Resources · Make integration

Needle Make integrationAutomate Needle with Make.

Can Make look things up in your Needle collections for you? Yes. The Needle Make integration gives you 2 modules: one search and one open API call. This page shows how to link your account, build a first scenario and pick the right module.

Try the Needle integration on MakeSee the 2 modules

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What you can automate

What does the Needle Make integration do?

The Needle Make integration lets a Make scenario, the automation you build in Make as a chain of bricks, query a collection in your Needle account and pass the results to your other tools. It has no trigger of its own, so another app or a schedule starts the flow, and Needle answers in the middle of it.

Answer questions from a form. A question lands through a form tool, Search Collection looks it up in the right collection, and the results go to an email or a chat message. The 123FormBuilder Make integration is one way to feed that first step.

Enrich a support ticket. When a ticket is created in your help desk, Make searches Needle with its subject and attaches what it finds, so the agent starts with context instead of a blank page.

Reach what the menu does not show. Make an API Call reuses your Needle connection to call any endpoint of the Needle API, which covers the cases the search module leaves out.

Keep the limits in mind: there is no Needle trigger, and the Make documentation for this app is short and flagged as generated from the vendor docs, so check anything critical with Needle. If you are weighing tools, the n8n vs Make comparison lays out the criteria, and the Make training covers the editor from the start.

Connect

How do you connect Needle to Make?

  1. 01

    Copy your API key

    Open your Needle account, go to Settings in the dashboard and copy the API key shown on screen. You need an active Needle account for this; the plan side is handled on Needle's own pricing page.

  2. 02

    Add a Needle module

    In Make, add any Needle module to your scenario and click Create a connection. A connection is your Needle account linked to Make once, then reused by every Needle module you add later.

  3. 03

    Paste the key and save

    Give the connection a name in Connection name if you like, it is optional but helps when you have several accounts. Paste the API key, confirm, and Make can now read your collections.

First scenario

Your first scenario with Needle

GoalWhen a new question arrives from another app, Make searches your Needle collection and hands the results to the next step.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the + to add the first module: the trigger of the app where questions arrive, such as a form or a help desk.

  2. 02

    Add Search Collection

    Click the + on the right of that module, search for Needle and pick Search Collection. Click Create a connection and paste your API key if it is your first Needle module.

  3. 03

    Map the question

    Fill the module fields: choose the collection Make lists for you, then map the question text from the first module. Each item that moves between modules is called a bundle.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once to execute the scenario a single time. Then read the bundles each module received and check that the search returned what you expected.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Set the schedule on the first module, every 15 minutes by default, then switch the scenario on. Add a module after the search to send the results where your team reads them.

Modules

What the Needle modules do

Needle gives you 2 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Needle1

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

This module opens the whole Needle API to your scenario, using the connection you already set up, so you are not limited to the one search the menu offers. It is an action: it runs once for each bundle it receives.

When to use it
when you need a Needle feature that Search Collection does not cover, for example an operation described in the Needle API docs.
Watch out
you write the endpoint yourself, so read the Needle documentation first and test with Run once before switching the scenario on.
Needle2

Search Collection

Search

In Make“Searches within a Needle collection.”

Search Collection looks inside one of your Needle collections and brings back the matching results, ready to be mapped into the next module. Being a search, it can return zero, one or several bundles for a single query.

When to use it
any time a question, a ticket subject or a keyword from another app should be checked against what you stored in Needle.
Watch out
each returned bundle runs the following modules again, so plan for several results or for none at all.
Need help

Need help automating Needle with Make?

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FAQ

Needle and Make: common questions

01Is the Needle Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. Needle is a standard app, so it works from the Free plan, which allows 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between scheduled runs, up to 5 minutes per execution and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans drop the interval to 1 minute and allow unlimited active scenarios. Make counts usage in operations, one per module run on one bundle. Your Needle subscription is a separate matter, set on Needle's pricing page.
02What do you need to connect Needle to Make?
An active Needle account and its API key. Open Settings in the Needle dashboard, copy the key shown there, then add a Needle module in Make and click Create a connection. Naming the connection is optional. Paste the key, confirm, and every Needle module in your scenarios can reuse that same connection without asking for the key again. Once saved, the connection appears in the list of every new Needle module you add, so you only go through Settings a single time.
03Does Needle trigger Make scenarios in real time?
No, because Needle has no trigger module in Make. The scenario has to start elsewhere: with the trigger of another app, such as a form or a help desk, or with Make's own schedule, every 15 minutes by default and down to 1 minute on paid plans. Needle then works in the middle of the flow, answering the search you send it. A practical setup is a form or ticket trigger first, then Search Collection, then a module that delivers the answer where your team works.
04What if the Needle module you need is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It reuses your Needle connection and can call any endpoint of the Needle API, so it covers what Search Collection leaves out. Keep in mind that the Make documentation for Needle is short and marked as generated from the vendor docs, so check important details directly with Needle before relying on them. Before building on it, test the call with Run once and read the bundle it returns, so you know exactly what the next module will receive.
05Should you use Make or n8n with Needle?
It depends on the tool your team already uses. On Make, Needle comes with 2 modules, a collection search and an open API call, and runs on every plan including Free. The same app often has an n8n node too, so check that side before choosing. Pick the platform where your other scenarios already live, since that is where the Needle results will need to go next. The Make training and the n8n vs Make comparison linked higher on this page go through the criteria in more detail if you are still unsure.
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