Resources · Make integration

Carbone Make integrationAutomate Carbone with Make.

What if every contract, quote or report filled itself in from your data? The Carbone Make integration gives you 12 modules: 9 actions and 3 searches to manage templates and generate documents. This page shows ops and sales teams how to connect Carbone and build a first working scenario.

Try the Carbone integration on MakeSee the 12 modules

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What you can automate

What can the Carbone Make integration automate?

The Carbone Make integration links your Carbone account to Make so a scenario, the automation you build in Make, can send data to a template and get a finished document back. Each step of that scenario is a module, and Carbone brings 12 of them: templates in, documents out, without writing code.

Sales quotes that write themselves. A deal moves to a new stage in your CRM, the scenario passes its details to Generate & Download a Document, and the quote comes back as a file you can email or store in the next module.

A template library that stays tidy. Legal updates the master contract: Update a Template replaces it in Carbone storage, and List Templates lets you check what is live before anyone generates from an old version.

Reports built from a spreadsheet. Rows collected in a sheet or a base, for example through the Airtable Make integration, become the data-set Carbone merges into a report template with Generate a Document.

What Make does not give you here: Carbone has no trigger module, so the scenario always starts from another app or from the schedule. The Make documentation for Carbone also warns that it is AI-generated from Carbone's own docs, so check anything critical on the Carbone side.

Wondering whether another tool suits you better? The n8n vs Make comparison lays out the criteria, and the Make training walks you through scenario building step by step.

Connect

How do you connect Carbone to Make?

  1. 01

    Copy your Carbone API key

    You need a Carbone Cloud account with an API token, or access to a running Carbone On-Premise instance. In Carbone, open your account dashboard and copy the API key shown on screen. Keep it handy for the next step.

  2. 02

    Add a Carbone module in Make

    In your scenario, click the +, search for Carbone and pick any of its modules. Click Create a connection. A connection is your Carbone account linked to Make once, then reused by every Carbone module.

  3. 03

    Paste the key and save

    Give the connection a clear name in Connection name if you like; this field is optional. Paste the API key you copied, or follow the on-screen instructions, then save. Make can now talk to your Carbone account.

First scenario

Your first scenario with Carbone and Make

GoalWhen a new record lands in another app, Make sends its data to a Carbone template and brings the finished document back.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the + to add the first module. Since Carbone has no trigger, pick the app where your data lives, such as your CRM or a spreadsheet.

  2. 02

    Set up the starting module

    Choose the module that watches for new records in that app, create its connection, and fill in its fields. Each record it finds becomes a bundle: one item that travels to the next module.

  3. 03

    Add Generate & Download a Document

    Click the + on the right, search for Carbone and pick Generate & Download a Document. Link your Carbone connection, enter the template ID and map the record fields into the JSON data-set.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once. Make runs the scenario a single time and shows the bundles each module received. Open the Carbone module output to confirm the document came back with the right data.

  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 Carbone if the file should go to email or cloud storage.

Modules

What the Carbone modules do

Carbone gives you 12 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Carbone1

Add a Template

Action

In Make“Adds a new template file to Carbone storage.”

Puts a new template file into your Carbone storage from a scenario. No manual upload: a layout made elsewhere is ready for your next documents.

When to use it
a designer drops a new quote layout in a shared folder, and the scenario picks it up on its next run and sends it to Carbone.
Watch out
the generation modules work from a template ID, so run List Templates afterwards to find the one Carbone gave your new file.
Carbone2

Delete a Template

Action

In Make“Deletes a template from your Carbone storage according to a "Template ID".”

Removes a template from Carbone storage by its Template ID, which keeps your library free of retired layouts that someone might still pick by mistake.

When to use it
a contract version is withdrawn and should no longer be available for new documents.
Watch out
a deletion cannot be undone from Make, so run List Templates first and double check the ID you map.
Carbone3

Download a Document

Action

In Make“Downloads a document from a Render Id.”

Fetches a document that Carbone has already rendered, using its Render Id, and hands the file to the next module so you can send or store it.

When to use it
the render happened in an earlier step and you only need the file now, for instance to attach it to a customer email.
Watch out
without a valid Render Id there is nothing to fetch; map it from the step that produced the document.
Carbone4

Download a Template

Action

In Make“Downloads a template from your Carbone storage according to a "Template ID".”

Retrieves the template file itself from Carbone storage, by Template ID, so you get the layout back as a file inside your scenario.

When to use it
you want a backup copy of each template in your drive before someone edits or replaces it.
Watch out
this returns the blank template, not a filled document; for that, use one of the generation modules.
Carbone5

Generate a Document

Action

In Make“Generates a document from a template ID and a JSON data-set.”

Merges a JSON data-set into a template, identified by its ID, and has Carbone produce the finished document: the heart of the integration.

When to use it
the render is one step of a longer flow and the file itself is fetched later with Download a Document.
Watch out
test with Run once and open the file, since a data-set that does not fit the template is easier to spot on a real document.
Carbone6

Generate & Download a Document ⚡️

Action

In Make“Generate and Download a Document from a template ID and a JSON data-set.”

Does the render and the download in one module: you send a template ID and a JSON data-set, and you get the finished file right away.

When to use it
most simple flows, like turning a signed deal into a contract you email in the very next module.
Watch out
each module run counts as an operation on your Make plan, so one module here instead of two keeps the count lower.
Carbone7

Get a Status

Action

In Make“Gets Carbone Cloud API status.”

Checks whether the Carbone Cloud API is up and tells your scenario before it tries to generate anything, which helps you avoid a run that fails halfway.

When to use it
at the start of a scenario that renders a large batch of documents, so you know the API answers before the first render starts.
Watch out
it reports on Carbone Cloud; an On-Premise instance is yours to monitor.
Carbone8

Make an Api Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

Lets you call any endpoint of the Carbone API from your scenario while reusing the same connection, so no need to handle the API key again.

When to use it
you need a Carbone feature that none of the eleven other modules covers.
Watch out
here you build the request yourself, so keep the Carbone API reference open to get the path and the body right.
Carbone9

List Categories

SearchIn the docs only

Returns the categories used to sort templates in your Carbone account, one bundle per category, so later modules can work with each of them.

When to use it
you build a small inventory of your template library in a sheet, grouped the way your team organizes it in Carbone.
Watch out
like any search, it can return zero, one or many bundles, and every bundle flows through the modules after it.
Carbone10

List Tags

SearchIn the docs only

Brings back the tags attached to your templates, so a scenario can find out which labels exist before choosing a template to work with.

When to use it
your team labels templates by client or by department and you want an automated check that the labels stay consistent.
Watch out
the Make documentation gives no detail about the output, so run it once and inspect the bundles before mapping anything.
Carbone11

List Templates

SearchIn the docs only

Lists the templates stored in Carbone, one bundle each, which gives your scenario the IDs it needs for generating, downloading or deleting.

When to use it
before an Update or a Delete, to be sure you target the right version and not a similar looking one.
Watch out
the following modules run once per template found, which multiplies the operations counted on your plan.
Carbone12

Update a Template

ActionIn the docs only

Changes a template already in your Carbone storage. The Make docs say nothing more, but the name suggests you revise the template in place instead of adding a second copy next to it.

When to use it
legal approves a revised clause and the master contract has to change everywhere at once.
Watch out
the Make documentation does not describe this module in detail; test it on a copy of the template with Run once first.
Need help

Need help automating Carbone with Make?

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FAQ

Carbone and Make: frequent questions

01Is the Carbone Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. Carbone is a standard app, available from the Free plan, which allows 2 active scenarios, a scheduled run every 15 minutes at the shortest, 5 minutes of execution per run and files up to 5 MB. Paid plans bring the interval down to 1 minute, remove the cap on active scenarios, allow 40 minutes per run and count usage in credits each month. You still need your own Carbone subscription, either Carbone Cloud with an API token or a Carbone On-Premise instance; its pricing is set by Carbone, not by Make.
02What do you need to connect Carbone to Make?
A Carbone Cloud account with an API token, or access to a running Carbone On-Premise instance. In your Carbone account dashboard, copy the API key displayed on screen. Then add any Carbone module to a scenario in Make, click Create a connection, optionally give it a name, and paste the key or follow the on-screen instructions. That single connection is then reused by all 12 Carbone modules, so you only set it up once.
03Can a Carbone scenario start by itself when data changes?
Not from Carbone alone, because the app has no trigger module in Make. You start the scenario another way: with a trigger from the app that holds your data, such as a CRM or a spreadsheet, or simply with the schedule on the first module, every 15 minutes by default. If that other app offers an instant trigger, it calls Make through a webhook as soon as something happens, and Carbone then generates the document in the following step.
04What if a Carbone feature is missing from the Make modules?
Use Make an Api Call. It is included in the Carbone app and lets you reach any endpoint of the Carbone API with the connection you already created, so you are not limited to the 11 other modules. You write the request yourself, so keep the Carbone API documentation at hand. Also note that the Make documentation for Carbone is AI-generated from Carbone's docs; when something looks off, check Carbone's own reference.
05Make or n8n for Carbone document generation?
It depends on the tool your team already runs. On Make, Carbone comes with 12 ready modules, including the combined Generate & Download a Document and Make an Api Call for anything else, plus a Free plan to test. Many apps also have an n8n node, so check whether Carbone does before choosing. Neither answer is universal: pick the platform where your other automations already live, so your document flows sit next to them.
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