with dignity, and the least we can do is help each other land somewhere solid.
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