When Relay.app broke, Claude Code and Python fixed it in 45 minutes
You set up a clean automation. It runs for months without a hiccup. Then one morning you open your inbox and find out a vendor quietly cut off API access, and your workflow is dead.
That is exactly what happened to author and developer Phil Simon. A process he had automated through Relay.app stopped working after what he suspects was a third-party software vendor restricting or removing API access. Relay.app and its users were collateral damage.
Rather than reverting to manual work, Simon used Claude Code to build a replacement. The whole session took 45 minutes.
️ Why Not Just Switch to n8n?
The obvious move when a no-code automation tool breaks is to find another no-code tool. Claude Code suggested n8n as a direct Relay.app replacement, which is a reasonable first answer.
Simon pushed back on it. The same underlying problem applies: if a software vendor cuts API access once, nothing stops them from doing it again. Swapping Relay.app for n8n just restarts the clock on the same failure mode.
A little critical thinking goes a long way.
The question shifted from “which no-code tool?” to “is there an approach that doesn’t depend on a third-party API at all?”
The Python and Playwright Approach
Additional research confirmed that no current API would support what Simon needed. The alternative was a Python script using the Playwright automation library, which lets you control a browser programmatically without relying on any external API.
Before building, Simon ran Claude Code through the /grill-me skill to pressure-test the Python/Playwright approach. It held up. They moved forward.
The Build Session
- Confirmed no available API could handle the task.
- Identified Python and Playwright as the viable alternative path.
- Used the
/grill-meskill to validate the approach before writing any code. - Built the full automation in a single 45-minute Claude Code session.
The result is a more robust automation than the original Relay.app setup, because it no longer depends on any vendor’s API staying available.
⚠️ The Honest Caveat
Simon is direct about the tradeoff: the Python and Mac solution works, but it is not permanent. Code breaks. At some point, the script will need maintenance.
That is a fair assessment. Browser-driven automation through Playwright is more fragile than a stable API when the underlying site changes its structure. You are trading one dependency (a vendor’s API) for another (the stability of a UI).
For a process that was already worth automating and had already been broken by circumstances outside your control, that tradeoff is usually worth making.
The Transferable Pattern
The real lesson here is not about any specific tool. It is about the decision process:
- When an automation breaks, ask why before rebuilding the same way.
- When an AI suggests a tool, ask what happens if that tool’s dependencies change.
- When no API exists, a browser automation library like Playwright is often a viable fallback.
- Validating an approach before building saves time and avoids dead ends.
A few minutes of critical thinking at the start of a rebuild session saved Simon from repeating the same fragile pattern. The 45-minute build was the easy part.
What to Do If You Are in the Same Spot
If an automation you depend on just broke because of an upstream API change, here is the short version of Simon’s process:
- Identify whether any current API supports what you need. If yes, build on it. If no, move to step 2.
- Consider a browser automation approach using Python and Playwright as an API-free alternative.
- Before writing code, validate the approach. The
/grill-meClaude Code skill is one way to do this. - Build in a single focused session. Scope it tightly.
- Accept that the solution will need maintenance eventually and plan for it.
No API access does not mean no automation. It means finding a different path.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
At BizStack, I aim to cut through the digital noise to provide clear, actionable advice.
And more than all else, I’m a father to a (always) little girl and a husband.
Contact me at [email protected] for assistance.
