How to Run a Make.com Scenario on a Custom Schedule with Cronhooks
How to Run a Make.com Scenario on a Custom Schedule
Short answer: Add a webhook module as the trigger in your Make.com scenario, copy the webhook URL it generates, then create a recurring schedule in Cronhooks pointing at that URL. Cronhooks calls it on whatever cron schedule you set. Your scenario runs exactly when you want it to — no coding required.
Why not just use Make.com's built-in scheduler?
Make.com has a built-in scheduling option, but it's limited:
- Minimum interval is 15 minutes on most plans
- You can't use cron expressions for precise scheduling (e.g. "every weekday at 8:45am")
- You can't easily run the same scenario at different times on different days
- There's no way to trigger a scenario from an external event or another system
Cronhooks solves all of these. You get full cron expression control, execution logs, and failure alerts — while Make.com handles all the actual automation logic you've already built.
What we'll build
A Make.com scenario triggered on a precise recurring schedule. The example is a weekly report that runs every Monday at 7am — pulling data from a Google Sheet, formatting it, and emailing it to a team. The same approach works for any scenario you've already built, including:
- Sending scheduled Slack or Teams messages
- Syncing CRM records on a fixed interval
- Posting to social media at specific times
- Running data cleanup or archiving jobs
- Triggering nightly backups
Prerequisites
- A Make.com account (any plan, including free)
- A Cronhooks account — free tier works for this guide
- An existing Make.com scenario, or follow along to build one
Step 1: Add a webhook trigger to your Make.com scenario
Open your scenario in Make.com. If it already has a trigger (like a scheduled trigger or another app module), you'll replace it with a webhook. If you're starting fresh, this is your first module.
- Click the + button to add a module (or click the existing trigger to replace it)
- Search for Webhooks
- Select Custom Webhook
- Click Add to create a new webhook
- Give it a name — something like
Cronhooks - Weekly Report - Click Save
Make.com will generate a unique webhook URL. It looks like this:
https://hook.eu2.make.com/abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890
Copy this URL — you'll paste it into Cronhooks in a moment.
Tip: Click Run once in Make.com after setting up the webhook. Make.com will wait for an incoming request to determine the data structure. You can trigger this manually in Step 3 to complete the setup.
Step 2: Build out the rest of your scenario
With the webhook as your trigger, connect the rest of your scenario modules as normal. For the weekly report example:
- Google Sheets → Get Range — fetch this week's data
- Text Aggregator — format it into a readable summary
- Gmail → Send an Email — deliver it to the team
The webhook module will receive whatever JSON body Cronhooks sends (more on that below) and make it available as variables throughout your scenario.
Once your scenario is complete, turn it on using the toggle in the bottom left of the scenario editor.
Step 3: Create a recurring schedule in Cronhooks
Log in to Cronhooks and create a new schedule.
Webhook URL:
https://hook.eu2.make.com/abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890
(paste your actual Make.com webhook URL here)
Method: POST
Headers:
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
Content-Type |
application/json |
Body (optional):
You can pass contextual data to your scenario as a JSON body. Make.com will expose these as variables inside your webhook module:
{
"trigger": "cronhooks",
"schedule": "weekly-report",
"timestamp": "{{now}}"
}
Or leave the body empty if your scenario doesn't need any input data.
Schedule: Recurring
Cron expression: 0 7 * * 1
(every Monday at 7:00 AM)
Timezone: Select your timezone — Cronhooks converts to UTC automatically.
Click Save. Cronhooks will now call your Make.com webhook every Monday at 7am, which triggers your scenario automatically.
Common cron expressions for Make.com scenarios
| Schedule | Cron expression |
|---|---|
| Every day at 8am | 0 8 * * * |
| Every weekday at 9am | 0 9 * * 1-5 |
| Every Monday at 7am | 0 7 * * 1 |
| Every hour | 0 * * * * |
| Every 15 minutes | */15 * * * * |
| Every Sunday at midnight | 0 0 * * 0 |
| First day of every month | 0 0 1 * * |
| Twice a day (8am and 6pm) | 0 8,18 * * * |
Not sure your expression is right? Paste it into crontab.guru to read it in plain English before saving.
Step 4: Test the setup end to end
In Cronhooks, open your schedule and click Trigger now. This fires the webhook immediately.
Switch back to Make.com. You should see your scenario's execution appear in the History tab at the bottom of the scenario editor. Click it to inspect the run — confirm the webhook received the payload and each module executed successfully.
If Make.com didn't receive the request, double-check: - The webhook URL in Cronhooks matches exactly what Make.com generated - Your scenario is turned on (the toggle in the bottom-left of the editor) - Make.com is not in Run once listening mode (which only accepts one request then stops)
How to secure your Make.com webhook
By default, Make.com webhook URLs are secret by obscurity — anyone who knows the URL can trigger your scenario. For most use cases that's fine, but if your scenario performs sensitive actions, you can add a basic check.
Option 1: Add a secret token to the URL
Make.com lets you append a custom query parameter to the webhook URL:
https://hook.eu2.make.com/abc123?secret=your-secret-token
In Cronhooks, paste this full URL (including the query param). In your Make.com scenario, add a Router or Filter after the webhook module that checks {{1.secret}} equals your expected value. If it doesn't match, stop the scenario.
Option 2: Use an IP allowlist
Make.com supports IP filtering on paid plans. Cronhooks publishes its outbound IP addresses — you can restrict your webhook to only accept requests from those IPs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Cronhooks with Make.com on the free plan?
Yes. Make.com's free plan supports custom webhooks. Cronhooks' free plan supports ad-hoc scheduling. For recurring schedules (which this guide uses), you'll need Cronhooks' Startup plan — it's $5/month and supports up to 100 recurring schedules.
What's the minimum interval I can use?
With Cronhooks, you can run a Make.com scenario as frequently as every minute (* * * * *). Make.com itself may throttle execution depending on your plan's operation limits, but Cronhooks will call the webhook on schedule regardless.
Can I trigger the same Make.com scenario on multiple different schedules?
Yes. Create multiple Cronhooks schedules all pointing at the same Make.com webhook URL. For example, you might run a light sync every hour and a full sync every night. Pass a different JSON body from each schedule so your scenario knows which mode to run in.
What happens if Make.com is down when Cronhooks fires?
Cronhooks will receive a non-2xx response (or a timeout) and log it as a failed execution. You'll get an email or Slack alert so you know to investigate. Cronhooks does not automatically retry, so you can manually re-trigger the schedule once Make.com recovers.
Can I pass dynamic data to my Make.com scenario from Cronhooks?
Yes — anything in the Cronhooks request body is available in your Make.com webhook module as variables. You can pass date ranges, report types, recipient lists, or any other parameters that control how your scenario behaves.
My Make.com scenario already has a scheduled trigger — do I need to remove it?
Yes. A scenario can only have one trigger module. Replace your existing scheduled trigger with the Custom Webhook module. Your scenario logic stays exactly the same — only the trigger changes.
Summary
To run a Make.com scenario on a custom schedule:
- Replace or add a Custom Webhook trigger in your Make.com scenario
- Copy the webhook URL Make.com generates
- Turn your scenario on
- Create a recurring schedule in Cronhooks with that URL and your cron expression
- Click Trigger now to test it end to end
From that point, Cronhooks fires the webhook on schedule and Make.com runs your scenario. No code, no infrastructure, full execution history.
Start scheduling for free on Cronhooks →