Introduction

r8r (pronounced “rator”) is a lightning-fast workflow automation tool built in Rust. It’s designed for developers who need reliable, high-performance automation without the bloat of traditional tools.

Why r8r?

🚀 Blazing Fast

• 15MB binary — Smaller than most JavaScript dependencies
• Sub-millisecond latency — Processes workflows faster than you can blink
• 50,000+ ops/sec — Handle massive throughput on modest hardware

🦀 Built in Rust

• Memory safe — No runtime crashes, no memory leaks
• Zero-cost abstractions — Pay only for what you use
• Single static binary — Deploy anywhere without dependencies

🔌 Developer First

• YAML or code — Define workflows declaratively or write custom nodes in Rust
• 200+ integrations — Native support for databases, APIs, queues, and more
• Observable — Built-in metrics and tracing with OpenTelemetry export

What can you build?

• ETL pipelines — Extract, transform, and load data between systems
• API integrations — Connect services and automate data flows
• Scheduled tasks — Cron-like automation with better observability
• Event processing — React to webhooks, queue messages, or database changes
• DevOps automation — Deploy, monitor, and respond to infrastructure events

How it works

name: "Daily Report"
trigger:
  schedule: "0 9 * * *"

nodes:
  - name: "fetch_sales"
    type: "postgres/query"
    config:
      sql: |
        SELECT * FROM sales
        WHERE date > NOW() - INTERVAL '24h'

  - name: "format_report"
    type: "template"
    input: "{{ fetch_sales.rows }}"

  - name: "send_slack"
    type: "slack/post"
    config:
      channel: "#daily-reports"

Comparison

Feature	r8r	n8n	Zapier
Binary size	15MB	500MB+	Cloud only
Self-hosted	✅	✅	❌
Custom nodes	Rust/WASM	JavaScript	Limited
Open source	✅	✅	❌
Performance	Native	Node.js	Cloud dependent

Next steps

Ready to get started? Install r8r and build your first workflow in minutes.