SFTP Make integrationAutomate SFTP with Make.
Files that land on your SFTP server can move on without anyone logging in. The SFTP Make integration gives you 12 modules: 2 triggers that watch folders and 10 actions that read, upload, move or delete files. Below: the connection, then a first scenario you can test.
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What can the SFTP Make integration do for you?
The SFTP Make integration links a remote file server to Make, a no-code tool where you build a scenario (the automation itself) out of modules, one brick per step. Make can spot new files and folders on the server, then read, upload, move, rename or delete them, and change their permissions.
A drop folder that sorts itself. Partners push reports to /incoming. Watch files in a folder picks up each one, Get a file pulls its content into the scenario, and Move a file sends it to /done so nobody handles the same report twice.
Delivering files to a partner. A contract or an export produced in another app goes to the server through Upload a file. Update file permissions then sets who can read it, for example 777 or -rwxrwxrwx.
A tidy tree for every new client. Watch subfolders in a folder notices a new client folder, Create a folder adds the subfolders your team expects inside it, and List a folder's content shows what is already there.
What to know before starting: both triggers are scheduled, so Make checks the server on the scenario's clock and never reacts the instant a file arrives. The app has no Make an API Call module, and the documentation lists no numeric limit of its own. If you are still picking a tool, n8n vs Make lays out the criteria. To learn the editor properly, see Make training, and when a run fails, Make troubleshooting covers the usual fixes.
How do you connect your SFTP server to Make?
- 01
Open the connection window
Add any SFTP module to your scenario and click Create a connection. A connection is your server login saved once in Make, then reused by every SFTP module. The Connection name field is optional but helps when you manage several servers.
- 02
Point Make at your server
Type the server address in Host. In Port, keep 22 unless your host gave you another number; Make accepts anything from 1 to 65535. Nothing else here is required to go on.
- 03
Pick how you log in, then save
In Auth type, choose username and password, or username and key. With a key, upload it in Private key. The algorithm fields are optional: leave them alone unless you know your SSH setup. Click Save.
Your first scenario: archive every file a supplier drops
GoalWhen a supplier drops a price file in the SFTP folder, Make reads it and moves it to an archive folder.
- 01
Create the scenario
On the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big + to add the first module. Search for SFTP and pick Watch files in a folder.
- 02
Connect and choose the folder
Click Create a connection and fill in the server details. Once the connection works, point the trigger at the folder your supplier writes to, for example
/incoming. - 03
Add the read and the move
Click the + on the right of the trigger and add Get a file, mapping the file from the trigger. Add Move a file after it and send the file to
/archive, a folder outside the watched one. - 04
Test with Run once
Drop a sample file on the server and click Run once. Open the bubble above each module to read the bundles it received: one bundle is one file passing from module to module.
- 05
Schedule and switch on
Click the clock on the first module. A new scenario checks every 15 minutes by default, and the Free plan allows no shorter gap. Switch the scenario on to let it run by itself.
What can start an SFTP scenario?
2 modules start a scenario when something happens in SFTP. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by SFTP as soon as it happens.
Watch files in a folder
Scheduled triggerIn Make“Triggers when a file is created or updated.”
This trigger keeps an eye on one server folder and starts your scenario for each file that appears there, or that someone changes. Every file comes out as its own bundle, ready for the next module.
Watch subfolders in a folder
Scheduled triggerIn Make“Triggers when a subfolder is created or updated.”
Here Make ignores single files and looks at folders instead: it starts the scenario when a subfolder is created or updated inside the folder you pick. Handy when each folder stands for a client, an order or a project.
What can Make do on your SFTP server?
SFTP gives you 10 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.
Note: Use the chmod parameters, for example, 777 or -rwxrwxrwx. The entered data should match the patters: /(.?([r-][w-][x-]){3})|[0-7]{3}/. Refer to the chmod main age to get more information.
Note: Use the chmod parameters, for example, 777 or -rwxrwxrwx. The entered data should match the patters: /(.?([r-][w-][x-]){3})|[0-7]{3}/. Refer to the chmod main age to get more information.
Create a folder
ActionCreate a folder builds a new directory on the server at the path you give it, so the files that follow have somewhere to land. You can build the path from data mapped from an earlier module, such as a client name.
Update file permissions
ActionUpdate file permissions changes who may read, write or run a file on the server. Make expects the chmod notation, either the digits form such as 777 or the letters form such as -rwxrwxrwx.
Delete a file
ActionDelete a file removes one file from the server for good, which keeps shared folders from filling up with files you already processed. Pick it over Move a file when you truly need no copy.
Delete a folder
ActionDelete a folder removes a directory from the server, handy for closing out a project space once its files are gone or archived elsewhere. It works on folders only; single files go through Delete a file.
Get a file
ActionIn Make“Reads information about a file and retrieves its content.”
Get a file reads a file on the server and brings back both its details and its content, so the next modules can store it, send it or parse it. It is the step that turns a path into an actual file inside your scenario.
Get files
ActionGet files is the plural cousin of Get a file: reach for it when a single step should return several files from the server instead of one. The result arrives as several bundles, and every later module runs once for each.
List a folder's content
ActionList a folder's content shows you what sits in a server folder, entry by entry, without downloading anything. It gives the scenario an inventory to check or filter before acting on it.
/archive or in a client folder.Move a file
ActionMove a file takes a file from one folder to another on the same server, which is how a scenario marks work as done without deleting anything. The file keeps its content; only its location changes.
done or archive folder.Rename a file
ActionRename a file gives a file a new name where it stands, so the next person or system opening the folder finds it right away. Build the name from mapped data such as a date or an order number.
Upload a file
ActionUpload a file puts a file on the server, taking it from a previous module: an email attachment, a document from your drive, an export from another app. This is how Make delivers files to partners who only accept SFTP.
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