Resources · Make integration

HacknPlan Make integrationAutomate HacknPlan with Make.

Can Make keep your HacknPlan projects in sync without copy and paste? The HacknPlan Make integration gives you 32 modules: 4 triggers, 23 actions and 5 searches. This page shows what they do, how to link your account and how to build a first scenario.

Verified Trustpilot reviews · AI, automation & growth agency

What you can automate

What can the HacknPlan Make integration do for your team?

It links your HacknPlan account to Make, the no-code tool where you build a scenario: an automation made of modules, each one a brick that watches, creates, reads or changes something in an app. HacknPlan brings 32 of those bricks, covering projects, boards, milestones, work items and project members.

Staff every new project on its own. Watch Projects spots a new project, and Add a User to a Project puts your producer or lead on it, so nobody waits for an invite.

Keep a milestone tidy. When Watch Milestones reports a new milestone, Create a Work Item can add a first task to kick it off. When the work is done, Close a Milestone ends it, and Reopen a Milestone brings it back if QA finds a problem.

Send work items to the rest of your tools. Watch Work Items catches items that are created or updated, so a later module can pass them to a chat, a sheet or a report. Search Work Items does the same on demand when you only need a filtered set.

One honest limit: Make's own documentation for HacknPlan is thin, because little public information exists about the app. Expect to test each module with real data before you trust it. If you are new to the editor, the Make training covers the basics, and Make troubleshooting helps when a run fails. Weighing another tool? Read n8n vs Make.

Connect

How do you connect HacknPlan to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a HacknPlan module

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

  2. 02

    Give the connection a name

    This step is optional, but a clear name such as the studio or account it belongs to saves confusion later, especially if a teammate adds a second HacknPlan account to the same Make team.

  3. 03

    Authorize and save

    Depending on what HacknPlan asks, approve Make on the HacknPlan page that opens, or paste the key HacknPlan gives you. Then click Save. Make can now list the projects your account can see.

First scenario

Your first scenario with HacknPlan

GoalWhen a new project appears in HacknPlan, Make adds a chosen teammate to it.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big + to place the first module. Search for HacknPlan.

  2. 02

    Set the Watch Projects trigger

    Pick Watch Projects and choose your HacknPlan connection, or create it now. This trigger is scheduled: Make checks HacknPlan for new projects on the scenario's schedule.

  3. 03

    Add the user

    Click the + on the right of the trigger and add Add a User to a Project. Map the project from the trigger's output, then pick the teammate to invite.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Create a test project in HacknPlan, then click Run once. Open the bubble above each module to read the bundle it received, one bundle per new project.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch it on

    Open the clock on the first module. A new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, which suits most studios. Then switch the scenario on so it keeps working without you.

Triggers

What can start a HacknPlan scenario?

4 modules start a scenario when something happens in HacknPlan. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by HacknPlan as soon as it happens.

HacknPlan1Watch Boards

Watch Boards

Scheduled trigger

In MakeTriggers when a new board in the project is created.

You get a bundle, meaning one item passed to the next module, each time a board is added to the project you pick. Handy when boards map to sprints and the team should hear about the new one without checking HacknPlan.

How it fires
scheduled, so Make checks the app on the scenario's schedule and collects the boards created since the last check.
When to use it
announce a fresh sprint board in your team chat, or log it in a planning sheet the producer keeps.
Watch out
it reports new boards only; edits to an existing board do not start the scenario.
HacknPlan2Watch Milestones

Watch Milestones

Scheduled trigger

In MakeTriggers when a new milestone in the project is created.

This trigger hands your scenario every milestone created in a chosen project, so a release date or a demo deadline turns into something other tools can act on. Each new milestone arrives as its own bundle.

How it fires
scheduled; Make checks the app on the scenario's schedule rather than hearing from HacknPlan the moment it happens.
When to use it
a producer sets the next alpha milestone and you want a kickoff task created, or a calendar entry added in another app.
Watch out
closing or reopening a milestone is not a creation, so it will not fire this trigger.
HacknPlan3Watch Projects

Watch Projects

Scheduled trigger

In MakeTriggers when a new project is created.

Watch Projects starts your scenario whenever a brand new project shows up in HacknPlan. It is the natural entry point for anything that should happen once per game or client project: staffing, a folder elsewhere, a welcome message.

How it fires
scheduled. Make checks the app on the scenario's schedule, so a new project can wait until the next run.
When to use it
pair it with Add a User to a Project so the same lead is on every new project from day one.
Watch out
it only sees projects your connected account can reach.
HacknPlan4Watch Work Items

Watch Work Items

Scheduled trigger

In MakeTriggers when a work item is created or updated.

Here you get every work item that is created or updated, which makes it the busiest of the four triggers and the most useful for reporting. Every change in your backlog can flow out of HacknPlan.

How it fires
scheduled; Make checks the app on the scenario's schedule and returns what changed since the last check.
When to use it
mirror task status into a shared sheet, or ping a channel when a bug moves.
Watch out
updates count too, so a busy project uses many operations (the unit Make counts on your plan), and updating the same items later in the scenario can loop.
Modules

What can Make do in HacknPlan?

HacknPlan gives you 28 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

HacknPlan1

Add a User to a Project

Action

In MakeAdds a new user to the project.

This action puts an existing HacknPlan user on a project, so the person sees its boards and work items without anyone sending an invite by hand. It saves the setup chores that follow every new project.

When to use it
right after Watch Projects, to add the lead designer or producer who belongs on every project.
Watch out
map the right project from the trigger, or the user lands in the wrong one.
HacknPlan2

Close a Milestone

Action

In MakeCloses the milestone.

Marks a milestone as finished, so your planning in HacknPlan reflects what really shipped without someone clicking through the project. Useful at the end of a release flow driven from another tool.

When to use it
a build is approved in your review tool and the matching milestone should close on its own.
Watch out
closing is not deleting; if QA reopens the case, Reopen a Milestone brings it back.
HacknPlan3

Create a Board

Action

In MakeCreates a new board.

Adds a new board to a project, the place where your team lays out the next batch of work. Creating it from Make means the board exists the moment the plan is agreed elsewhere.

When to use it
a sprint is approved in a planning sheet or form, and you want the matching board ready in HacknPlan.
Watch out
if Watch Boards runs on the same project, your new board will start that other scenario too.
HacknPlan4

Create a Milestone

Action

In MakeCreates a new milestone.

Creates a milestone in a project, turning a date someone agreed on in a meeting or a contract into a target the whole team can see in HacknPlan. No retyping from notes.

When to use it
a publisher confirms a demo deadline by form or email, and you want the milestone in place before the next planning talk.
Watch out
run a search first if the same request can arrive twice, or you get duplicates.
HacknPlan5

Create a Project

Action

In MakeCreates a new project.

Starts a fresh HacknPlan project from a scenario, so a signed deal or an approved pitch becomes a real workspace straight away. Everything else, boards, milestones and members, can follow in later modules.

When to use it
a contract gets signed in your CRM and the studio needs a project ready for the kickoff.
Watch out
a scenario using Watch Projects will also see this new project, which is fine if you planned it.
HacknPlan6

Create a Work Item

Action

In MakeCreates a new work item.

Turns an outside request into a work item inside HacknPlan: a bug from a form, a task from a chat message, an asset request from a spreadsheet. The team works from one list instead of five inboxes.

When to use it
a tester files a bug report in a form, and you want it logged in the right project with no copy and paste.
Watch out
Watch Work Items will pick up every item you create here.
HacknPlan7

Delete a Board

Action

In MakeDeletes the board.

Removes a board from a project. It keeps HacknPlan free of empty or test boards that pile up when sprints get planned and then dropped, so the team only sees what is live.

When to use it
a cancelled sprint in your planning sheet should also disappear from HacknPlan.
Watch out
treat it as final and add a filter before this module, so only the board you meant gets removed.
HacknPlan8

Delete a Milestone

Action

In MakeDeletes a Milestone

Erases a milestone for good, which is different from closing it. Pick this one when the milestone should never have existed, for example a date created by mistake or for a deal that fell through.

When to use it
a publisher drops a planned demo and the target should vanish from the roadmap.
Watch out
if you only want to mark it done, Close a Milestone keeps the history.
HacknPlan9

Delete a Project

Action

In MakeDeletes the project.

Removes a whole HacknPlan project, the heaviest action in the list. It fits cleanup flows, such as clearing sandbox projects you created only to test a scenario.

When to use it
a test project named with a clear prefix should be wiped once your scenario works.
Watch out
nothing in Make brings the project back, so test with Run once on a dummy project and keep a strict filter in front of it.
HacknPlan10

Delete a Work Item

Action

In MakeDeletes a work item.

Removes a single work item, for when a task or bug is a true duplicate or was logged by mistake. It keeps the backlog clean without a producer hunting for stray entries.

When to use it
your bug form sometimes sends the same report twice, and a search spots the copy.
Watch out
make sure the scenario deletes the copy and not the original, since the deletion is final.
HacknPlan11

Get a Board

Action

In MakeGets a board.

Fetches one board you already know, so later modules can use its details in a message, a report or a decision. It reads only and changes nothing in HacknPlan.

When to use it
a trigger hands you a board reference and you need its full details before posting a sprint summary.
Watch out
it needs a specific board; to browse all boards of a project, use List Boards.
HacknPlan12

Get a Milestone

Action

In MakeGets a milestone.

Reads a single milestone so the rest of the scenario can quote it: its name in a chat post, its details in a client update. Safe to run, since nothing is modified.

When to use it
a work item points to a milestone, and your status message should say which deadline it serves.
Watch out
for every milestone of a project, List Milestones returns them in one go.
HacknPlan13

Get a Project

Action

In MakeGets a project.

Pulls the details of one project into your scenario. A read-only step, it is also the safest way to check that a fresh connection really works before you try anything that writes.

When to use it
you need a project's name to label a report or a message built later in the scenario.
Watch out
the connected account needs access to the project, or the module has nothing to read.
HacknPlan14

Get a Project User

Action

In MakeGets a project user.

Looks up one member of a project, giving later modules the person's details to mention them, route a task or check their role before acting.

When to use it
a work item names an assignee and your chat message should tag the right person.
Watch out
it reads a user within a given project, so a person outside that project will not be found; List Project Users shows who is in.
HacknPlan15

Get a Work Item

Action

In MakeGets a work item.

Retrieves one work item in full, useful when a trigger or another app only gave you a reference and you need the rest before acting. Nothing changes in HacknPlan.

When to use it
a comment in your chat tool mentions a task, and the reply should show its current state.
Watch out
when you need several items at once, Search Work Items saves operations.
HacknPlan16

Make an API Call

Action

In MakePerforms an arbitrary authorized API call.

Your way around missing modules. It calls any endpoint of the HacknPlan API with the connection you already set up, so you are not stuck when the 32 ready modules stop short of what you need.

When to use it
HacknPlan's API offers something no listed module covers, and you want it in the same scenario.
Watch out
you write the request yourself, so keep the HacknPlan API reference open while you build it.
HacknPlan17

Remove a User from a Project

Action

In MakeRemoves a user from the project.

Takes a person off a project, which closes their access there without touching their other projects. It suits offboarding and the end of a freelance contract.

When to use it
a contractor's end date is reached in your HR sheet, and HacknPlan access should end with it.
Watch out
check you mapped the right project, since a person often belongs to several; Add a User to a Project puts them back if needed.
HacknPlan18

Reopen a Milestone

Action

In MakeReopens the milestone.

Brings a closed milestone back to life, so work can continue under the same target without creating a duplicate. It is the counterpart of Close a Milestone.

When to use it
QA flags a blocking bug after a release, and the milestone should show as open again.
Watch out
it only makes sense on a closed milestone; for a new target, use Create a Milestone instead.
HacknPlan19

Update a Board

Action

In MakeUpdates the board partially.

Changes a board that already exists. The update is partial: only what you fill in is changed, the rest stays as it was. Good for keeping a board in line with decisions taken elsewhere.

When to use it
a sprint is renamed or reshaped in your planning sheet and the board should follow.
Watch out
leave a setting empty when you do not want to change it.
HacknPlan20

Update a Milestone

Action

In MakeUpdates the milestone partially.

Edits a milestone in place, so a shifted target in another tool shows up in HacknPlan without anyone retyping it. Only what you fill in changes.

When to use it
a publisher moves a deadline and the change is recorded in a form or spreadsheet first.
Watch out
to end or revive a milestone, Close a Milestone and Reopen a Milestone are the clearer choices.
HacknPlan21

Update a Project

Action

In MakeUpdates the project partially.

Adjusts an existing project from a scenario. The change is partial, so you can touch a single detail and keep the rest intact, which is safer than rebuilding a project by hand.

When to use it
a game changes its working title in your CRM and HacknPlan should show the same one.
Watch out
a Get a Project step beforehand helps you check what is there before you overwrite it.
HacknPlan22

Update a Project User

Action

In MakeUpdates the project user partially.

Changes how a member is set up in a project, without removing and re-adding them. The update is partial, so only what you fill in moves.

When to use it
someone is promoted from artist to lead in your HR tool, and their project membership should match.
Watch out
run Get a Project User first when you are not sure which member record you are editing.
HacknPlan23

Update a Work Item

Action

In MakeUpdates the work item partially.

Edits a work item already in HacknPlan, so status changes made in another tool land in the backlog too. Only what you fill in changes.

When to use it
a fix is merged in your code tool, and the matching bug should move forward in HacknPlan.
Watch out
never pair it with Watch Work Items on the same items, since each update comes back as a new bundle and the scenario can loop.
HacknPlan24

List Boards

Search

In MakeGets the list of boards in the project.

Returns every board in a project, each as its own bundle, so you can loop through them for a report or to find the one you need. A search like this can return zero, one or many results.

When to use it
a lead asks for an overview of every board in a project, and you want it written into a sheet.
Watch out
each board costs an operation in the modules that follow.
HacknPlan25

List Milestones

Search

In MakeGets a list of the milestones in the project.

Gathers the milestones of a project into your scenario, one bundle each. It is the quickest way to build a roadmap view in another tool or to check whether a target already exists.

When to use it
before Create a Milestone, to avoid adding a deadline twice.
Watch out
an empty result is normal on a new project, so plan what the scenario does when nothing comes back.
HacknPlan26

List Projects

Search

In MakeGets all the projects the authenticated user is member of.

Gives you all the projects your connected account is a member of, one bundle per project. It is the starting point for anything that spans the whole studio, like a portfolio report.

When to use it
a request in your chat asks for the status of every project, and each one feeds a summary.
Watch out
projects your account does not belong to stay invisible, even if they exist.
HacknPlan27

List Project Users

Search

In MakeGets the list of users of the project.

Returns the people on a project, one bundle per member, so you can audit access or message the whole team from another tool.

When to use it
before a milestone review, you want everyone on the project notified in your chat app.
Watch out
use it to check membership before Add a User to a Project, so you do not try to add someone who is already in.
HacknPlan28

Search Work Items

Search

In MakeSearches for work items or lists them all.

Finds work items that match what you ask for, or lists all of them if you leave the search open. Each result comes out as a separate bundle for the next module.

When to use it
spot a duplicate bug before creating it, or collect open tasks for a status email.
Watch out
an open search on a big project can return a long list, and every item uses operations later on.
Need help

Need help automating HacknPlan with Make?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

Questions about HacknPlan and Make

01Is the HacknPlan Make integration free?
Yes, HacknPlan is a standard app in Make, so you can use it on the Free plan. That plan has limits: 2 active scenarios, at least 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution per run, 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 run on one bundle. This page does not cover what HacknPlan itself costs.
02What do you need to connect HacknPlan to Make?
A HacknPlan account and a Make account. Make's documentation lists no special prerequisite for this app and no dedicated connection steps, so you follow the usual path: add any HacknPlan module, click Create a connection, give it a name if you like, authorize Make on the HacknPlan page or paste the key HacknPlan provides, then click Save. The connection is then reused by all 32 HacknPlan modules. Since the documentation is limited, test with a read-only module such as Get a Project first.
03Do HacknPlan triggers in Make fire instantly?
No. All 4 HacknPlan triggers, Watch Boards, Watch Milestones, Watch Projects and Watch Work Items, are scheduled. Make checks HacknPlan on the scenario's schedule and picks up what appeared since the last check. A new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default. On the Free plan, 15 minutes is also the shortest interval, while paid plans can go down to 1 minute. There is no instant trigger for HacknPlan, so a change in HacknPlan never reaches Make the second it happens.
04What if a HacknPlan module you need is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It calls any endpoint of the HacknPlan API through the same connection, so you can cover what the 23 actions and 5 searches do not. You write the request yourself, which means reading the HacknPlan API reference. Keep in mind that Make's own documentation for HacknPlan is limited, because little public information exists about the app, so test each call with Run once and read the bundle before switching the scenario on.
05Should you pick Make or n8n for HacknPlan?
It depends on where the rest of your automations live. On Make, HacknPlan comes with 32 ready modules, including 4 scheduled triggers and Make an API Call for anything else, and it works on the Free plan. The same app often has an n8n node too, so check whether one exists for HacknPlan and what it covers before you choose. If your team already builds scenarios in Make, keeping HacknPlan there avoids splitting your flows across two tools.