ByteChef is an open-source, low-code platform designed for API integration and workflow automation across SaaS applications, internal APIs, and databases. It enables technical teams to visually design, test, and deploy automation workflows without writing extensive code, while still offering full extensibility through custom connectors in Java, JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. Built as a self-hosted solution, ByteChef gives organizations full control over data and execution environments — making it ideal for compliance-sensitive or infrastructure-specific use cases. Originally forked from Piper, ByteChef combines the flexibility of an iPaaS with developer-friendly customization options, positioning itself as a powerful alternative to proprietary tools like Zapier or Workato.
It serves two primary audiences: automation engineers who need to connect disparate systems without relying on external SaaS platforms, and product teams looking to embed workflow automation directly into their own SaaS products for customer-facing integrations. With AI-ready components and version-controlled workflows, ByteChef bridges the gap between no-code simplicity and enterprise-grade extensibility.
What You Get
- Visual Workflow Editor - Build complex automation workflows by dragging and dropping components in a graphical interface, with real-time visualization of data flow and connections.
- Event-Driven & Scheduled Workflows - Automate tasks using triggers based on time schedules or real-time events from connected systems, enabling responsive automation pipelines.
- Multiple Flow Controls - Implement conditionals, switches, loops, parallel execution, and iteration blocks to handle complex business logic within workflows.
- Built-In Code Editor - Write custom logic directly in Java, JavaScript, Python, or Ruby within workflow steps to handle data transformation or complex operations not covered by pre-built components.
- 200+ Built-In Components - Pre-built connectors for databases, SaaS platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Slack), cloud storage, and internal APIs to accelerate integration development.
- Extendable Custom Connectors - Develop your own connectors in Java, JavaScript, Python, or Ruby to integrate with proprietary systems or emerging APIs not yet supported.
- AI Ready - Integrate AI models and algorithms directly into workflows using built-in components for tasks like text generation, classification, or data enrichment.
- Developer Ready - Expose completed workflows as REST APIs with automatic authentication handling, enabling seamless integration into existing applications.
- Version Control Friendly - Push and pull workflow definitions directly from Git repositories through the UI, enabling CI/CD practices for automation code.
- Self-Hosted Deployment - Deploy on-premise or in private clouds using Docker Compose or manual Docker containers, ensuring data sovereignty and compliance.
Common Use Cases
- Building multi-tenant SaaS integrations - Embed workflow automation capabilities into your product so customers can connect their Slack, CRM, or email tools directly to your platform without leaving your UI.
- Automating data sync between internal systems and SaaS apps - Sync customer data from PostgreSQL to HubSpot daily, trigger support tickets in Zendesk when billing fails, or update inventory in Shopify from an internal ERP.
- Problem: Manual data entry between disconnected systems → Solution: ByteChef - A team spends 20 hours/week manually copying data from Excel to Salesforce. They build a workflow that reads CSVs from S3, transforms the data using JavaScript, and creates contacts in Salesforce — reducing manual effort to zero.
- DevOps teams managing microservice orchestration - Use ByteChef to automate deployment validation workflows that trigger tests across services, notify Slack on failure, and roll back deployments based on health checks.
Under The Hood
ByteChef is a low-code automation platform that enables rapid development and execution of workflow automation tools through a combination of a CLI-driven connector generation system and a TypeScript-based web client. It supports extensible, component-oriented development with strong emphasis on integration capabilities and user-driven customization.
Architecture
The system follows a layered architecture with clear separation between presentation, business logic, and data access layers, ensuring maintainability and scalability.
- The modular structure organizes functionality into distinct components such as CLI tools, API connectors, and user management for enhanced reusability.
- Design patterns like strategy and factory are applied to manage connector types and component rendering, promoting flexibility in system extensions.
- Communication between frontend and backend is facilitated through well-defined APIs and GraphQL endpoints, enabling seamless integration.
Tech Stack
The project leverages a dual-language stack with Java for backend services and TypeScript for frontend development, integrating modern frameworks and tools.
- The backend is built using Spring Boot conventions in Java, while the frontend utilizes React and Vite for a responsive, component-based UI.
- Key frontend libraries include Radix UI, Tailwind CSS, Monaco Editor, and TanStack Query for enhanced UI and state management.
- Development and build processes are supported by Gradle, Vite, ESLint, Prettier, and TypeScript to ensure code quality and consistency.
Code Quality
The codebase demonstrates a balanced level of quality with comprehensive testing and consistent practices across modules.
- Extensive test coverage is present in CLI components and client-side React applications, supporting reliable functionality.
- Error handling follows standard patterns with some variation in implementation approaches across modules.
- Shared conventions and build configurations help maintain consistency, although technical debt remains a concern in documentation and organization.
What Makes It Unique
ByteChef stands out through its innovative combination of CLI-based connector generation and a TypeScript-driven web interface.
- Its component-driven architecture allows for rapid development of automation workflows with extensible integration capabilities.
- The platform enables developers to build and deploy automation tools efficiently by combining low-code design with flexible backend support.
- The integration of configuration-driven development enhances extensibility and reduces boilerplate code in automation workflows.