Resources · Make integration

Clickatell Make integrationAutomate Clickatell with Make.

What if every text sent to your Clickatell number got an answer without anyone touching a phone? The Clickatell Make integration gives you 3 modules: one instant trigger and 2 actions. This guide connects your account and walks you through a first working scenario.

Try the Clickatell integration on MakeSee the 3 modules

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What you can automate

What can you automate with the Clickatell Make integration?

The Clickatell Make integration links your Clickatell account to Make, a no-code tool where you build a scenario: the automation itself, a chain of modules that each do one job. With it, Make can react the moment a text lands on your Clickatell number and can send SMS messages on behalf of your other apps.

Reply to inbound texts on the spot. Watch New SMS starts the scenario when someone writes to your Clickatell virtual number, and Create an SMS sends back a confirmation. A small repair shop can acknowledge every customer request this way, even after hours.

Text people when something happens elsewhere. Create an SMS does not need a Clickatell trigger in front of it. Put the module of another app first, a new booking or a new row in a table, and Make turns that event into a text message.

Reach the rest of the One API. Make an API Call uses the same connection to call any Clickatell endpoint the two ready-made modules leave out. It asks for more care, since you read the Clickatell API reference yourself.

What Make does not offer here: there is no search module and no scheduled trigger, so the listed modules only receive texts and send them. If you are new to the editor, the Make training covers the basics, and Make troubleshooting helps when a run fails. The same app often has an n8n node too; n8n vs Make lays out how the two tools differ.

Connect

How do you connect Clickatell to Make?

  1. 01

    Copy your API key from Clickatell

    You need an active Clickatell account with access to the One API. In Clickatell, open My Workspace, click API Integrations, pick an integration in the table and copy the API key shown in the details on the right.

  2. 02

    Add a Clickatell module in Make

    In your scenario, add any Clickatell module and click Create a connection. A connection is your Clickatell account linked to Make once, then reused by every Clickatell module. The Connection name field is optional.

  3. 03

    Paste the key and save

    Paste the credentials you copied from Clickatell, or follow the instructions Make shows on screen, then save. From now on, each Clickatell module in any scenario can pick this connection from its list.

First scenario

Your first scenario: confirm every text you receive

GoalWhen a new SMS reaches your Clickatell number, Make sends the sender a confirmation text.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big + to add the first module. Search for Clickatell and pick Watch New SMS.

  2. 02

    Set up the webhook

    Click Create a webhook, then Create a connection and paste your API key. From here on, Clickatell tells Make about each new text on your virtual number.

  3. 03

    Add the reply

    Click the + on the right of the trigger and choose Create an SMS. Map the data the trigger received into it, so the reply goes back to whoever wrote, and type your confirmation message.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once, then send a text to your Clickatell number from your own phone. Each module shows the bundle it received, meaning the item passed along, here the incoming message.

  5. 05

    Switch it on

    Once the reply looks right, switch the scenario on. Every inbound text now triggers one run, and each module that runs counts as one operation, the unit Make bills on your plan.

Triggers

What starts a Clickatell scenario

1 module starts a scenario when something happens in Clickatell. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by Clickatell as soon as it happens.

Clickatell1Watch New SMS

Watch New SMS

Instant trigger

In Make“Triggers when a new SMS is received in your Clickatell Account Mobile Virtual Number.”

You get a scenario that springs to life as soon as a text arrives on the Mobile Virtual Number of your Clickatell account, with the message ready to pass to the next module.

How it fires
instant, Clickatell calls Make through a webhook as soon as the text comes in, so there is no polling interval to wait for.
When to use it
customers text a keyword or a question to your number and you want the reply, the ticket or the alert to follow right away.
Watch out
the webhook has to exist before the connection, so click Create a webhook first when you add this module.
Modules

What Make can do in Clickatell

Clickatell gives you 2 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Clickatell1

Create an SMS

Action

In Make“Sends a new SMS.”

This action sends a text message through your Clickatell account, so any app in your scenario can reach a phone number without anyone typing on a keyboard.

When to use it
after a booking, a payment or an inbound SMS, when the person should hear from you by text rather than by email.
Watch out
each run sends a real message, so test with your own number before switching the scenario on.
Clickatell2

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call”

Here you reach any Clickatell One API endpoint the two ready-made modules leave out, reusing the connection you already created instead of handling the key again.

When to use it
the task you have in mind is in the Clickatell API documentation but has no module of its own in Make.
Watch out
you build the request yourself, so keep the Clickatell API reference open while you fill it in.
Need help

Need help automating Clickatell with Make?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

Questions about the Clickatell Make integration

01Is the Clickatell Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. Clickatell is a standard app, so its modules work on the Free plan, which allows 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between scheduled runs, 5 minutes per execution and files up to 5 MB. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) lower the interval to 1 minute and count usage in credits per month. Your Clickatell subscription is a separate matter, handled on the Clickatell pricing page.
02What do you need to connect Clickatell to Make?
An active Clickatell account with access to the One API, plus a Make account. The API key sits in your Clickatell workspace, in the API Integrations section, where you select an integration and copy the key shown in the details on the right. In Make, you add a Clickatell module, click Create a connection, optionally give it a name and paste the key. With Watch New SMS, create the webhook before the connection.
03Does the Clickatell trigger in Make react in real time?
Yes. Watch New SMS is an instant trigger: Clickatell calls Make through a webhook as soon as a text reaches your Mobile Virtual Number, so the scenario starts without waiting for a schedule. That is different from scheduled triggers, which Make checks on the scenario's clock, every 15 minutes by default. Clickatell has no scheduled trigger in Make, so this webhook route is the only way to catch inbound texts.
04What if the Clickatell module you need is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It calls any endpoint of the Clickatell API with the connection you already set up, so you can cover what Create an SMS and Watch New SMS do not. You write the request yourself, from the endpoint to its content, which means reading the Clickatell documentation first. Make's own help notes that its Clickatell page is AI-generated from vendor documentation, so check important details with Clickatell directly.
05Should you use Make or n8n for Clickatell?
It depends on the tool your team already runs. In Make, Clickatell comes with 3 modules: an instant trigger for inbound texts, an action that sends an SMS and a generic API call for everything else. The same app often has an n8n node as well, so check what that node covers before choosing. Pick the tool where your other apps and scenarios already live, and compare the modules each one offers for your case.
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