Resources · Make integration

JSON Make integrationAutomate JSON with Make.

Got data in JSON and need it readable, or need to send JSON to a tool that expects it? The JSON Make integration gives you 5 built-in modules that read, build and convert JSON inside a scenario. This page explains each one and walks you through a first scenario.

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What you can automate

What can the JSON Make integration do for you?

The JSON Make integration is a set of built-in tools that work on data written in JSON, the text format many apps use to exchange information. Inside a scenario (the automation you build in Make, a chain of modules), they read JSON, write it, or convert it, without any account to link.

Turn a JSON reply into values you can map. When another app hands you a block of JSON text, Parse JSON splits it into separate values, so the next module can pick the customer name or the order total instead of one long string.

Send a whole list as one payload. An online store that pulls several orders from its shop app can pass them through Aggregate to JSON and get a single JSON text holding all of them, ready to hand to the next tool in one go.

Feed a system that only speaks XML. Convert JSON to XML takes your JSON and gives back the XML version, useful when an older partner tool refuses anything else.

What the app does not do: it has no trigger, so it never starts a scenario by itself, and it has no Make an API Call module. It only reshapes data that another module brings in. The same kind of step often exists as a node in n8n; the n8n vs Make comparison helps you pick a tool, and the Make training covers data mapping from the ground up. If a scenario breaks on messy JSON, start with Make troubleshooting.

Connect

Do you need to connect anything to use JSON in Make?

  1. 01

    Add a JSON module

    In your scenario, click the +, type JSON in the search box and pick the module you need. JSON is a built-in app, so it sits next to the other Make tools rather than behind a login.

  2. 02

    Skip the connection step

    Unlike most apps, JSON never shows Create a connection. The Make documentation states you do not need to establish a connection to use it, so there is no account to authorize and no key to paste.

  3. 03

    Map data from the previous module

    Fill the module fields with values coming from the module on its left. Click into a field and Make lists the data the previous modules produced, so you pick items instead of typing them.

First scenario

Your first scenario with JSON in Make

GoalWhen another app returns a list of records, Make packs them into one JSON text with Aggregate to JSON.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the + to add the first module. Since JSON has no trigger, this first module belongs to the app that holds your records.

  2. 02

    Set up the source app

    Pick the module of that app that returns your records and link its account if it asks. Each record it returns becomes a bundle, one item that travels from a module to the next.

  3. 03

    Add Aggregate to JSON

    Click the + on the right of the first module, search JSON and choose Aggregate to JSON. It gathers the bundles into one JSON text. No connection step appears here.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once to execute the scenario one time. Then read the bundles each module received and check that the JSON text holds every record.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Set the schedule on the first module, which runs every 15 minutes by default, then switch the scenario on. From here you can add the module that should receive your JSON text.

Modules

What each JSON module does

JSON gives you 5 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

JSON1

Aggregate to JSON

Aggregator

Collects several bundles coming from earlier modules and returns them as one JSON text, so a whole batch of records travels as a single piece of data.

When to use it
a search in your CRM returns many contacts and the next tool expects them all in one JSON payload rather than one call per contact.
Watch out
as an aggregator, it merges items, so modules placed after it run once on the combined text, not once per record.
JSON2

Convert JSON to XML

Transformer

Hands you an XML version of the JSON you feed it, which lets a scenario talk to software that reads XML and nothing else.

When to use it
your data arrives as JSON from a modern app, but the accounting or logistics system on the other end only imports XML.
Watch out
this module transforms data and stops there; you still need another module afterward to send or store the XML it produces.
JSON3

Create JSON

Transformer

Builds a fresh JSON text from values you place in the module, most of them mapped from earlier steps. You decide what goes in; nothing else does.

When to use it
you want to assemble a clean order summary from pieces scattered across two or three previous modules before passing it on.
Watch out
it still costs you. Each run is an operation, one execution Make counts on your plan, like any other module in the chain.
JSON4

Parse JSON

Transformer

Reads a JSON text and breaks it into separate values Make understands, so later modules can map a single field instead of one long block of characters.

When to use it
a form tool or a webhook reply gives you raw JSON and you need the email or the amount inside it.
Watch out
Parse JSON goes the opposite way from Create JSON; pick it when JSON comes in, not when you need to send JSON out.
JSON5

Transform to JSON

Transformer

In Make“Transforms any object to JSON.”

Takes any object a module hands you, such as a full contact record, and turns it into JSON text in one step, without rebuilding it piece by piece.

When to use it
you want to keep or forward an entire record exactly as it came, for example to archive it as text in a spreadsheet cell.
Watch out
it converts the whole object as it is; if you only want some values, Create JSON gives you that control.
Need help

Need help automating JSON with Make?

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FAQ

Questions about JSON in Make

01Is the JSON Make integration free?
Yes. JSON is a standard app, so its modules are available from the Free plan onward. The Free plan does come with limits that apply to every scenario: 2 active scenarios, at least 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution at most per run, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Each time a JSON module runs on a bundle it counts as one operation on your plan, the same as any other module. Paid plans lower the minimum interval to 1 minute and remove the cap on active scenarios.
02What do you need to connect JSON to Make?
Nothing on the JSON side. According to the Make documentation, the JSON app works without any connection at all: there is no account to authorize, no key and no Create a connection button. You only need a Make account and a scenario where another module brings in the data to read or build. That other module may belong to an app that does require a connection, and that link is set up in its own module, not in the JSON one.
03Can a JSON module start a scenario by itself?
No. The JSON app has no trigger, neither scheduled nor instant, so it cannot be the event that starts a scenario. You have two ways around it. Put a trigger from another app first, so the scenario starts when that app has something new, then add the JSON module after it. Or rely on the schedule of the first module, which runs a new scenario every 15 minutes by default and can be changed on the clock icon. Either way, JSON works in the middle of the flow.
04What if a JSON module does not do what you need?
It depends on the gap. The JSON app has 5 modules and no Make an API Call module, so there is no generic request to fall back on inside this app. Check first whether another of the five covers the case: Parse JSON reads, Create JSON builds, Transform to JSON converts a whole object, Aggregate to JSON merges bundles, Convert JSON to XML changes format. If none fits, the step usually belongs in the module of the app that sends or receives the data, or the team can look at the scenario with you.
05Should you handle JSON in Make or in n8n?
It depends on where the rest of your automation lives. The JSON app only makes sense inside a Make scenario, between the modules that bring data in and send it out, so if your flows already run in Make, keeping the JSON steps there avoids splitting one process across two tools. n8n often offers a node for the same kind of step, so the choice rests on your overall setup rather than on JSON itself. The n8n vs Make comparison on this site lays out the criteria side by side.
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