I’m stuck on an automation project where I need to extract custom reports from Xero for a client. The main issue is that Xero’s API doesn’t support the specific custom reports we need, so I’m looking into a hybrid solution using n8n combined with RPA.
My current setup is Docker running on VMware with Ubuntu server 24.04.
Key requirements:
Must run with visible browser (not headless) because Xero blocks headless logins for security reasons
Need to send custom URLs from n8n workflows to the RPA tool, either via command execution or through the RPA’s API
Looking for a minimal desktop environment that can handle browser automation without too much overhead
What I’m looking for:
Suggestions for minimal Linux desktop environments suitable for browser-based RPA
Open source RPA solutions that work well on Linux with visible browser mode (considering tools like Playwright, UI.Vision, Robot Framework, or TagUI)
Anyone who has experience with similar n8n + RPA integrations
Any advice or examples from similar projects would be really helpful. Thanks in advance!
Had a similar banking report project last year. Switched from XFCE to LXQt - way less RAM usage and handles multiple browsers fine. I went with Robot Framework + SeleniumLibrary instead. Better browser controls and API integration. The game changer was Robot Framework’s remote library interface. N8n talks directly to the automation scripts via XML-RPC - no HTTP wrappers needed. For Xero, had to nail down cookie persistence and their MFA stuff. Pro tip: create a dedicated Firefox profile with security settings tweaked for automation, but keep it completely separate from your personal browser. Been rock solid for 6 months.
TagUI’s perfect for this. I’ve run it on basic window managers like Openbox - way lighter than full desktop environments. TagUI handles Xero integration well and you can trigger scripts through command line calls from n8n exec nodes. Just make sure you configure virtual display with Xvfb properly, even in visible mode. Keeps things stable when you’re running headless.
I’ve been running something similar for 8 months - here’s what works. I use XFCE4 on Ubuntu Server. It’s light but handles browser automation well, and memory usage stays decent even with multiple browsers open. For RPA, Playwright + Python is solid. Visible browser mode works great with Xero, and you can set up endpoints that n8n hits with HTTP requests. I built simple Flask APIs around my Playwright scripts so n8n triggers them with POST requests (URLs and parameters). Pro tip I learned the hard way: handle Xero’s session timeouts properly. I store session cookies and auto re-authenticate when sessions die. Also, run your RPA scripts in screen sessions so SSH disconnects don’t kill them. Once configured right, it’s been super reliable. Keep the integration between n8n and RPA simple - that’s the key.