Resources · Make integration

HTTP Make integrationAutomate HTTP with Make.

What if Make could talk to a website or service that has no app of its own? The HTTP Make integration does exactly that, with 8 modules (7 actions and 1 feeder). This guide explains a web request in plain words, then walks you through your first scenario.

Try the HTTP integration on MakeSee the 8 modules

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What you can automate

What does the HTTP Make integration let you do?

Every time your browser opens a page, it sends a request to an address (a URL) and gets a response back. The HTTP Make integration lets a scenario, the automation you build in Make, send that same kind of request on its own: fetch a file, ask a service for data, or push data to it, with no code. Reading and sending are two different kinds of request, called methods.

Grab files that arrive as links. A supplier emails a link to a PDF. Get a file downloads it so the next module can store or attach it. If the link is a shortened one, Resolve a target URL follows the redirects first and hands you the final address.

Talk to a tool Make has no app for. Your internal booking tool or a niche SaaS often publishes an address you can call. Make a request sends the call and reads the answer. When the service asks you to prove who you are, pick the matching module: API key, Basic Auth, OAuth 2.0 or client certificate.

Check what a server really sent back. Retrieve headers splits the labels attached to a response into separate items, so a filter can react to one of them.

One thing HTTP will not do: watch an address and start a scenario by itself. It has no trigger, so something else kicks things off (another app, or the schedule). The same building block exists in n8n; the HTTP n8n integration page covers it, and n8n vs Make compares the two tools. To get comfortable with the editor first, see the Make training.

Connect

How do you connect HTTP to Make?

  1. 01

    Add an HTTP module and open the connection

    In your scenario, add the HTTP module that matches how the service lets you in (API key, Basic Auth, OAuth 2.0 or client certificate), then click Create a connection. A connection is your access to that service, saved once in Make.

  2. 02

    Give the connection a clear name

    This step is optional, but worth it. Name the connection after the service it opens, like "Booking tool API". When several services share one scenario, a vague name makes every module a guessing game.

  3. 03

    Authorize and save

    For OAuth 2.0, you approve Make on the service's own page. For the other types, paste the key or credentials the service gave you. Click Save, and the module can now send its first request.

First scenario

Your first scenario with HTTP

GoalWhen a new shortened link to a supplier quote reaches another app, Make finds the real address and downloads the file.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the +. Pick the app where the links land (a form, a sheet, your inbox) as the first module, and connect your account.

  2. 02

    Resolve the link

    Click the + on the right, search for HTTP and choose Resolve a target URL. Map the link from the first module into it. Make follows every redirect and keeps only the final address.

  3. 03

    Download the file

    Add Get a file and map the address you just resolved. The file travels to the next module as a bundle, one item passed along the chain, ready to be stored with another +.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once and drop a real link into the source app. Open each module's bubble to read the bundles it received. You should see the long URL, then the file itself.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Set the schedule on the first module (every 15 minutes by default) and turn the scenario on. Each module run counts as one operation, the unit Make tracks on your plan.

Modules

What the 8 HTTP modules do

HTTP gives you 8 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

HTTP1

Get a file

Action

In Make“Downloads a file from a given URL.”

Give this module a web address and it brings back the file sitting there, ready for the next step: saving it to a drive, attaching it to an email, reading it.

When to use it
a partner shares an invoice or a photo by link and you want the actual file inside your scenario.
Watch out
on the Free plan, Make handles files up to 5 MB, so check the size of what your partners send before counting on this module.
HTTP2

Make a Basic Auth request

Action

In Make“Sends an HTTP(S) request to a specified URL that requires Basic Auth authorization and processes the response.”

Some older tools and intranets protect their address with a simple username and password pair. This module sends your request with that login attached and returns the server's answer to your scenario.

When to use it
the service's documentation mentions Basic Auth, often the case for self-hosted software or a legacy system.
Watch out
a connection is reused by every module that points to it, so name each one after the system it opens.
HTTP3

Make a Client Certificate Auth request

Action

In Make“Sends an HTTPS request to a specified URL that requires Client Certificate Auth authorization and processes the response.”

Here the proof of identity is a certificate file rather than a password, a setup some banks and corporate systems demand. The module sends an HTTPS request with that certificate and processes the reply.

When to use it
the IT team of a partner hands you a certificate and says nothing gets in without it.
Watch out
this module works over HTTPS only, the secure version of HTTP.
HTTP4

Make an API Key Auth request

Action

In Make“Sends an HTTPS request to a specified URL that requires API Key Auth authorization and processes the response.”

Plenty of SaaS tools hand out an API key, a long secret string that acts like a password for machines. This module stores it in the connection and sends it with every HTTPS call.

When to use it
you copied a key from the settings of a tool that has no Make app and want to pull or push data.
Watch out
anyone holding the key can act as you, so keep it inside the connection rather than pasting it into fields.
HTTP5

Make an OAuth 2.0 request

Action

In Make“Sends an HTTP(S) request to a specified URL that requires OAuth 2.0 authorization and processes the response.”

OAuth 2.0 is the familiar "Allow access" screen: you approve Make on the service's page instead of sharing a password. After that, this module sends requests in your name and reads the responses.

When to use it
a large platform offers OAuth and you need an action its Make app does not cover, such as reading a report it only exposes through its address.
HTTP6

Make a request

Action

In Make“Sends an HTTP(S) request to a specified URL and processes the response.”

The plain version: it sends a request to any address you give it and hands the response back to your scenario, without any of the four authorization methods below. Think of it as the universal remote of the HTTP app.

When to use it
a public address that anyone can call, like an open data page or a file your own site publishes.
Watch out
if the service answers with an access error, switch to one of the authorized modules above.
HTTP7

Resolve a target URL

Action

In Make“Resolves a chain of HTTP redirects and returns a target URL.”

Short links and tracking links bounce through several addresses before landing somewhere. This module follows that chain of redirects for you and returns only the final destination.

When to use it
before downloading or logging a link, so that your sheet stores the real page and not a shortener.
Watch out
it only gives you the address; add Get a file or Make a request afterward to fetch the content.
HTTP8

Retrieve headers

Iterator

In Make“Retrieves each header from the HTTP module separately.”

Every server response carries headers, small labels describing the content, its type or the server. This feeder takes the headers from an HTTP module and turns each one into its own bundle.

When to use it
you need to check a single label, for example the content type, before deciding what the next module does.
Watch out
one bundle per header means the modules placed after it run once per header, and each run counts.
Need help

Need help automating HTTP with Make?

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FAQ

Questions people ask next

01Is the HTTP Make integration free to use?
Yes. HTTP is a standard app, available from the Free plan onward. The Free plan does come with 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. The file cap matters most here, since Get a file downloads whatever sits at the address. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) lower the interval to 1 minute, allow unlimited active scenarios and 40 minutes of execution, and count usage in credits per month.
02Does calling a service with HTTP require a connection?
It depends on the service. The Make a request module is the one without a dedicated authorization method, so it suits addresses that anyone can call. As soon as a service asks you to prove who you are, pick the module that matches its method: API key, Basic Auth, OAuth 2.0 or client certificate. You then click Create a connection, optionally name it, authorize Make on the service page or paste the key you were given, and click Save. The service's own documentation tells you which method it expects.
03Can the HTTP app start a scenario in real time?
Not with HTTP alone. The app has no trigger, the kind of module that starts a scenario, so it always sits in the middle of the chain. Two ways to begin anyway. Put another app first, for example a form or a spreadsheet, and let its trigger fire; an instant trigger reacts as soon as that app calls Make through a webhook. Or rely on the schedule of the first module, which runs every 15 minutes by default on a new scenario, with 1 minute as the shortest interval on paid plans.
04What are the options when a module is missing or a limit gets in the way?
A few, within limits. The HTTP app has no Make an API Call module, and its 8 modules are the whole toolbox. The good news is that Make a request and its four authorized versions already reach any address you can type, so they often fill the gap left by another app. When the blocker is the 15 minute interval of the Free plan, a paid plan brings it down to 1 minute. The 5 MB file cap is the figure Make publishes for the Free plan, so check the Make pricing page before relying on bigger files. For anything beyond that, the Make agency team can look at your case.
05Should you use Make or n8n for HTTP requests?
It depends on your setup. n8n also has an HTTP building block, and a dedicated page on this site covers it. Choosing between the two has little to do with this app itself. Look at where your other automations already run, which editor your team finds easier to read, and how each tool counts usage on its plans. Keep in mind that Make counts one operation for each module run on each bundle, which adds up when a feeder such as Retrieve headers splits a response into many items. The n8n vs Make comparison goes through these criteria in detail.
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