# Thinking of switching from n8n - Have a quick question

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [15 January 2025 03:46 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636 "2025-01-15T03:46:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![summerowls0521](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/summerowls0521/32/98073_2.png) [@summerowls0521](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/summerowls0521)\
**Post date:** [15 January 2025 03:46 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636/1 "2025-01-15T03:46:12Z")

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Hello,

I (re)discovered n8n very recently and spent a couple of days creating automations but I've run up against what appears to be a bug that makes it difficult to perform flow control. I would like to ask if Node-RED is a suitable replacement.

A feature n8n is missing is the ability to see if a workflow is already running and stop other workflows. Can this be done with Node-RED? I tried to work around it in n8n by creating a semaphore system but the bug in n8n stops it working correctly. If Node-RED requires a workaround too, has anyone already made one?

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**Author:** ![bakman2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/bakman2/32/6207_2.png) [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)\
**Post date:** [15 January 2025 04:34 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636/2 "2025-01-15T04:34:55Z")

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node-red is very flexible with everything, but it may require additional work.

If your request is truly binary: only 1 flow may run at the same time, then it can be quite simple, by using flow context variables that can be set within a flow

eg.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/5/9/596186346b6d4524ee098d9cfc9f6831b42184b9.png)

Other flows can check this variable.  
There is also a [node for flow control/semaphores](https://flows.nodered.org/node/@marcus-j-davies/node-red-semaphore-plus)

It all depends on your needs. It is rare to see a problem that couldn't be solved in node-red 😉  
have fun.

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**Author:** ![TotallyInformation](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/totallyinformation/32/31_2.png) [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)\
**Post date:** [15 January 2025 11:50 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636/3 "2025-01-15T11:50:34Z")

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Craig has rightly mentioned using a context variable. But it is also worth mentioning the rich community of nodes. There are certainly `gate` nodes that make this a very easy thing to control.

But also worth noting that Node-RED really only runs a single "Flow". Under the skin, all tabs and flows (small "f") are all part of the same Flow.

Also, most of us prefer to use event-driven flows rather than gated ones. So a flow (small f) is not receiving any messages until an event happens. Obviously, this is not always possible but is the preferred and more robust design pattern.

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**Author:** ![summerowls0521](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/summerowls0521/32/98073_2.png) [@summerowls0521](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/summerowls0521)\
**Post date:** [15 January 2025 14:43 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636/4 "2025-01-15T14:43:29Z")

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Thanks guys. I found out there is a way in n8n to see if workflows are already running, you still can't stop them but I made a simpler and more effective semaphore system which fixed my issues. I may still have a look at node-red one day. Thanks for your advice!

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/1X/d073cd938eafa2e558d7c2cd59003b3ef4963033.png) [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [15 April 2025 14:44 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/thinking-of-switching-from-n8n-have-a-quick-question/94636/5 "2025-04-15T14:44:16Z")

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