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Let’s have some fun. Let’s see an effective movie management system in Notion. I am a movie buff. I love all kinds of movies. Be it drama, comedy, action packed thriller or an adventure. I am also a collector. I have been collecting DVDs from my early college days, when I had little money, I used to buy movies in huge deals. I even copied friends DVDs, guilty me. As time went on, I switched from DVD to digital copies as I can own them for perpetuity and don’t have to manage or carry them. I can simply turn on the TV and can see whatever I want, if I own it without any subscription. I also don’t need to own dvds, it’s all in the cloud. I am not only a collector of movies, I love to learn about directors, writers and their movie making processes. I try to find similar works like the movies I love to see. In order to achieve and manage all my movie data, I needed a way… As like anything else in my life recently, needing management, I made a notion database. Find the template if you need it: https://susamn.gumroad.com/l/notion-movie-catalog?embedable=true I generally buy movies from iTunes with good deals and are of Movies Anywhere capable. For them, who don’t know Movies Anywhere, it’s an online service, which lets you see your purchased movies from all supported platform like iTunes, google play, Youtube, amazon, Microsoft movies, xfinity, Vudu. You buy once and watch them thorough all the platforms I use these websites to see all the available deals https://fanflix.co/?embedable=true https://www.blu-ray.com/deals/?category=itunes?embedable=true I have a huge collection of around 400 movies I have purchased over the years, most of them are purchased during holiday season with huge deals and some are free. I have all these movies through Google Play, iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft, Vudu. Not all of them are Movies Anywhere compatible. So I needed a way to manage and keep track of them. Here is the notion database… These are the ways I am using this: When I buy a movie, I create a record with the title, director, genre, price, date purchased, provider, and quality. The MA (Movies Anywhere) column let’s me know if any movie I own is MA compatible or not so that I know, if I want to see it, where to watch The seen/unseen column lets me know if I have seen it or not; when I buy as a package, I get some movies that I may not have seen. I group movies based on the director and genre, and the play count tells me what type of movies I may like next. The price column and the date column help me to keep track how much I am spending every month Automation Here is a very simple automation I put on Automate.io to update movie data from Discord. I am using Discord to update the year of a movie based on its title. Here is a very simple example. I intend to make it more complex to update any attribute. I will automate this process with IMDB api with a bot. Next steps I want to automate some actions with Notion API Get ratings from IMDB and rotten tomato and add them in the movies Update the play count when I see a movie Update total movie watch time when I see a movie and understand how much time am using for entertainment. I want to add thumbnails from IMDB via automation Also Published Here

Creating an Awesome Movie Catalog in Notion

We've categorized the best Slack apps for developers. Whether you are working in teams or you just want some bot for yourself we've got you covered in this post. While some of the tools in the list are not specific to developers alone, we listed them because we think they might still be useful for some. Slack Apps for Productivity In this category we'll explore the Slack apps we found that can help tech individuals and tech teams be more productive. Axolo (that's us!) "Every minute trying to understand each other is a minute not spent shipping features". Axolo focuses on making it easy for developers to talk about a pull request. The result is that pull requests are resolved faster, it's easier to stay on top of PR and there is an increase in focus due to less context switching. What we like 👍: Axolo creates a channel for every pull request and has a deep integration with GitHub. It will share the code comments, code reviews, issues, and even the GitHub actions. As a bonus, there is a /lgtm command that lets you approve pull requests in seconds from Slack. More about Axolo: . axolo.co Pomodoro Tracker Some people have their Pomodoro on their OS but the benefits of having it in Slack is that you can let other people know in your team that you are in a focus mode and that they shouldn't expect you to answer within the next n minutes. What we like 👍: Simple and powerful. It does what it says it does :). Pomodoro on Slack Marketplace GoLinks Shortcut Go Links saves all your favorite companies' important URL and makes it easy for you to see them. GoLinks on Slack Marketplace Vidyard Asynchronous video sharing Vidyard allows you to record yourself/ your screen easily to share asynchronously. Great for "showing instead of telling" Vidyard on Slack Marketplace Slack project management apps This category is dedicated to apps that allow you to manage tasks within Slack. Those apps usually allow you to create and assign tasks directly in Slack. It's a crowded space so for brevity we'll just list the one that has been referred to us. Linear Linear defines itself as "The issue tracking tool you'll enjoy using". Linear doesn't have an application listed in the Slack marketplace but you can integrate Slack from your Linear WorkSpace: . Linear Linear has a traditional /linear command that allows you to create new issues. Link posted on Slack from linear will be displayed in an organized fashion for people to identify them easily. What we like: Linear has a way to create a specific channel for a project, sending updates from that project to a channel and making a contextual update on a specific linear project. Learn more about the Slack Linear integration on . Linear Trello "Trello helps team move work forward". Trello is the simple Kanban project management tool, they are pioneers in TODO DOING DONE. The app integration allows you to add new Trello cards with the /trello command, edit cards, attach conversations and get previews. What we like 👍: Trello is very popular and has other dedicated Slack app made by the community. So if you are a Trello user there are a lot of chances you will find what you are looking for. Trello on Slack App Marketplace Asana "Move work forward" Asana is also a popular project management app based in San Francisco. Their integration does pretty much what the others do with the ability to be personally notified when they are changes about a ticket you own. More about the integration: and about Asana: Asana on Slack App Marketplace Asana.com Jira Jira started as a bug tracking system and has evolved into an all you can do project management App. Find out more on: Jira on Slack App Marketplace Pivotal Tracker Pivotal is an agile project management tool made for developers. It’s old-school but does the job. Find out more on Pivotal Tracker Workast Workast describes itself as "The missing piece of Slack". They seem to be the best-integrated project management app to Slack we've seen so far. They were built around Slack and is fully featured to be workable on Slack. What we like 👍: Fully integrated into Slack and easy to use for everyone in your team. For example, you can sign in with your Slack account, you won't need to sign up with your email. Learn more about Workast: Workast.com Notion Notion started off as a wiki all-in-one workspace for notes and also does collaboration, tables, project management and much more. They have a clean UI/UX and has been around for a few years. The Notion integration allows you to subscribe to changes for a particular page. This is good if you want to monitor changes in your Notion workspace. What could be better 😬: This integration only updates you on changes. Would be interesting to have workflow automation and more actions you could do directly in Slack. More about Notion: notion.so Slack Apps for Managing Teams and Culture Disco Enable value-driven work and foster team appreciation directly from Slack. Disco makes it easy to encourage actions within the organization by enabling kudos, appreciation dashboards, and raffles. What we like 👍: Value-driven company with a well-integrated with actions you can do directly into Slack. More information on justdisco heyTaco "Build Stronger, happier remote teams". HeyTaco is here to help build camaraderie within the organization. What we like 👍: Who doesn't like tacos here? More on HeyTaco: heytaco Karma Karma makes it super easy to give appreciation to one another, @tag ++ someone to give him Karma and show appreciation. More on their website: karmabot Greetbot Greetbot is made for big teams who onboard new employees on a rolling basis. It will allow you to remind you and people in your team to greet and meet new people in your team. What we like 👍: Schedule follow-ups, encourage connections, and view the latest activity. The app is well thought and does the job! Greetbot on Slack marketplace Onboarding ⚡ by Roots Onboarding by Roots does a similar job to Greebot and also allows you to set up a workflow. You can automate asking tasks to specific people like creating a Gmail GSuite email to @support and more. Roots on Slack marketplace AnonymityBot Anonimity bot Ask polls, make anonymous announcements, or ask anonymous questions to your team. I feel this could be useful in some company cultures where some employees might be afraid to speak on their name. Anonymity feedback on Slack marketplace Lunch Train Do you work in a city and have you ever tried to organize lunch with more than 2 colleagues in your company? Lunchtrain is the answer, making it easy to organize your lunches by getting everyone on board. What we like 👍: Great copy, fun, and simple Slack app that works well for its purpose. Lunch Train on Slack marketplace Whatis Does your company use a lot of acronyms? Whatis is the answer. It will identify when you use one and show the members of the channel what this acronym does. It also makes it easy for you to create a dictionary of all the acronyms in your company. Whatis on Slack marketplace Code Related Integrations PR Patrol PR patrol allows you to monitor some part of your codebase you care about. You can set it up to be alerted whenever a specific file gets changed. What we like 👍: Easy to set up! Patrol on Slack marketplace Circle CI Circle CI Slack integration will post to a channel of your choice whenever a build finishes. Circleci on Slack marketplace AppFollow With , you can track critical app updates around rating, keywords and reviews from your favorite stores. Passively receive alerts, reply to user reviews or monitor all your app data without leaving Slack. AppFollow 1Password 1 Password Slack integration allows you to share private notes within Slack. Can be useful for developers to share private keys or things you don't want to be out there in the wild. 1password on Slack marketplace StatusPage Be alerted when there are changes to your Status page. notifications on Slack marketplace CodeMagic Easily follow your mobile app development with Code Magic. Configure a channel to get notified of relevant events. More on Codemagic Standup Slack App Bot Standup meetings are notorious in tech teams, they allow you to stay in sync with your team in a (usually) short and efficient way. A standup meeting is usually a time where you share what you've done the day before and what are your plans for the day. It's simple and allows you to share if you need help, and vice versa, see if there is a colleague to who you can give help. Standup.ly Automate standup meetings, retrospectives, other agile processes and get an internal Q&A system to level up the productivity of your team. What we like 👍: Standup.ly is more than just a simple standup bot it also allows to have other agile processes with 360 feedback, retrospective meeting, and more. Find out more on: Standuply DailyBot Daily bot is pretty similar to Standup.ly and seems to have analytics in your team motivation and blockers. Find out more on Dailybot Calendar Slack apps Google Calendar Connect your calendar and update your status automatically when you are in a meeting. Pretty useful to know if someone in your team is busy in a meeting and won't be able to answer you're urgent question straight away. You can also set it up to get notified of your events coming up during the day. Find out more on Google Slack Marketplace Fellow Fellow encourages people in the meeting to come prepared and to follow a course of action during the meeting. The fellow also makes it easy to manage your agenda directly in Slack. Find out more on: Fellow Random Slack appsGiphy Giphy might be the most used / underrated / overrated app in the Slack marketplace. With a simple command /giphy (text) one can send a giph in seconds. Giphy on Slack Marketplace Gif Keyboard Giphy has a competitor and Gif Key is there to help you add a caption and search Giphy in a more productive way ;). Gif Keyboard on Slack Marketplace BirthdayBot Show that you care and make sure not to forget anyone’s birthday in your company! Birthdaybot What could be improved 😅 Free trial is only for 14 days and no free version of the product. Miro Miro is a whiteboard collaboration app. Great to brainstorm or even to share ideas with post it or drawings or anything you could do on a white board. Their slack integrations allows you to Install review comments, find recently updated boards, and approve access requests. Find out more on: Miro Slack App Marketplace Automation Slack Apps Here is a list of Slack apps that can automate some of your workflows. They can be useful in numerous ways in order to automate repetitive tasks. Zapier Zapier is the most famous automation tool out there. Easy to use, with workflow, they seem to be well connected to the Slack API. The first pricing goes for 20$/month. Zapier Slack App Marketplace Automate.io Automate.io does a similar job to Zapier. You might want to use Automate since they have a cheaper alternative and might have some specific integrations. The first pricing goes for 10$/month. Integromat and HotGlue Two other automation apps. I honestly couldn’t tell you which one to go for, they all seem to be working well. It will probably depend on if you are already one of those tools. Pricing is about equivalent, and they sometimes have different integrations and different levels of integrations. Integromat Hotglue Incident Apps I’ve seen numerous incident apps coming up in the past few/months/years. They are usually targeted at bigger companies that have SRE (Site reliability engineers) in the company. They are quite useful to put a methodology in place for any tech and non-tech urgency that one company can have. They usually have a similar process: you have a command you can do from slack /incident create and you need to fill out a form. In the form you put someone in charge, mention the severity and information you can provide to show the problem. It then spins off a channel and you can discuss how to best resolve it with the right team and people who are automatically invited to that channel. Incident.io Incident.io is a well-funded company by ex-Monzo (banking) employees. They have a 250+ people community in Slack and seem to have happy customers. I’ve seen screenshots of incident recaps and it looks nice! Incident.io Allma.io Also another funded company. Check out their website. They have a great way of showing how their process works in Slack so you can see if it’s something you should be interested in. Allma.io Bug Tracker Bug tracker apps will let you know whenever there is something going wrong with your apps. There are many different services but here are the most common ones. BugSnag BugSnag has been mentioned by a lot of tech teams. It’s a world-famous service. The integration allows you to snooze, or say that you’ve resolved the bug from Slack. Find out more on BugSnag in Slack Marketplace Sentry Sentry is a similar service. What we particularly like about the Sentry slack integration is that you can assign a bug to someone directly from the Slack integration. . Sentry on Slack app marketplace Raygun “Resolve errors, crashes, and application performance problems faster with Raygun and Slack”. What we like about Raygun: The error display is wide and seems like you have enough information to handle most of your errors. . Raygun on Slack app marketplace Log tracker: Papertrail Papertrail integration enables you to receive important system and application messages right when they happen. Papertrail app offers an intuitive Web-based log viewer, alerts, charts and analytics exports, long-term archives, and other time-saving log tools. Papertrail was developed by Slack. . Papertrail on Slack app marketplace Polls Slack Apps It's easy to ask a poll as a question and get an emoji response but if you want to go further there are other apps out there that can help you be more precise. Simple Poll “What is your preferred JS framework?” “Where should we have lunch?” Create polls in seconds with Simple Poll. Easily collect your team’s preferences and know how your team is feeling with this integration. Simple on Slack app marketplace Typeform With Slack app, receive all your respondents' answers in Slack as soon as they’re sent! Collect them in specific channels and start collaborating with your colleagues without leaving your app. Screenshot Typeform on Slack app marketplace Data Visualizer: New Relic With New Relic Proactive Detection, anomalies from your APM-monitored applications will surface in their activity streams and anomalies feed. You will be able to create an automatic analysis of these anomalies and receive notifications from Slack directly. . New relic on Slack app marketplace CRM + Customers Hubspot With the Hubspot Slack integration, you are able to query any source of information from your CRM, create tasks/tickets and change specific information regarding your customers. A chat feature is available to answer to your users right from Slack as well. . Hubspot on Slack app marketplace People Management Platform Café . COVID forced everyone to work from home and it made collaboration hard. Café knows teams need to meet but it’s a real struggle. Their real-time flex agenda is designed for teams that mix Office and Remote work. Café on Slack app marketplace Donut With Donuts, discover new rituals for your team that foster camaraderie, collaboration, and community. You can organize random coffees, schedule meetings to have a water cooler chats with your colleagues, and create bonds between coworkers, no matter whether they’re in-office or working remotely. . Donut on Slack app marketplace Cloud Hosting Heroku ChatOps Heroku ChatOps enables you to deploy code, and get CI tests directly within Slack. Stay on top of your Heroku app’s status without jumping from one site to another. Command output is organized into threads for easier readability, with app details like who performed the operation, the Github repo, hash, and task duration. If you need to further investigate, the app will link you to your dashboard, where additional details and configurations will be available. . Screenshot Heroku on Slack app marketplace AWS Chatbot AWS Chatbot is an interactive agent that simplifies monitoring and interacting with your AWS resources in your Slack channels and Amazon Chime chat spaces. AWS Chatbot allows you to receive alerts, execute commands to return diagnostic information, call AWS Lambda functions, and create AWS support cases. . AWS on Slack app marketplace Awsome enables simple, easy and quick management of Amazon Web Services EC2 instances directly from Slack. You can start using Awsome features with the `/awsome` Slack command. Awsome simplifies the process of: - starting AWS EC2 instances - stopping AWS EC2 instances - checking AWS EC2 instances status. Awsome Also check out: Top 5 GitHub pull request Slack Integration and the Top 4 GitHub Action Slack integrations.

Top 50 Slack Apps For Developers in 2022

Since time immemorial, the software development market and industry demanded a lot of expertise and experience from software developers before considering or having a glimpse at their professionalism and resumes. These software developers had to have an app development education background or technical software development certifications. A new approach to applications development is not only overshadowing this requirement but also turning into a trend. Low-Code vs. No-Code Technologies Both technologies favor citizen developers. They are non-IT-trained professionals with a heart for the software development market and industry. With low-code technology, creating a software app is as simple as interacting with polished GUIs on a configurable programming environment. It involves the use of basic drag-and-drop capabilities and logical interactions on employed visual interfaces. Its users require little to no knowledge in software app creation and the associated coding languages. With no-code technology, users interact with GUI-oriented development environments to make apps. The platform also offers basic drag-and-drop capabilities. Since its software development programming processes vary interchangeably, its users don’t need any prior knowledge in software development to build useful applications. Examples of Low-Code Technology This platform is team-empowered for collaborative, fast, and productive app development. Quixy makes it easy and relatively effortless to create powerful and responsive applications. It is ideal for both small and large business enterprises. It is available on a free trial and subscription-based pricing. With the manual application-building process out of the way, Quixy boasts of turning any application idea into a transparent, productive, and innovative use case. Quixy This platform also accommodates several team development efforts in the creation of useful apps. The reputation of Visual LANSA is tied to its famed features which include: Visual LANSA Generating code on an IDE App testing, deployment, and integration Comparatively low-cost app building approach It is ideal for small-sized, medium-sized, and large-sized business enterprises and is offered on both free trials and subscription-based pricing. If you want to create apps with extended functionalities, you should consider the Creatio marketplace. Whether you are considering the structured or unstructured application building process, Creatio’s BPM engine will flexibly handle things. It encompasses app administration and security features through its dynamic app building wizard. It is ideal for small, medium, and large business enterprises and offers a 14-day free trial or subscription-based pricing. Creatio Other honorable mentions related to this technology include GeneXus, Zoho Creator, Appian, KiSSFLOW, Microsoft PowerApps, OutSystems, Salesforce Lightning, and Mendix, Examples of No-Code Technology App and Website building This platform helps users visualize and create custom and responsive applications without having any coding background. Code2 comes with remarkable app-building features like drag-and-drop interfaces and also takes care of the web app’s setup, hosting, launching, and scaling processes. Its pricing plans range from Solo, Lite, Standard, to Pro. Code2.io Other honorable mentions in this category include , , , , and . Bubble.io Webflow Carrd Thunkable Bravo Studio Onboarding and Interactive Guides Memberstack The primary objective of onboarding is to retain app users and customers. The first step towards achieving this objectifiable process is to have the targeted user log in or register within a launched app. In a traditional coding environment, a developer will manually code both the payment section and the user login and registration functionalities. Creating and testing this code can be tedious and time-consuming but not for Memberstack. It is priced at Pro, Scale, and Established subscriptions. Other honorable mentions in this category include UserGuiding. Voice Technology After the debut of voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant led to prominent voice-oriented solutions in the tech industry, voice technology gained recognition as an ideal no-code platform. Voiceflow now offers extensive customization related to voice searches. With its adaptable UI, creating a voice app has never been easier and more efficient. Its pricing plan ranges from Starter, Pro, Team, to Enterprise. Voiceflow Other honorable mentions in this category include . Otter.ai Project Management Most project management applications require their users to invest time and technical toughness to adapt to their usage. It is not the case with Airtable. In this platform, you won’t feel the coding effect associated with working on a spreadsheet environment. This system relies on useful UI blocks and labels to make any project useful and interesting. Airtable is associated with big names like Medium, Buzzfeed, and Netflix. Its pricing plan ranges from Free Tier, Plus, Pro, to Enterprise. Airtable Other honorable mentions in this category include and . Notion Coda Automation If you greatly value time and money, be prepared to save them on Zapier’s automation platform. Its apps and tools integration expertise yields a domino effect performance on specific targeted tasks. Zapier chains up performant apps like Gmail, Slack, Twitter, and Google Suite so that it can offer its users seamless app development experiences and results. Its pricing plan ranges from Free Tier, Starter, Professional, Team, to Company. Zapier Other honorable mentions in this category include and Integromant. Automate.io Analytics If you are working on a SaaS business and in need of quick informed decisions, then the data science attributes of the tool is all you need. Its approach to creating the needed analytical predictions is easy and simple to follow, create, and execute. Reputable names like Forbes and Yahoo are familiar with what can achieve. So if you have a what-if scenario that needs clarification, this is the platform to visit. Its pricing plan ranges from Basic, Pro, to Pro-Plus. Obviously.ai Obviously.ai Obviously.ai Other honorable mentions in this category include Mixpanel and Google Analytics. Market overview and Popularity of Low-Code and No-Code Technologies The inevitable change and evolution of technology platforms have created a supply gap in the technology industry in terms of The tech industry’s frustration on its quest for individuals with unmet flawless and evolving software development expertise landed on the raw ears of low-code and no-code technologies. The tech industry fancies and embraces these technologies because of the following popular reasons: insufficient technical skills and proficiency in software development. Low-code tech reduces the manual coding approach of creating useful applications. It also minimizes the dependability on hard-coding. You do not need to be an alumna of a reputable coding camp to be an expert of this technology. No Need for Traditional App Development Experience The technology also reduces the normal app development duration by miles. The time you potentially waste on developing an app’s outlook, database schema, or testing functions is recovered here. You only need to specify the objectives of what you need your app to achieve once its development is complete. Less App Development Time Equals More Performant Apps These technologies embrace the integration of GUI environments to develop performant and reputable apps. You are not bound to a non-user-friendly or technically-oriented code editor to create useful apps. The technological platforms help you visualize your apps’ performances and outlook as you connect the needed GUI components to bring it to life. Graphical User Interface Orientation These technologies offer collaborative solutions to build stable and reputable applications just like Github. The only difference here is that no coding requirement will stand in the way of your collaborative app-building process. Collaborative App Development Current No-Code Techs Offer to Traditional Software Developers The app development approach of no-code technology is also adaptable to traditional developers accustomed to the raw coding approach of designing, testing, launching, and maintaining apps. They stand to reap the following benefits: Increased app responsiveness as they do not have to deal with cumulative and tedious IT backlogs No need to worry about technology churn that most result from the deprecation of coding languages functionalities. It offers an escape route from legacy debt If you are an innovator, your transformative ideas are accelerated through these technologies As an entrepreneur, you will not have to be dependent on hard-to-hire skills to get the right individuals to run your startups For traditional and mature coders or app developers, it is a mentorship opportunity for upcoming app builders on how best to present their apps. These Technologies’ Growth Perspective Hiring non-programmers is simpler and cheaper than going after matured and primed traditional software developers. Therefore, the future of these citizen developers is safe because of these . Analysts are confident of their 2020-2021 growth predictions of these two technologies after their continued adoption. The two are linked with an associated market value increase from $11.3 B (2020) to $13.8 B (2021) within the mentioned calendar years and hopefully $30 B within the 2025 calendar year. LOB (Line of Business) workers will most likely embrace these two technologies. Also, traditional software developers will most likely prefer these technologies' algorithmic approach to mundane tasks. technologies' continued adoption by promising business enterprises Citizen Developers versus Merited Developers The potential of these two technologies form a nimbus cloud on the careers of traditional developers. However, their circumstance is not as dire as it may seem. They have the option of switching back to their old ways of building apps when an inevitable arises. As for the citizen developers favored by fast-growing business enterprises, they will still have to find solutions to unavoidable challenges related to: challenge Tracking employees’ productivity due to inadequacy in generated app data oversight and visibility Management, maintenance, and up-scaling of already created apps Waste of resources due to implementation of apps via incompatible app tools and insufficient methodologies Final Note The use these technologies has a high chance of upgrading and upscaling workflow and enterprise apps. Additionally, the technologies stand a chance of creating seamless frontends for different app platforms. On the other hand as it will be useful in data governance, implementation of extensive app functionalities, and app deployments to specific environments and architectures. , traditional developers should not completely dispose of their hard-coding skill sets

Low-Code vs No-Code: A Buzzword Battle for the Ages

, co-founder of , has been using for both personal and professional purposes. He has been advocating about process automation and how it can bring about a lot of benefits for individuals and companies. We talked to him to learn more about his experience with workflow automation and why he decided to use n8n. Mani Kumar The Mind Clan n8n Can you tell me a bit about yourself? My name is Mani, and I’m a product management consultant from Mumbai, India. My day job involves me leading strategy at a design studio called and product consulting at a management consultancy for social impact ventures called . Risevertise Helm of Eight My venture is , which curates effective tools for mental health care in India. We break through the cookie-cutter approach of the current mental health care system and restore the agency of choice of care to people seeking support through our platform. We also run corporate training, workshops, and policy interventions. We have a few SMEs and MNCs in our clientele. As a tech platform, we rely heavily on many tools, and have recently adopted n8n into many parts of our workflow. The Mind Clan I work as a product management consultant to multiple ventures, projects, and initiatives in India and try to act as their (unofficial) EIR, enabling them to solve challenges and scale. I’m also into design, website development, and automation. I’ve now started helping my clients across sectors leverage n8n for their automation requirements across the board. What made you decide that n8n would be the most suitable tool for you? I hate mundane tasks. If I see myself doing the same task multiple times, I automate as much of it as possible. I’ve automated many things from email auto-responders to image compressors, ever since I recognized how much time (and energy) I could save. I never had a favorite automation tool before n8n. Zapier/Automate.io and IFTTT were great, but while the former had questionable pricing models, the latter got me worried about data privacy (which as an enterprise you need to take into account). My go-to for any automation work was relying on the APIs of the platform directly using Python and cronjobs. That works beautifully as a local solution but not so much when you are looking to include more stakeholders. n8n filled out that void entirely. It helped me not only spend less time worrying about the security and scalability of my API endpoints, but also helped me loop in any stakeholders into the process to hand over responsibilities. What kind of workflows are you building with n8n? One of my favorite workflows (for the pure simplicity with which it worked), apart from the ones mentioned in my next answer, would be the ability to execute shell commands. I have now automated the mundane process of migrating/backing up WordPress sites (database + wp-content) by using the Execute Command node with the Cron node. With another project, I am piloting n8n + to see what the additional possibilities here could be. Bonus is to email the admin each week to download their backup. It can optionally send the file to Google Drive too. Sounds too simple to work, right? my experimental python script Which integrations have you been using the most? The hardest part about a microservices architecture is trying to find ways to bring data together seamlessly. This is why I’ve been relying on webhooks, cronjobs, if/then logic, shell script commands, and so many other integrations. I’ve also relied on the Redis, Airtable, and Google Drive integration for a few tasks. What’s the most useful feature of n8n for you? The option to seamlessly install n8n using a single line of npm, or Docker. Though I must admit, authentication took me a while to figure out. Have you automated things with n8n for personal use as well? Yes! The biggest of them has to be email alerts for my personal expenses tracker. It tracks a Google Sheet with a dump of all my expenses, and shoots me an email each time a subscription is due. I’m also going to expand it soon to include more nodes and eventually replace my local python script. What advice do you have for people looking to incorporate n8n in their teams or projects? Though authentication for n8n itself may be tricky to figure out at first, don’t let it stop you from integrating n8n into at least a small part of your daily life. If this is your first time with the tool, it may have a slight learning curve especially with the platform’s nomenclature and workflow triggers but it’s nothing that you can’t overcome. Refer to their to get a clearer idea of how their integrations work. Start small. Eventually, they’ll win you over. Their team members and are also very kind and responsive if you’re facing any hiccups. workflows page community How do you envision using n8n in the near future? I firmly believe that n8n as a hosted option (competing directly with the big players in the market) and a desktop/mobile installable app would be a HUGE sell for anyone who’s getting into the automation ecosystem without a tech background. I see everyone from marketing executives at MNCs automating their entire campaign workflows to project coordinators at NGOs and even governments being able to integrate n8n into their daily workflows. I also see many financial and legal compliance teams being able to leverage n8n as well. What’s a feature that you are looking forward to or would love to see in n8n? Apart from more interactive documentation (not a feature, I know), I think the only thing n8n is missing right now is integration with all top social media platforms. The team did tell me it’s on its way though, so I’m very excited to see this come in soon. One of my favorite uses of Zapier was to automate my social media calendar through a single Excel sheet. Cannot wait to port that into n8n. 💌 n8n users come from a wide range of backgrounds, experience levels, and interests. We have been looking to highlight different users and their projects in our blog posts. If you’re working with n8n and would like to inspire the community, email me at tanay@n8n.io to tell your story Also published at https://medium.com/n8n-io/why-this-product-manager-loves-n8n-215dc273d86a

Why This Product Manager Uses n8n for His Mental Healthcare App

Businesses are racing toward smarter operations through AI, automation, and digital transformation. The challenge doesn’t just lie in the adoption of new tech, however, but in doing so at scale. Mahesh Chayel, a Product Management Leader at Meta, has spent his career bridging complex technologies with tangible business outcomes. With over 12 years of experience leading AI-based products across global giants like TripAdvisor, Oracle, and NEC Asia Pacific, Mahesh’s philosophy on innovation and leadership is rooted in continuous learning, transparency, and mentorship. A Versatile Start in Product Leadership Mahesh’s start in product management wasn’t planned. He began his career as a software engineer at Oracle, where he explored diverse roles, including product marketing, analytics, and investment banking. His pivotal moment came through a mentor’s advice: find what you love, and success will follow. For Mahesh, product management proved to be the ideal fusion of creativity, impact, and strategic thinking—there was something special about creating something that he knows can easily impact people’s daily lives and make a real positive change. A top-ranked graduate from India’s Institute of Management (IIM) and MIT Sloan School of Management, Mahesh excelled in several disciplines. This broad foundation gave him the ability to work seamlessly across industries, a skill that would later prove invaluable in global roles spanning India, Singapore, Japan, and the United States. Innovation with AI at Meta and Beyond At Meta, Mahesh plays a key role in the adoption of generative AI and Machine Learning (ML) solutions. He spearheaded the integration of Gen AI into Ads and Monetization—an initiative designed to level the playing field for small enterprises by enabling them to compete with larger companies. These solutions offer small and medium-sized enterprises the same precision in ad targeting as major corporations. Mahesh’s leadership style centers around clarity and trust. “AI isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about making sure people feel in control of the technology they use,” he explains. During his tenure at TripAdvisor, Mahesh introduced ML-driven advertiser bidding, which empowered smaller businesses to optimize their ad spend and boost their return on investment. This fierce commitment to transparency remains a guiding principle in Mahesh’s work at Meta, where establishing trust in AI products is paramount. Challenges in Scaling and Leading in AI Solutions While AI offers transformative potential, scaling these technologies presents unique challenges. Businesses often struggle with aligning AI initiatives across business units, while smaller organizations need low-barrier solutions to unlock automation. Mahesh’s approach to scaling—what he calls a ‘1-to-100’ model—focuses on optimizing proven systems rather than experimenting from scratch. Mahesh emphasizes that AI must change behaviors, not just processes. “Many organizations try to bolt AI onto their workflows without realizing it requires a shift in mindset,” he notes. His experience implementing scalable automation has made him a sought-after speaker at conferences, including the Product Innovation Summit and the MIT India Summit. Mahesh has had to work harder than most to earn recognition in competitive environments. Growing up in a modest middle-class household in India, he initially struggled to find his calling. “People say you need to know what you want early on, but that wasn’t my journey,” he reflects. His experience of excelling across multiple fields—from engineering to marketing—shaped his ability to adapt quickly. These challenges honed his resilience and helped him approach new problems with confidence. This outlook helped Mahesh inspire others to embrace a mindset of growth through exploration. Mentorship in Community Engagement In addition to leading AI initiatives, Mahesh actively mentors aspiring product managers both within Meta and the broader tech community. Whether through LinkedIn or industry events, he imparts practical advice on identifying product-market fit, scaling solutions, and leading complex teams. “Mentorship is about giving sound advice, but it’s also about helping people discover their potential,” he shares. Mahesh has also spoken at prestigious events such as Product-Led Growth and the Singapore International Energy Symposium, covering topics like building scalable ML products and setting new industry standards for AI-enabled enterprises. For Mahesh, knowledge must be shared to drive collective growth. Recognitions and Notable Achievements Mahesh’s expertise has earned him numerous awards, including the Globee Gold Award for thought leadership and the Stevie Gold Award for contributions to product management and marketing. He has also received internal awards such as the ‘Get Shit Done’ award at TripAdvisor for driving significant business growth and the Oracle U-ROC award for his exceptional performance. His professional journey is also marked by academic achievements, including ranking among the top 1,000 of 300,000 candidates in India’s IIM entrance exam and earning a second-place university ranking during his undergraduate studies. Passion as the Driving Force Mahesh’s career is an excellent example of the importance of following one’s passion. His early experiences navigating multiple roles helped him discover what he truly enjoyed. “Once you love what you do, it stops being a job,” he reflects, a philosophy that has driven his professional success. This mindset is something Mahesh actively instills in the people he mentors. He encourages them to explore diverse career paths and pursue continuous learning. His belief that passion fuels excellence has become a cornerstone of his leadership style. A Future Shaped by AI and Automation Mahesh is focused on tackling some of the most complex challenges facing the business world. His vision involves not just deploying AI solutions but also creating scalable frameworks that redefine industry standards. “The future belongs to those who continue evolving,” he says. Mahesh’s ability to adapt and learn positions him at the forefront of the tech world as he shapes the future of AI and automation. He envisions a world where automation enables businesses to operate more efficiently while also enhancing human creativity. Through continuous learning and collaboration with experts, he plans to stay ahead of the curve and keep pushing boundaries. __Mahesh Chayel’__s work shows the transformative potential of AI and automation when applied thoughtfully and at scale. His approach, which is centered around mentorship, continuous learning, and trust, offers a roadmap for tech professionals navigating digital transformation. Businesses might continue to grapple with the complexities of AI adoption, but Mahesh is armed with expertise and insights to provide both inspiration and practical solutions. As he says himself, “Setting a new standard for innovation and leadership in tech—that’s the vision, and one worth working toward.” Businesses are racing toward smarter operations through AI, automation, and digital transformation. The challenge doesn’t just lie in the adoption of new tech, however, but in doing so at scale. Mahesh Chayel , a Product Management Leader at Meta, has spent his career bridging complex technologies with tangible business outcomes. With over 12 years of experience leading AI-based products across global giants like TripAdvisor, Oracle, and NEC Asia Pacific, Mahesh’s philosophy on innovation and leadership is rooted in continuous learning, transparency, and mentorship. Mahesh Chayel Mahesh Chayel A Versatile Start in Product Leadership A Versatile Start in Product Leadership Mahesh’s start in product management wasn’t planned. He began his career as a software engineer at Oracle , where he explored diverse roles, including product marketing, analytics, and investment banking. His pivotal moment came through a mentor’s advice: find what you love, and success will follow. For Mahesh, product management proved to be the ideal fusion of creativity, impact, and strategic thinking—there was something special about creating something that he knows can easily impact people’s daily lives and make a real positive change. Oracle Oracle A top-ranked graduate from India’s Institute of Management (IIM) and MIT Sloan School of Management, Mahesh excelled in several disciplines. This broad foundation gave him the ability to work seamlessly across industries, a skill that would later prove invaluable in global roles spanning India, Singapore, Japan, and the United States. Innovation with AI at Meta and Beyond Innovation with AI at Meta and Beyond At Meta, Mahesh plays a key role in the adoption of generative AI and Machine Learning (ML) solutions. He spearheaded the integration of Gen AI into Ads and Monetization—an initiative designed to level the playing field for small enterprises by enabling them to compete with larger companies. These solutions offer small and medium-sized enterprises the same precision in ad targeting as major corporations. Mahesh’s leadership style centers around clarity and trust. “AI isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about making sure people feel in control of the technology they use,” he explains. During his tenure at TripAdvisor, Mahesh introduced ML-driven advertiser bidding, which empowered smaller businesses to optimize their ad spend and boost their return on investment. This fierce commitment to transparency remains a guiding principle in Mahesh’s work at Meta, where establishing trust in AI products is paramount. Challenges in Scaling and Leading in AI Solutions Challenges in Scaling and Leading in AI Solutions While AI offers transformative potential, scaling these technologies presents unique challenges. Businesses often struggle with aligning AI initiatives across business units, while smaller organizations need low-barrier solutions to unlock automation. Mahesh’s approach to scaling—what he calls a ‘1-to-100’ model—focuses on optimizing proven systems rather than experimenting from scratch. Mahesh emphasizes that AI must change behaviors, not just processes. “Many organizations try to bolt AI onto their workflows without realizing it requires a shift in mindset,” he notes. His experience implementing scalable automation has made him a sought-after speaker at conferences, including the Product Innovation Summit and the MIT India Summit. Mahesh has had to work harder than most to earn recognition in competitive environments. Growing up in a modest middle-class household in India, he initially struggled to find his calling. “People say you need to know what you want early on, but that wasn’t my journey,” he reflects. His experience of excelling across multiple fields—from engineering to marketing—shaped his ability to adapt quickly. These challenges honed his resilience and helped him approach new problems with confidence. This outlook helped Mahesh inspire others to embrace a mindset of growth through exploration. Mentorship in Community Engagement Mentorship in Community Engagement In addition to leading AI initiatives, Mahesh actively mentors aspiring product managers both within Meta and the broader tech community. Whether through LinkedIn or industry events, he imparts practical advice on identifying product-market fit, scaling solutions, and leading complex teams. “Mentorship is about giving sound advice, but it’s also about helping people discover their potential,” he shares. Mahesh has also spoken at prestigious events such as Product-Led Growth and the Singapore International Energy Symposium, covering topics like building scalable ML products and setting new industry standards for AI-enabled enterprises. For Mahesh, knowledge must be shared to drive collective growth. Recognitions and Notable Achievements Recognitions and Notable Achievements Mahesh’s expertise has earned him numerous awards, including the Globee Gold Award for thought leadership and the Stevie Gold Award for contributions to product management and marketing. He has also received internal awards such as the ‘Get Shit Done’ award at TripAdvisor for driving significant business growth and the Oracle U-ROC award for his exceptional performance. Globee Gold Award Globee Gold Award Stevie Gold Award Stevie Gold Award His professional journey is also marked by academic achievements, including ranking among the top 1,000 of 300,000 candidates in India’s IIM entrance exam and earning a second-place university ranking during his undergraduate studies. Passion as the Driving Force Passion as the Driving Force Mahesh’s career is an excellent example of the importance of following one’s passion. His early experiences navigating multiple roles helped him discover what he truly enjoyed. “Once you love what you do, it stops being a job,” he reflects, a philosophy that has driven his professional success. This mindset is something Mahesh actively instills in the people he mentors. He encourages them to explore diverse career paths and pursue continuous learning. His belief that passion fuels excellence has become a cornerstone of his leadership style. A Future Shaped by AI and Automation A Future Shaped by AI and Automation Mahesh is focused on tackling some of the most complex challenges facing the business world. His vision involves not just deploying AI solutions but also creating scalable frameworks that redefine industry standards. “The future belongs to those who continue evolving,” he says. Mahesh’s ability to adapt and learn positions him at the forefront of the tech world as he shapes the future of AI and automation. He envisions a world where automation enables businesses to operate more efficiently while also enhancing human creativity. Through continuous learning and collaboration with experts, he plans to stay ahead of the curve and keep pushing boundaries. __ Mahesh Chayel’ __s work shows the transformative potential of AI and automation when applied thoughtfully and at scale. His approach, which is centered around mentorship, continuous learning, and trust, offers a roadmap for tech professionals navigating digital transformation. Mahesh Chayel’ Businesses might continue to grapple with the complexities of AI adoption, but Mahesh is armed with expertise and insights to provide both inspiration and practical solutions. As he says himself, “Setting a new standard for innovation and leadership in tech—that’s the vision, and one worth working toward.”

Scaling AI and Automation for the Enterprise: Insights from Mahesh Chayel

Škálování umělé inteligence a automatizace pro podniky: Postřehy od Maheshe Chayela

Escalabilidad de la IA y la automatización para la empresa: perspectivas de Mahesh Chayel

Méretezési mesterséges intelligencia és automatizálás a vállalatok számára: Mahesh Chayel betekintése

企業向け AI と自動化の拡張: Mahesh Chayel の洞察

Аж ахуйн нэгжийн хиймэл оюун ухаан ба автоматжуулалтыг өргөжүүлэх: Махеш Чайелаас авсан ойлголтууд

Scalarea inteligenței artificiale și automatizării pentru întreprindere: informații de la Mahesh Chayel

Škálovanie AI a automatizácia pre podnik: Štatistiky od Mahesha Chayela

Kuongeza AI na Uendeshaji Kiotomatiki kwa Biashara: Maarifa kutoka kwa Mahesh Chayel

การปรับขนาด AI และระบบอัตโนมัติสำหรับองค์กร: ข้อมูลเชิงลึกจาก Mahesh Chayel

ስኬሊንግ ኤኣይን ኣውቶማቲክን ንኢንተርፕራይዝ፡ ርድኢታት ካብ ማሄሽ ቻይል

Ölçeg AI we kärhana üçin awtomatlaşdyryş: Maheş Çaýeliň düşündirişleri

Ku ringanisa AI na Otomatiki ya Bindzu: Vutivi ku suka eka Mahesh Chayel

Don't spend your time doing work a well-trained monkey could do | From automate the boring stuff with python book Automation is not a replacement for our workforce; it presents an opportunity to embrace agility in a constantly evolving digital society. Considering network engineers' numerous tedious tasks each week, automation becomes a crucial ingredient for success. Beyond the hype and rankings, Python has emerged as the de facto language for automation. Its elegant syntax and versatility have led to the creation of amazing tools. What is Cisco PyATS pyATS, which stands for Python Automated Test System, was developed by Cisco Systems to automate testing and validate networks. It is often called a "Swiss Army knife" due to its ability to perform a wide range of tasks beyond conventional expectations. In addition to automated testing, pyATS supports network configuration testing and updates,... Language: Python, it is oriented for DevOps and NetDevOps


Typical usage: Network configuration tests, anomaly detection, connectivity validation…


Objective: Automating network tests and validation by providing a modular and extensible environment.
Main modules


PyATS: the main framework for automated tests.


Genie: Collection of automation libraries for configuring, analyzing, and verifying network data. PyATS is a big ecosystem of innovations where we can do amazing and it goes beyond Cisco environments! How to install pyATS quickly on Windows Subsystem for Linux ( Ubuntu 24.04 LTS) The best way to install pyATS is to create a Python virtual environment and this is the quickest way to do it by observing the capture below installing pyATS To install Genie the process is the same! Checking the installation PyATS and Genie are installed with their packages. Verifying PyATS versions pyats version check After running the command we see the version,pyATS is properly installed and we can achieve amazing things we want. Key concepts to know about pyATS What makes pyATS unique is its abstraction, and to understand it better, you need to engage with these abstractions! Testbed: This is the representation of network environments. A YAML file describes devices, their roles, and IP addresses, and here is how it looks when the file is written.
# Step 0: list of devices
devices:
  iosxr1:
    # Step 1: OS and Type
    type: iosxr-Prod
    os: iosxr
    # Step 2: credentials
    credentials:
      default:
        username: admin
        password: Hacker@204k
    # Step 3: connection parameters
    connections:
      vty:
        protocol: ssh
        ip: test-mgmt.talesoftechnology.com
        port: 8080 Test scripts: python scripts that contain all instructions for every test.
Parsers: with an impressive library and over 1500 parsers, Genie expertly converts raw text into structured text.
Triggers: they enable specific automated actions, in response to events, in other words, they are similar to webhooks. Main features and use cases States comparison: network comparison state before and after a change or update.
Report and journaling: it generates test reports and detailed logs for every
Multi-environment execution: it is compatible with physical and virtual environments. Practical use cases State validation: Compare the configuration status of a device before and after a change to ensure there is no configuration drift.
Anomaly detection: Automate the identification of anomalies in device configurations or states.
Connectivity Test: Use ping or traceroute commands to check connectivity between devices Conclusion Now you know how to install pyATS using the Windows Subsystem for Linux, and you don’t need a lengthy guide! You understand the basic concepts; even though pyATS can seem abstract, the best way to grasp it is through interaction with various abstractions. Automation is essential for agility today, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with tedious tasks. With pyATS, you can save time and   reduce stress compared to handling  everything manually. In the next article, you will learn how to create a testbed, and we will demystify pyATS, it’s not as hard as you think! Don't spend your time doing work a well-trained monkey could do | From automate the boring stuff with python book Don't spend your time doing work a well-trained monkey could do | From automate the boring stuff with python book Automation is not a replacement for our workforce; it presents an opportunity to embrace agility in a constantly evolving digital society. Considering network engineers' numerous tedious tasks each week, automation becomes a crucial ingredient for success. Beyond the hype and rankings, Python has emerged as the de facto language for automation. Its elegant syntax and versatility have led to the creation of amazing tools. Python Python What is Cisco PyATS pyATS , which stands for Python Automated Test System, was developed by Cisco Systems to automate testing and validate networks. It is often called a "Swiss Army knife" due to its ability to perform a wide range of tasks beyond conventional expectations. In addition to automated testing, pyATS supports network configuration testing and updates,... pyATS pyATS Language: Python, it is oriented for DevOps and NetDevOps Typical usage: Network configuration tests, anomaly detection, connectivity validation… Objective: Automating network tests and validation by providing a modular and extensible environment.
Main modules PyATS: the main framework for automated tests. Genie: Collection of automation libraries for configuring, analyzing, and verifying network data. Language: Python, it is oriented for DevOps and NetDevOps Language : Python, it is oriented for DevOps and NetDevOps Language Typical usage: Network configuration tests, anomaly detection, connectivity validation… Typical usage : Network configuration tests, anomaly detection, connectivity validation… Typical usage Objective: Automating network tests and validation by providing a modular and extensible environment. Main modules Objective : Automating network tests and validation by providing a modular and extensible environment. Objective Main modules PyATS: the main framework for automated tests. PyATS : the main framework for automated tests. PyATS Genie: Collection of automation libraries for configuring, analyzing, and verifying network data. Genie : Collection of automation libraries for configuring, analyzing, and verifying network data. Genie PyATS is a big ecosystem of innovations where we can do amazing and it goes beyond Cisco environments! PyATS is a big ecosystem of innovations where we can do amazing and it goes beyond Cisco environments! PyATS is a big ecosystem of innovations where we can do amazing and it goes beyond Cisco environments! How to install pyATS quickly on Windows Subsystem for Linux ( Ubuntu 24.04 LTS) The best way to install pyATS is to create a Python virtual environment and this is the quickest way to do it by observing the capture below installing pyATS To install Genie the process is the same! Genie Genie Checking the installation PyATS and Genie are installed with their packages. Verifying PyATS versions pyats version check pyats version check After running the command we see the version,pyATS is properly installed and we can achieve amazing things we want. Key concepts to know about pyATS What makes pyATS unique is its abstraction, and to understand it better, you need to engage with these abstractions! Testbed: This is the representation of network environments. A YAML file describes devices, their roles, and IP addresses, and here is how it looks when the file is written.
# Step 0: list of devices
devices:
  iosxr1:
    # Step 1: OS and Type
    type: iosxr-Prod
    os: iosxr
    # Step 2: credentials
    credentials:
      default:
        username: admin
        password: Hacker@204k
    # Step 3: connection parameters
    connections:
      vty:
        protocol: ssh
        ip: test-mgmt.talesoftechnology.com
        port: 8080 Testbed: This is the representation of network environments. A YAML file describes devices, their roles, and IP addresses, and here is how it looks when the file is written. # Step 0: list of devices
devices:
  iosxr1:
    # Step 1: OS and Type
    type: iosxr-Prod
    os: iosxr
    # Step 2: credentials
    credentials:
      default:
        username: admin
        password: Hacker@204k
    # Step 3: connection parameters
    connections:
      vty:
        protocol: ssh
        ip: test-mgmt.talesoftechnology.com
        port: 8080 Testbed : This is the representation of network environments. A YAML file describes devices, their roles, and IP addresses, and here is how it looks when the file is written. Testbed # Step 0: list of devices
devices:
  iosxr1:
    # Step 1: OS and Type
    type: iosxr-Prod
    os: iosxr
    # Step 2: credentials
    credentials:
      default:
        username: admin
        password: Hacker@204k
    # Step 3: connection parameters
    connections:
      vty:
        protocol: ssh
        ip: test-mgmt.talesoftechnology.com
        port: 8080 # Step 0: list of devices
devices:
  iosxr1:
    # Step 1: OS and Type
    type: iosxr-Prod
    os: iosxr
    # Step 2: credentials
    credentials:
      default:
        username: admin
        password: Hacker@204k
    # Step 3: connection parameters
    connections:
      vty:
        protocol: ssh
        ip: test-mgmt.talesoftechnology.com
        port: 8080 Test scripts: python scripts that contain all instructions for every test. Parsers: with an impressive library and over 1500 parsers, Genie expertly converts raw text into structured text. Triggers: they enable specific automated actions, in response to events, in other words, they are similar to webhooks. Test scripts : python scripts that contain all instructions for every test. Test scripts Parsers: with an impressive library and over 1500 parsers, Genie expertly converts raw text into structured text. Parsers: Triggers : they enable specific automated actions, in response to events, in other words, they are similar to webhooks. Triggers Main features and use cases States comparison: network comparison state before and after a change or update. Report and journaling: it generates test reports and detailed logs for every Multi-environment execution: it is compatible with physical and virtual environments. States comparison : network comparison state before and after a change or update. States comparison Report and journaling : it generates test reports and detailed logs for every Report and journaling Multi-environment execution : it is compatible with physical and virtual environments. Multi-environment execution Practical use cases State validation: Compare the configuration status of a device before and after a change to ensure there is no configuration drift. Anomaly detection: Automate the identification of anomalies in device configurations or states. Connectivity Test: Use ping or traceroute commands to check connectivity between devices State validation : Compare the configuration status of a device before and after a change to ensure there is no configuration drift. State validation Anomaly detection : Automate the identification of anomalies in device configurations or states. Anomaly detection Connectivity Test : Use ping or traceroute commands to check connectivity between devices Connectivity Test Conclusion Now you know how to install pyATS using the Windows Subsystem for Linux, and you don’t need a lengthy guide! You understand the basic concepts; even though pyATS can seem abstract, the best way to grasp it is through interaction with various abstractions. Automation is essential for agility today, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with tedious tasks. With pyATS, you can save time and   reduce stress compared to handling  everything manually. In the next article, you will learn how to create a testbed, and we will demystify pyATS, it’s not as hard as you think!

Network Test and Automation: PyATS 101 in 5 Minutes

The TechBeat: How Fintech Is Revolutionizing Compliance: Automation, AI, and the Future of Risk Management  (11/14/2024)

In Part 1 of this series, we went through the process of setting up and installing Appium, along with the necessary dependencies and drivers for mobile automation testing. Now that we have everything installed, let's take a closer look at what exactly we’ve set up and understand the role each component plays in our mobile test automation workflow. Understanding these components will give us a clearer picture of how Appium enables us to automate tests for both Android and iOS applications. 1. Appium Appium is the heart of our mobile automation setup. It acts as a bridge between the test scripts you write and the mobile device or simulator/emulator that the tests are being executed on. Think of Appium as a tool that translates your test scripts (which are written in programming languages like Java, Python, or JavaScript) into commands that the mobile operating system can understand. When we write a test case, Appium takes each action—such as tapping a button, swiping a screen, or entering text—and converts it into a sequence of commands that the mobile OS interprets. Appium is designed to support both Android and iOS, making it a cross-platform solution for mobile test automation. This means that we can write one test and run it across different devices and platforms with minimal changes to our code. 2. UiAutomator Driver The UI Automator driver is a powerful tool for interacting with the UI components on an Android device or emulator. It provides access to all the features needed to automate the interaction with Android app elements. This driver enables actions such as tapping buttons, scrolling through lists, entering text in forms, and verifying the presence of elements on the screen. One key benefit of the UI Automator Driver is its ability to interact with both the app's UI and system-level features, such as accessing notifications and interacting with native Android components. If you’re focusing on testing Android apps, the UI Automator Driver is a critical component of your setup. 3. XCUITest Driver XCUITest is a testing framework developed by Apple for iOS applications. When we need to interact with elements in an iOS app, we use the XCUITest Driver. Just like the UI Automator Driver does for Android, XCUITest translates the actions from your test script into commands that the iOS operating system can execute. XCUITest supports a wide range of iOS-specific features, allowing you to automate gestures, verify UI elements, and even test complex interactions such as push notifications or in-app purchases. Since iOS and Android are very different platforms, the XCUITest Driver provides a tailored approach to testing iOS apps, ensuring that your automation scripts can work seamlessly on Apple's devices. 4. Wait Plugin The Wait Plugin is an essential part of test automation, especially for mobile applications where delays or changes in the UI might cause timing issues. This plugin allows you to pause your test execution until a specific condition is met, such as waiting for an element (like a button or text field) to appear or become clickable. Without such a feature, your tests could fail prematurely, particularly in scenarios where elements load dynamically or after a delay (such as network latency or complex animations). By incorporating the Wait Plugin, you can avoid flaky tests—tests that fail intermittently because the necessary elements haven't loaded in time. The plugin ensures that the test doesn't proceed until it is sure the element is available for interaction, improving the reliability of your automated tests. 5. Appium Inspector Think of Appium Inspector as a visual tool to help you inspect the app's user interface during the test design phase. It provides a graphical interface that displays the app's components, such as buttons, text fields, and images, making it easy to identify elements you want to interact with. You can use the Appium Inspector to locate elements by inspecting their properties like their ID, class, or XPath. This tool is invaluable when designing your test scripts, as it allows you to visually explore the app’s UI and interact with specific elements without writing code immediately. With Appium Inspector, you can quickly determine the exact properties and attributes of UI components, and once you have identified the elements, you can use them in your test scripts to automate interactions. It significantly simplifies the process of writing and debugging automation tests. Conclusion In summary, the components we've installed: Appium, the UI Automator Driver, the XCUITest Driver, the Wait Plugin, and the Appium Inspector, each serve a unique purpose, but they work together to enable powerful mobile automation testing. Appium provides the foundation by connecting the test script with the device, while the drivers for Android and iOS (UI Automator and XCUITest) provide platform-specific functionality. The Wait Plugin ensures reliable test execution by managing timing issues, and the Appium Inspector makes it easier to identify and interact with UI elements. In Part 1 of this series, we went through the process of setting up and installing Appium, along with the necessary dependencies and drivers for mobile automation testing. Now that we have everything installed, let's take a closer look at what exactly we’ve set up and understand the role each component plays in our mobile test automation workflow. Understanding these components will give us a clearer picture of how Appium enables us to automate tests for both Android and iOS applications. Part 1 1. Appium Appium is the heart of our mobile automation setup. It acts as a bridge between the test scripts you write and the mobile device or simulator/emulator that the tests are being executed on. Think of Appium as a tool that translates your test scripts (which are written in programming languages like Java, Python, or JavaScript) into commands that the mobile operating system can understand. When we write a test case, Appium takes each action—such as tapping a button, swiping a screen, or entering text—and converts it into a sequence of commands that the mobile OS interprets. Appium is designed to support both Android and iOS, making it a cross-platform solution for mobile test automation. This means that we can write one test and run it across different devices and platforms with minimal changes to our code. 2. UiAutomator Driver The UI Automator driver is a powerful tool for interacting with the UI components on an Android device or emulator. It provides access to all the features needed to automate the interaction with Android app elements. This driver enables actions such as tapping buttons, scrolling through lists, entering text in forms, and verifying the presence of elements on the screen. One key benefit of the UI Automator Driver is its ability to interact with both the app's UI and system-level features, such as accessing notifications and interacting with native Android components. If you’re focusing on testing Android apps, the UI Automator Driver is a critical component of your setup. 3. XCUITest Driver XCUITest is a testing framework developed by Apple for iOS applications. When we need to interact with elements in an iOS app, we use the XCUITest Driver. Just like the UI Automator Driver does for Android, XCUITest translates the actions from your test script into commands that the iOS operating system can execute. XCUITest supports a wide range of iOS-specific features, allowing you to automate gestures, verify UI elements, and even test complex interactions such as push notifications or in-app purchases. Since iOS and Android are very different platforms, the XCUITest Driver provides a tailored approach to testing iOS apps, ensuring that your automation scripts can work seamlessly on Apple's devices. 4. Wait Plugin The Wait Plugin is an essential part of test automation, especially for mobile applications where delays or changes in the UI might cause timing issues. This plugin allows you to pause your test execution until a specific condition is met, such as waiting for an element (like a button or text field) to appear or become clickable. Without such a feature, your tests could fail prematurely, particularly in scenarios where elements load dynamically or after a delay (such as network latency or complex animations). By incorporating the Wait Plugin, you can avoid flaky tests—tests that fail intermittently because the necessary elements haven't loaded in time. The plugin ensures that the test doesn't proceed until it is sure the element is available for interaction, improving the reliability of your automated tests. 5. Appium Inspector Think of Appium Inspector as a visual tool to help you inspect the app's user interface during the test design phase. It provides a graphical interface that displays the app's components, such as buttons, text fields, and images, making it easy to identify elements you want to interact with. You can use the Appium Inspector to locate elements by inspecting their properties like their ID, class, or XPath. This tool is invaluable when designing your test scripts, as it allows you to visually explore the app’s UI and interact with specific elements without writing code immediately. With Appium Inspector, you can quickly determine the exact properties and attributes of UI components, and once you have identified the elements, you can use them in your test scripts to automate interactions. It significantly simplifies the process of writing and debugging automation tests. Conclusion In summary, the components we've installed: Appium, the UI Automator Driver, the XCUITest Driver, the Wait Plugin, and the Appium Inspector, each serve a unique purpose, but they work together to enable powerful mobile automation testing. Appium provides the foundation by connecting the test script with the device, while the drivers for Android and iOS (UI Automator and XCUITest) provide platform-specific functionality. The Wait Plugin ensures reliable test execution by managing timing issues, and the Appium Inspector makes it easier to identify and interact with UI elements.

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