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Microsoft SQL Server Make integrationAutomate Microsoft SQL Server with Make.

Your data sits in SQL Server, but the rest of your tools never see it? The Microsoft SQL Server Make integration gives you 7 modules to read, add, change and remove rows without writing an app. This guide shows what each one does, how to connect, and a first scenario to copy.

Try the Microsoft SQL Server integration on MakeSee the 7 modules

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What you can automate

What does the Microsoft SQL Server Make integration do?

The Microsoft SQL Server Make integration lets a Make scenario (the automation you build, a chain of bricks called modules) talk to your database. Think of a table as a spreadsheet tab with strict columns: Make can add a line to it, look lines up, change them or delete them, and pass the results to your other apps.

Keep a sales table fed without copy-paste. Another app starts the scenario, say your CRM when a deal closes, and Insert row into a table writes the deal as a new row. Finance queries one clean table instead of a pile of exports.

Push database facts to the people who need them. Select row(s) from a table finds the matching rows, and each one travels on as a bundle (one item passed from module to module) toward an email, a chat message or a sheet.

Let your DBA keep control. When the logic already lives in the database, Execute stored procedure runs it as is, so Make only hands over the inputs.

Two limits to know. The app has no trigger, so SQL Server itself never starts a scenario: another app or a schedule does. And there is no universal API call module to fall back on. The same database has its own page on the n8n side, the Microsoft SQL Server n8n integration, and the n8n vs Make comparison helps you pick. New to the editor? The Make training starts from zero.

Connect

How do you connect SQL Server to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a SQL Server module

    In a scenario, click the +, search for Microsoft SQL Server and pick any module. Its settings panel opens with a Create a connection button. A connection is your database access, saved once in Make and reused by all 7 modules.

  2. 02

    Name it after the database

    Naming the connection is optional, but do it anyway. A label like “Sales DB, production” tells you which database a module writes to, which matters the day you add a test copy next to the live one.

  3. 03

    Authorize and save

    Fill in the access details Make asks for, or approve the authorization screen if one opens, then click Save. Make now lists the tables it can reach, so you pick them from a menu instead of typing names.

First scenario

Your first scenario: log every new lead in SQL Server

GoalWhen another app of your stack receives a new lead, Make adds it as a row in your SQL Server table.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big +. The first module comes from the app where leads arrive, since SQL Server has no trigger of its own.

  2. 02

    Set the starting app

    Pick that app's trigger, click Create a connection and choose the list or form to watch. Each new lead will become one bundle for the next module.

  3. 03

    Add Insert row into a table

    Click the + on the right, search Microsoft SQL Server and choose Insert row into a table. Pick your table from the list, then map the lead's name and email onto the matching columns.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Create a fake lead, click Run once and open the bubbles to read each bundle. Then check the table: the test row should be there. Delete it before going live.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Set the clock on the first module (every 15 minutes by default for a new scenario) and turn the scenario on. Every run uses operations, meaning one module handling one bundle.

Modules

What each SQL Server module does

Microsoft SQL Server gives you 7 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Microsoft SQL Server1

Delete row(s) from a table

Action

This module removes rows from a table, for example the records of a customer who asked to be forgotten in your support tool. Nothing comes back once it has run.

When to use it
a cleanup that follows a clear event in another app, like an account closed or a test entry flagged.
Watch out
run it first on a copy of the table with Run once, because a loose condition can hit far more rows than expected.
Microsoft SQL Server2

Execute a query (advanced)

Action

A query is an instruction written in SQL, the language databases understand. Here you type it yourself and Make sends it to the server, handy for joining two tables or computing a total.

When to use it
a colleague already wrote the query and you only want Make to run it and forward the result.
Watch out
the advanced label is honest; if you do not read SQL, stay on the Select, Insert and Update modules.
Microsoft SQL Server3

Execute stored procedure

Action

A stored procedure is a saved routine inside the database, often written by the IT team. This module calls it by name, so the business logic stays where it was tested and Make just supplies the inputs.

When to use it
your DBA prefers exposing one approved procedure rather than letting a scenario touch tables directly.
Watch out
if the procedure returns a list of records, add Iterate recordset right after it.
Microsoft SQL Server4

Insert row into a table

Action

The workhorse of most scenarios: it writes one new line in the table you pick, with each column filled from data mapped out of earlier modules. One bundle in, one row out.

When to use it
logging form entries, orders or signups from other apps in one central table.
Watch out
if the same scenario runs twice on the same item, you get two rows; search first with Select row(s) from a table when duplicates would hurt.
Microsoft SQL Server5

Update row(s) in a table

Action

Changes values in rows that already exist, such as setting an order to paid once your payment app confirms it. The row keeps its place; only the columns you map are rewritten.

When to use it
a status, an amount or a date moves in another tool and the database has to follow.
Watch out
the plural in the name matters, since one update can touch several rows; test your filter with Run once on a sample table.
Microsoft SQL Server6

Select row(s) from a table

Search

The only search module of the app. It looks up rows and returns zero, one or many of them, each as its own bundle, so the next modules run once per row found.

When to use it
checking whether a customer is already in the table before inserting, or pulling the open tickets to post them in a team channel.
Watch out
every returned row costs operations downstream, so narrow the search before sending results to a chat.
Microsoft SQL Server7

Iterate recordset

Iterator

In Make“Iterates through received recordset.”

A recordset is a block of rows handed over in one piece. This iterator splits it into separate bundles, one per row, so the following modules can treat each row alone.

When to use it
right after Execute stored procedure or Execute a query (advanced), when you need to email or update every line the database sent back.
Watch out
it only works on a recordset a previous module received, so place it after one.
Need help

Need help automating Microsoft SQL Server with Make?

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FAQ

Questions about SQL Server and Make

01Is the Microsoft SQL Server Make integration free?
Yes, on the Free plan. Microsoft SQL Server is a standard app, not an Enterprise one, so all 7 modules are there from the start. The Free plan has its own 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, Enterprise) lower the interval to 1 minute, remove the cap on active scenarios and allow 40 minutes per run. Usage is counted in operations, one per module per bundle, so a search that returns many rows uses more of your monthly credits.
02What do you need to connect SQL Server to Make?
Access to the database and a Make account. The official documentation lists no prerequisites and no specific steps for this app, so the generic Make flow applies: add a SQL Server module, click Create a connection, optionally name it, fill in the access details or approve the authorization screen, then click Save. Once saved, the connection serves every SQL Server module in all your scenarios. In practice, the person who manages the server is the right contact for the account to use, and a dedicated account limited to the needed tables keeps the risk low if a scenario misbehaves.
03Does the Microsoft SQL Server Make integration react in real time?
No, because the app has no trigger at all. SQL Server cannot start a scenario by itself when a row changes. You have two ways to start one anyway. Put another app's trigger first, for instance a form or a CRM: if that trigger is instant, the app alerts Make through a webhook as soon as something happens, and SQL Server acts right after. Or start the scenario on a schedule with a SQL Server search as the first step; a new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, with 1 minute as the shortest interval on paid plans.
04What if a SQL Server module is missing in Make?
Start with Execute a query (advanced) or Execute stored procedure. They send the server a query you write or a procedure that already exists, which often covers what the five other modules leave out. What the app does not offer is a Make an API Call module, the universal escape hatch some Make apps provide, so there is no second route on the Make side. If your need goes beyond what a query can express, another app or tool may be a better fit for that step, and you can describe your case in the help form on this page, where a person from the team reads every message.
05Should you use Make or n8n for Microsoft SQL Server?
It depends on the tool your team already runs. Both platforms connect to Microsoft SQL Server: on Make you get the 7 modules described on this page, available from the Free plan, and n8n has its own SQL Server node documented in a separate guide on this site. The fair way to choose is on your own criteria, such as which editor your team knows, and which other apps each scenario must reach. The n8n vs Make comparison linked earlier on this page lays those criteria out side by side, without picking a winner for you.
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