Automated Stock Monitor & Daily Digest
A lightweight n8n workflow that replaces manual portfolio checking with threshold-based alerts and a daily email summary.
A lightweight workflow built in n8n to replace manual portfolio checking with threshold-based alerts and a daily email summary.
Overview
I built this project to solve a simple personal problem: I was checking my portfolio manually throughout the day, but most of those checks didn’t actually change what I needed to do.
What I needed was not more data. I needed a better way to separate signal from noise.
So I built a small automation that handles two jobs:
- monitor prices during the day and alert me when a threshold is crossed
- send one daily digest with a fuller portfolio summary
Problem
My original workflow was repetitive and low-signal:
- open an app
- check a few positions
- decide whether a move mattered
- repeat later
That created attention overhead without giving me a clear system for what deserved immediate action and what could wait.
Constraints
- built as a side project for personal use
- implemented in roughly 2 hours
- designed to be useful quickly rather than overbuilt
- relied on lightweight tools instead of a custom application
Solution
I built the workflow in n8n and connected it to Airtable, Twelve Data, and Gmail.
The real-time branch:
- checks prices during a defined time window
- pulls thresholds and stock settings from Airtable
- fetches current market data from Twelve Data
- compares live prices against thresholds
- sends alert emails when a rule is triggered
- writes updated pricing data back into Airtable
The daily digest branch:
- pulls the portfolio from Airtable
- fetches the latest prices
- formats a simple summary of portfolio value and daily change
- sends one digest email with position-level detail
Key Decisions
- I used Airtable as the editable source of truth so I could update holdings and thresholds without changing workflow logic.
- I chose email delivery because the goal was lower effort, not another dashboard to maintain.
- I separated exception alerts from daily summaries so the workflow would interrupt only when something actually mattered.
- I kept the scope intentionally small. For this project, usefulness mattered more than polish.
Outcome
The outcome was a practical monitoring system that replaced ad hoc checking with:
- threshold-based alerts for meaningful changes
- one daily portfolio summary
- a clearer distinction between urgent and routine information
Tools & Methods
Let's talk
Working on something complex?
Good judgment, real problem, difficult environment — I'd like to hear about it.