Resources · Make integration

MongoDB Make integrationAutomate MongoDB with Make.

Your collections can fill themselves from the apps you already use. The MongoDB Make integration gives you 12 modules to create, read, update and delete documents, plus two ways to search. You fill in fields instead of writing code.

Try the MongoDB integration on MakeSee the 12 modules

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What you can automate

What can the MongoDB Make integration actually do?

It lets Make read and write in your MongoDB database without a line of code. You build a scenario, the automation Make runs for you, and each brick of that scenario is called a module. MongoDB brings 12 of them: 10 actions that change documents and two searches that go looking for them.

A customer record that stays current. A booking lands from another tool, Make runs Search documents with a query to find that customer, then Update document writes the new details onto the document it found. Nothing gets duplicated, because the search happens before the write.

A backlog loaded in one shot. An online shop exports a batch of orders, and Bulk create documents (advanced) drops all of them into a collection through one module. A cleanup that runs itself. A contract ends, and Delete documents with a query takes out everything that matches.

Two things Make will not do here. MongoDB ships no trigger module, so Make never watches the database on its own: a scenario starts from a schedule you set, or from a trigger in another app. And there is no Make an API Call module for this app, so whatever the 12 modules miss stays out of reach.

The same database also has an n8n node, and the two tools suit different teams. The n8n vs Make comparison lays out the criteria, and the MongoDB n8n integration shows the other side. If Make is your pick and scenarios are new to you, Make training starts there.

Connect

How do you connect MongoDB to Make?

  1. 01

    Copy the connection string from MongoDB

    In MongoDB, pick your project, click Clusters, select the cluster, then Connect and Drivers. Copy the string starting with mongodb+srv:// and replace the username and password placeholders with real credentials.

  2. 02

    Let Make reach your instance

    The database has to be reachable from the public internet, or nothing connects at all. If it filters by address, open Network Access under Security in MongoDB, click + ADD IP ADDRESS and enter the Make addresses for your zone.

  3. 03

    Create the connection inside Make

    Back in Make, drop any MongoDB module into a scenario and click Create a connection: that is your database account linked to Make once, then reused by every MongoDB module. Name it in Connection name, paste your string into Connection string, then save.

First scenario

Your first scenario: a collection that keeps itself current

GoalOn the schedule you set, Make searches MongoDB for the documents that still need a change, and updates every one it finds.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page in Make and create a new one. Click the big plus in the middle of the canvas: that is where the first module goes, and it is the module that decides when everything else runs.

  2. 02

    Put Search documents first

    Search the app list for MongoDB, pick Search documents, and click Create a connection if you have not made one yet. This module is a search, so it hands the next one every document it finds rather than a single record.

  3. 03

    Tell it what to look for

    Fill the module fields. Once the connection exists, Make can read your instance and offers the database and the collection instead of making you type them. Aim at the documents you actually want to touch.

  4. 04

    Add Update document behind it

    Click the plus on the right of the search module and add Update document. Map the identifier coming out of the search into its ID field, so each document found is the one updated, then set the values to write.

  5. 05

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once, the editor button that runs the scenario a single time. Each module then shows the bundles it received, a bundle being one item passing from one module to the next, so you see which documents moved.

  6. 06

    Schedule it and switch it on

    Open the clock on the first module to set the scheduling. A new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, which is also the floor on the Free plan. Pick the rhythm your data deserves, then flip the scenario on.

Modules

What MongoDB can do inside Make

MongoDB gives you 12 modules in 4 groups. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Documents

4 modules
MongoDB1

Retrieve a document

Action

In Make“Retrieves a single document by ID.”

Retrieve a document pulls back a single document when the scenario already holds its ID.

When to use it
an earlier module saved an identifier and a later step needs the full record behind it.
Watch out
without a valid ID this module has nothing to work with, so keep it downstream of whatever produced that ID.
MongoDB2

Create a document

ActionIn the docs only

Create a document writes a new document into the collection you point it at. The created item then travels to the next module as a bundle, so a later step can reuse what was just written.

When to use it
a contact form comes in and each answer deserves its own record.
Watch out
nothing here checks whether that record already exists, so pair it with a search whenever duplicates would cost you an afternoon of cleanup.
MongoDB3

Update document

Action

In Make“Updates a single document by ID.”

Update document changes one document you already know the ID of, and leaves the rest of the collection alone.

When to use it
a deal moves to signed in your CRM and the matching record has to say so too.
Watch out
the ID has to come from somewhere, so put a search in front when the scenario only knows the customer by name.
MongoDB4

Delete a document

Action

In Make“Delete a single document by ID.”

Delete a document removes one document from the collection, again from its ID.

When to use it
a test record or a duplicate spotted earlier in the scenario has to disappear for good.
Watch out
a scenario has no undo, so test with Run once on a record you can afford to lose before you switch anything on.

Multiple Documents

3 modules
MongoDB5

Bulk create documents (advanced)

ActionIn the docs only

Bulk create documents (advanced) writes a batch of documents in a single module run, instead of one pass per document.

When to use it
an export of orders arrives and the whole batch has to land in the collection at once.
Watch out
a bulk module acts on the whole set, so check it with Run once before the scenario goes live.
MongoDB6

Bulk update documents (advanced)

ActionIn the docs only

Bulk update documents (advanced) applies a change to a whole set of documents in one pass, without looping a single update module over each one.

When to use it
a price list changes and every product document in the collection has to carry the new value.
Watch out
the batch you hand it decides what moves, so read what the previous module produced before you wire the two together.
MongoDB7

Bulk delete documents (advanced)

ActionIn the docs only

Bulk delete documents (advanced) clears a set of documents in one module run.

When to use it
an import went wrong and the batch it created has to come back out as fast as it went in.
Watch out
deletions do not come back, so run the search that feeds this module on its own first and look at what it returns.

Queries

3 modules
MongoDB8

Search documents with a query

SearchIn the docs only

Search documents with a query walks through a collection with the query you write and returns what matches, one bundle per document found.

When to use it
the scenario knows an email address or a reference, but not the internal ID it needs next.
Watch out
a search can return zero, one or many documents, so the modules placed after it run once per result.
MongoDB9

Update documents with a query

ActionIn the docs only

Update documents with a query rewrites every document matching the query, without you listing them one by one.

When to use it
every record still marked as pending on a closed project has to switch status together.
Watch out
the query is the only thing between a narrow fix and a collection-wide rewrite, so try it in a search module first.
MongoDB10

Delete documents with a query

ActionIn the docs only

Delete documents with a query takes out every document the query catches, in one go.

When to use it
a customer asks for their data to be erased and it sits across several documents.
Watch out
nothing warns you how much it caught, so pass the same query through a search module and count the results before you let this one run.

Other modules

2 modules
MongoDB11

Insert a document

Action

In Make“Insert a new document into the database.”

Insert a document adds a new document to the database, and it is the plainest write this app offers.

When to use it
a form sends you its answers and you want them stored exactly as they arrived, before anything else touches them.
Watch out
it sits outside the Documents group and covers the same ground as Create a document, so pick one of the two and keep it across your scenarios.
MongoDB12

Search documents

Search

In Make“Search for specific documents or return all documents.”

Search documents either narrows a collection down to what you are after, or hands back everything in it.

When to use it
a reporting scenario that has to walk the whole collection and send one summary at the end.
Watch out
asking for everything turns each document into its own bundle, and every module after it runs that many times.
Need help

Need help automating MongoDB with Make?

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FAQ

Questions people ask next

01Is the MongoDB Make integration free?
Yes, on the Free plan. MongoDB counts as a standard app, so Make does not put it behind a paid tier and charges nothing extra for the app itself. The Free plan caps the running instead: two active scenarios, no more than one scheduled run every 15 minutes, five minutes of execution per run, files up to 5 MB, 512 MB of transfer. Move to a paid plan and the interval drops to one minute, active scenarios stop being counted, and execution goes up to 40 minutes. Whatever your cluster costs stays between you and MongoDB.
02What do you need to connect MongoDB to Make?
Three things. A MongoDB account, a database instance that is running and reachable from the public internet, and the connection string for that instance. Make asks for the string in a single field when you create the connection, so grab it from your cluster first and replace the username and password placeholders with credentials that exist. If your instance filters by address, add the Make addresses to the access list in Network Access before you test. Nothing else is needed on the Make side, and the connection is made once, then reused by every MongoDB module.
03Does MongoDB trigger a scenario in real time?
No, because this app has no trigger module at all. Inside Make, MongoDB offers actions and searches only, so nothing watches the database and calls Make when a document changes. That leaves two ways in. Either the scenario starts on a schedule, the clock you set on the first module, which Make leaves at every 15 minutes by default, and you search for what moved since the previous run. Or it starts from another app, a form, a CRM, or a Make webhook, an address Make gives you so an outside tool can call the scenario the moment something happens.
04What if a MongoDB module is missing or a limit gets in the way?
You work around it. This app has no Make an API Call module, the catch-all that some Make apps offer to reach whatever the integration does not cover, so the 12 modules listed above are the whole surface. On limits, the MongoDB documentation gives no figure at all, which means nothing official caps what those modules handle. When a step falls outside them, the practical answer is to hand that step to another app inside the same scenario, or to split the work across two scenarios. The team can look at the case with you if the scenario is already half built.
05Make or n8n for MongoDB?
It depends on the team, not on which platform ranks higher. Make suits a team without developers: every module is a form to fill in, and the whole flow shows on one canvas. Choose n8n instead when someone on the team already codes, wants to self-host, or needs the workflow tracked in version control next to the rest of the codebase. The MongoDB connection itself works the same way either side, one string pasted once into a form. Skim the n8n integration page next to this one, and let your team's daily habits decide, not a feature checklist.
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