Monitor a Make scenario with StepCanary

Time: about 3 minutes. You need: a StepCanary check (its ping URL) and a Make scenario. The HTTP app is available on every Make plan. Each ping uses one operation (credit) per run.

New to StepCanary? A check is our watch on one automation: it listens for a signal each time the automation runs and alerts you when the signals stop. What is a check?

The idea: add one last module to your scenario that tells StepCanary "I ran." If those pings stop arriving, StepCanary emails you.

1. Create the check

1. In StepCanary, click New check and name it after the scenario.
2. Choose how often it should run (see "Which settings should I pick?" below) and create it.
3. Leave the check page open. It shows your ping URL and "Listening for your first ping…".

2. Add the module

1. Open the scenario in the Make editor.
2. Click the + after the last module.
3. Search for HTTP and choose Make a request.

3. Copy these settings

Field names vary slightly between versions of Make's HTTP app. If yours shows "Body content type" and "Body input method," choose application/json and a raw JSON body.

4. Test it

1. Click Run once.
2. Look at the StepCanary check page. Within a couple of seconds it changes to "Connected! First ping received".
3. Save the scenario and make sure its schedule is on.

StepCanary sends no alerts until the first ping has arrived.

Which settings should I pick?

If your scenario runs on a schedule but only reaches the last module when there is data (for example the trigger returns no bundles), the ping only happens on runs that had something to do. Either pick an interval that allows for quiet runs, or put the HTTP module on a route that always executes.

Watch the data too (optional, Pro)

To be told when a mapped field goes blank or missing:

1. Change Request content to include the fields you care about, mapping values from earlier modules:

   {"email": "{{1.email}}", "order_id": "{{1.id}}", "total": {{1.total}}}

   Put text values in quotes and leave numbers unquoted.

2. In StepCanary, edit the check and turn on "Alert me when the data it sends changes shape".

StepCanary only looks at field names and whether each is filled in, blank or a different type. It never stores the values. If a mapped text value contains a quote or line break the JSON can break; StepCanary still counts the ping and shows a "Malformed payload" note. To avoid that, set Body type to Application/x-www-form-urlencoded and add the fields as key/value rows instead.

Report failures right away (optional)

1. Right-click the module most likely to fail and choose Add error handler.
2. On the error route, add another HTTP → Make a request module with the same settings, but the URL …/p/your-token/fail.
3. End the error route with the directive you normally use (e.g. Break or Rollback).

StepCanary then alerts as soon as the error route runs, instead of waiting for pings to stop.

Troubleshooting