Resources · Make integration

ChatPDF Make integrationAutomate ChatPDF with Make.

What if every PDF your team receives could answer questions on its own? The ChatPDF Make integration gives you 3 action modules: send a PDF, question it, or call the API directly. This guide walks you through the connection and a first scenario, step by step.

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What you can automate

What can the ChatPDF Make integration do for you?

The ChatPDF Make integration lets a Make scenario, the automation you build in Make, push a PDF into ChatPDF and ask it a question without you opening the app. Each step is a module, one brick of the scenario, and the answer can travel on to any other app you already use.

Get a summary of every incoming contract. When a PDF link lands somewhere your team works, Upload a PDF sends the file to ChatPDF, then Chat with PDF asks for the key clauses. The reply can be posted to a sheet or a message, so nobody has to dig through the whole file for the notice period.

Ask the same question of every manual. A support lead can feed product manuals one by one and ask each the same thing, which keeps answers consistent from file to file.

Reach what the listed modules skip. Make an API Call reuses your ChatPDF connection to call any endpoint of the ChatPDF API when the ready-made modules stop short.

Be aware of the limits: ChatPDF has no trigger in Make, so something else has to start the scenario, and Make itself says its documentation for this app is limited. If you also weigh n8n, read our n8n vs Make comparison. To learn the editor properly, see our Make training, or check Make pricing before you scale up.

Connect

How do you connect ChatPDF to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a ChatPDF module

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

  2. 02

    Name the connection

    Giving it a name is optional, but helpful when several people share the workspace. Something like the team or the account owner lets you pick the right one later without guessing which login it holds.

  3. 03

    Authorize and save

    Follow what the window asks: either approve Make on the ChatPDF page, or paste the key ChatPDF gives you. Click Save, and the module can now read and write with your account.

First scenario

Build your first ChatPDF scenario

GoalWhen a new PDF link appears in another app, Make sends the file to ChatPDF and asks it a question.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the +. Since ChatPDF has no trigger, start with the module of the app where your PDF links arrive.

  2. 02

    Add Upload a PDF

    Click the + on the right of that first module, search for ChatPDF and pick Upload a PDF. Create the connection, then map the PDF coming from the previous module.

  3. 03

    Ask the question

    Add Chat with PDF next. It targets a document through its source ID, so run the scenario once, find that ID in what the upload sent back and map it, then type the question you want answered.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once. Make runs the scenario one time and shows the bundles, the items passed from module to module. Check the upload output and the answer before going further.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Open the clock on the first module to set the schedule, every 15 minutes by default for a new scenario. Then switch the scenario on so it keeps running without you.

Modules

What the ChatPDF modules do

ChatPDF gives you 3 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

ChatPDF1

Chat with PDF

Action

In Make“Sends a chat message to a PDF file using its source ID.”

You get an answer drawn from one specific PDF, sent as a chat message and returned into your scenario so the next module can store or forward it. The file is picked through its source ID.

When to use it
after a document is already in ChatPDF, to pull out a summary, a date or a clause and hand it to your team.
Watch out
it needs the source ID, so run the scenario once and find where that value sits in the earlier bundle before mapping it.
ChatPDF2

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

This one gives you access to any endpoint of the ChatPDF API with the connection you already set up, so you are not stuck when the two ready-made modules do not cover your case.

When to use it
when you need an operation that neither Upload a PDF nor Chat with PDF offers.
Watch out
you write the request yourself from the ChatPDF API reference, and Make says its own documentation for this app is limited.
ChatPDF3

Upload a PDF

Action

In Make“Uploads a PDF.”

With it, a PDF lands in ChatPDF from inside your scenario, ready to be questioned by the next module instead of being dropped in by hand each time.

When to use it
as the first ChatPDF step whenever a new document shows up in another app, such as a form, a sheet or a storage folder.
Watch out
each upload is one operation, the unit Make counts on your plan, so filter out files you do not need.
Need help

Need help automating ChatPDF with Make?

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FAQ

ChatPDF and Make: common questions

01Is the ChatPDF Make integration free?
Yes, ChatPDF is a standard app in Make, available from the Free plan. That plan allows 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution at most, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) lower the interval to 1 minute, remove the cap on active scenarios and allow 40 minutes of execution. Usage is counted in operations, one per module per bundle. Whatever plan you hold on the ChatPDF side is managed separately and does not change what Make allows.
02What do you need to connect ChatPDF to Make?
A ChatPDF account and a Make account. Make's documentation lists no specific prerequisite for this app. You add a ChatPDF module, click Create a connection, optionally name it, then either authorize Make on the ChatPDF page or paste the key ChatPDF gives you, and click Save. The same connection then serves all three ChatPDF modules, so you only do it once per account. If the window asks for a key rather than an approval, keep that key private.
03Does the ChatPDF Make integration react in real time?
No, because ChatPDF has no trigger in Make: all three modules are actions. The scenario therefore starts from something else. You can open it with the trigger of another app where your PDFs arrive. You can also rely on scheduling, the clock on the first module, which runs every 15 minutes by default. How fast it reacts depends on that first module, not on ChatPDF, so pick it based on where your PDFs really arrive.
04What if a ChatPDF module is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It reuses your ChatPDF connection to reach any endpoint of the ChatPDF API, so an operation missing from Upload a PDF and Chat with PDF can still be done inside the scenario. You will need the ChatPDF API reference to write the request, since Make says it cannot yet offer complete documentation for this app. Test each call with Run once before switching the scenario on.
05Should you use Make or n8n for ChatPDF?
It depends on the tool your team already runs. Make offers 3 ChatPDF modules, including Make an API Call, which covers the endpoints the other two leave out. The same app often has a node in n8n too, so check what it offers there before deciding. Neither choice is ranked here: compare the modules available on each side against the task you need, and pick the editor your team will actually maintain.
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