Resources · Make integration

Archive Make integrationAutomate Archive with Make.

Need to zip or unzip files in the middle of an automation? The Archive Make integration gives you 9 built-in modules that pack, extract and compress files. This page shows each one in plain words and walks you through a first scenario.

Try the Archive integration on MakeSee the 9 modules

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What you can automate

What does the Archive Make integration let you automate?

Archive is a toolbox built into Make that handles compressed files. You drop its modules into a scenario (the automation you build in Make, a chain of steps) to turn several files into one ZIP or TAR archive, open a ZIP, or compress and decompress raw file data with gzip or Deflate.

Send one tidy ZIP instead of ten attachments. A module from another app hands you files one by one; Create an archive gathers them into a single ZIP that the next module can email or upload.

Open a ZIP a client sent and use what is inside. Extract an archive turns the ZIP into separate files, so each one can travel on to a folder, a spreadsheet or a parser.

Read data that arrives gzipped. Gunzip and Inflate restore compressed data; Gzip and Deflate do the opposite before you store or send it.

What Archive will not do: watch anything. It has no trigger, so another app or the scenario schedule starts the run. Keep the Free plan limit of 5 MB per file in mind before you pack large batches; the Make pricing page covers the plans. If you are weighing tools, read n8n vs Make, and when a run fails, Make troubleshooting is the place to start.

Connect

How do you set up Archive in Make?

  1. 01

    Add an Archive module

    In your scenario, click the + and type Archive in the search box. Pick the module that matches your job, for example Create an archive or Extract an archive.

  2. 02

    Skip the connection step

    Most apps ask you to click Create a connection to link an account. Archive does not: the Make documentation states that no connection is needed, since Archive is one of the apps built into Make.

  3. 03

    Map the files from the previous module

    Open the module and fill its fields with data mapped from the module before it, such as the file a download step produced. Archive only works on what earlier modules pass along.

First scenario

Your first scenario with Archive

GoalWhen another app hands your scenario gzipped files, Make decompresses each one and packs them all into a single ZIP archive.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Go to the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the + to add the first module. Choose the module of the app where your gzipped files live.

  2. 02

    Add Gunzip

    Click the + on the right of that module, search Archive and pick Gunzip. Map the file data from the first module. Each file is a bundle, one item that flows to the next module.

  3. 03

    Add Create an archive

    Add Create an archive after Gunzip and map the decompressed data into it. This module is an aggregator: it collects all the bundles of the run and outputs one archive.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once. Make executes the scenario one time and shows the bundles each module received, so you can check that one archive came out at the end.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch it on

    Open the clock on the first module to set the schedule, every 15 minutes by default, then switch the scenario on. Add a module after the archive to store or send it.

Modules

What each Archive module does

Archive gives you 9 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Archive1

Extract an archive

Action

In Make“Extracts files from a ZIP archive.”

You get the separate files that were sitting inside a ZIP archive, ready for the modules that follow. Map the extracted files into the next modules to file, parse or forward each one.

When to use it
a supplier emails a ZIP of scanned invoices and you want every invoice filed on its own.
Watch out
the directory describes ZIP only, so do not count on it for other archive formats.
Archive2

Create an archive

Aggregator

In Make“Creates a ZIP or TAR archive from received files.”

This one hands you a single ZIP or TAR file built from all the files it receives during a run. As an aggregator, it waits for every bundle of the previous module before producing its output.

When to use it
a project closes and the team wants one downloadable package instead of a pile of separate attachments.
Watch out
on the Free plan a file tops out at 5 MB, and a big archive reaches that faster than its parts.
Archive3

Deflate

Transformer

In Make“Compress binary data with Deflate algorithm.”

Your binary data comes out smaller, compressed with the Deflate algorithm, so it weighs less when you store or send it. It changes the data itself, not a file name or a folder.

When to use it
a receiving system expects Deflate-compressed content rather than a gzip file or a ZIP archive.
Watch out
the receiving side needs Inflate or an equivalent step to read the result back.
Archive4

Gunzip

Transformer

In Make“Decompress a gzip binary data.”

A gzip file turns back into readable data, the original content before compression. Pick it whenever data arrives gzipped and the next module needs the raw content.

When to use it
an export or a log lands gzipped and you want to parse or store the text inside.
Watch out
it only undoes gzip; data compressed with Deflate belongs in Inflate instead.
Archive5

Gzip

Transformer

In Make“Compress binary data using gzip.”

Binary data leaves this module compressed as gzip, lighter to store or transfer. Choose it over Create an archive when you have one piece of data and no need for a folder structure.

When to use it
you push a large export to storage and want it lighter before upload.
Watch out
to bundle several files into one package, Create an archive is the right module.
Archive6

Inflate

Transformer

In Make“Decompress binary data with Inflate algorithm.”

Data compressed with Deflate comes back to its original form, ready for the next module to read or save. It is the exact counterpart of the Deflate module on this page.

When to use it
an app returns Deflate content and you need the plain data to map fields from it.
Watch out
feeding it gzip data will not work; route that through Gunzip.
Archive7

Actions

ActionIn the docs only

This entry appears in the Make directory under the name Actions, next to the real Archive modules, and it comes with no official description. It appears to serve as a heading for the action modules, such as Extract an archive.

When to use it
when you browse the Archive list in the editor, it helps you find the modules that act on one file at a time.
Watch out
the documentation says nothing about its fields, so build on the named modules above.
Archive8

Aggregators

ActionIn the docs only

Listed in the directory as Aggregators, this entry carries no official description of its own. Judging by its name, it points to the Archive modules that gather many bundles into one result, such as Create an archive.

When to use it
you want to know which Archive module can merge a whole run of files into a single output.
Watch out
nothing documented tells you more, so treat it as a signpost rather than a step.
Archive9

Transformers

ActionIn the docs only

Under the name Transformers, the directory lists one more entry without any official description. Judging by its name, it groups the four Archive modules that reshape data as it passes: Deflate, Inflate, Gzip and Gunzip.

When to use it
you need to compress or decompress data in place without creating or opening an archive file.
Watch out
the documentation gives it no fields, so choose one of the four named transformers instead.
Need help

Need help automating Archive with Make?

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FAQ

Questions people ask about Archive in Make

01Is the Archive Make integration free?
Yes. Archive is a standard app built into Make, available from the Free plan. The Free plan gives you 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution per run, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Every module run counts as an operation, one execution of one module on one bundle, and paid plans count those operations as monthly credits. Paid plans also drop the interval to 1 minute and allow 40 minutes of execution.
02Do you need an account or a connection to use Archive in Make?
No. The Make documentation states that Archive needs no connection at all. You will not see the Create a connection button, and there is no account to authorize or key to paste. Add the module, map the files or data coming from an earlier module, and it is ready. The only thing Archive needs is input: it works on files other modules hand over, so place it after a module that downloads, receives or produces a file.
03Can Archive start a scenario on its own when a file arrives?
No. Archive has no trigger, so it never watches a folder or reacts to an event. You can start a scenario that uses it in two ways. The first is a trigger from another app, placed as the first module, which hands over the files. The second is the scenario schedule, set with the clock on the first module; a new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, and the Free plan does not go below 15 minutes between runs.
04What if an Archive module is missing or a limit gets in the way?
Archive has no Make an API Call module, so you cannot reach beyond its 9 modules from inside the app. If the size is the problem, the Free plan caps files at 5 MB, so check file sizes before packing. If you need a format that Extract an archive does not cover, look at another app in Make that handles it, or ask the team for help designing the flow.
05Should you use Make or n8n to zip and unzip files?
It depends on where the rest of your automation lives. In Make, Archive is built in and needs no connection, so if your scenarios already run there, packing or extracting files is one extra module. If your workflows run in n8n, check the equivalent node there rather than moving everything for one step. Neither choice changes what you can compress; the deciding factor is which tool already holds the apps around it.
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