How to import a Make blueprint (and fix "invalid JSON" and missing-connection errors)

By Oz Shamo · Updated 2026-09-29 · Get guides by email · YouTube · Telegram

Import a Make blueprint in six clicks, fill in the {{PLACEHOLDERS}}, connect accounts and test with Run once. Plus fixes for a file that will not import.

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A Make blueprint is a scenario saved as a .json file. Import it and you get the whole scenario — every module, setting and mapping — without building it. It is how the free automations on this site are delivered, and how consultants move a working scenario between client accounts. This page is the import procedure in the current Make editor, what the file does and does not contain, our placeholder convention, and the errors people hit, with the fix for each. Menu names were checked against Make's help center and editor on 29 September 2026.

Import a blueprint, step by step

1. Log in to Make and click "Scenarios" in the left menu.
2. Click "+ Create a new scenario" (top right). An empty editor opens with one grey module in the middle.
3. Open the three-dot menu ("⋯"). In the current editor it sits in the toolbar at the top right of the canvas; in the older layout the same menu is in the toolbar along the bottom, next to the Run once button. It contains "Import blueprint" and "Export blueprint".
4. Click "Import blueprint".
5. Click "Choose File", select the .json file you downloaded, and click "Save".
6. The modules appear on the canvas. Click "Save" (the disk icon) so nothing is lost while you configure them.

Two rules from Make's help page: the file must be .json and at most 2 MB (our blueprints are under 20 KB), and "If you import a blueprint while editing another scenario that hasn't been saved, all the changes in that scenario will be lost." Always import into a new, empty scenario.

What a blueprint contains — and what it cannot

The reason is simple: the file is portable. Connections are tokens tied to one Make account, and a webhook URL belongs to one scenario. That is why every module with a connection shows a red mark after import — it is waiting for you, not broken.

Our placeholder convention: {{LIKE_THIS}}

Every blueprint on this site has the values you must supply written as an all-capitals token inside double braces, for example {{LEADS_SPREADSHEET_ID}}, {{SHEET_NAME}} or {{TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}}. Make displays such a token as an unknown variable — a red or grey chip in the field. That is expected. The README in the blueprint pack lists the placeholders for each file under "Fill in after import".

• Replace the whole token, braces included, with your value: {{TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}} becomes -1001234567890.
• Do not touch tokens that start with a number or a function name: {{1.name}}, {{3.`0`}} and {{formatDate(addDays(now; -7); "YYYY-MM-DD")}} are Make's own mappings and must stay exactly as they are.
• A placeholder left in place does not fail on save. It fails on the first run, with an error such as Google Sheets' "Requested entity was not found" — because Make asked Google for a spreadsheet literally named {{LEADS_SPREADSHEET_ID}}.

After the import: connections, webhooks, values

1. Click each module with a red mark. In the "Connection" field click "Add" (or "Create a connection"), sign in, allow. One connection per app per account is enough; reuse it in the other modules.
2. If the first module is a Custom webhook, click it → "Add" → give the webhook a name → Save. Copy the address it shows; that is what you paste into your form tool.
3. Open every module named in the README and replace its placeholders. For Google Sheets, re-select the spreadsheet and sheet from the dropdown once the connection exists — it rewrites the ID for you.
4. Save the scenario.

Verify with a manual run before switching on

1. Click "Run once" (bottom-left).
2. If the trigger is a webhook, the scenario now waits: submit a test on the form, or send a request to the webhook address. If the trigger is scheduled (a search or a watch), it runs immediately.
3. Each module shows a bubble with a number: how many bundles passed. Click a bubble to read exactly what went in and out. A red bubble is an error — its text tells you which field is wrong.
4. Open the sheet, the chat or the inbox and confirm the result arrived where you expected.
5. Only then switch the Scheduling toggle (bottom-left) to ON.

Errors and their fixes

"Invalid JSON", or the import does nothing

The file is not the file Make exported. The common ways this happens: it was copied from a web page and pasted into a text editor (truncated, or with the page's quotes turned into curly "smart quotes"); it was opened in Word or Notes and re-saved; the browser saved it as .txt or added a second extension; or it was generated by an AI tool that produced plausible-looking but invalid structure. Make's community moderators also note there is no error feedback in the editor for a bad file — the import simply fails silently (January 2026).

• Re-download the .json from the automation page with the download button; do not copy-paste its contents.
• Open it in a plain-text editor. The first character must be { and the last }, and the file must contain "flow" and "metadata" near the top or bottom. If either is missing, the file was edited.
• Check the filename ends in .json only — not .json.txt.
• Pasting JSON onto the canvas with Ctrl+V is not import. Paste only works for modules copied from another Make scenario; a blueprint file goes through "Import blueprint".

Valid JSON, but nothing loads

The file parses but is not a blueprint — someone removed a part Make needs. From a community thread (August 2025): "The file contains valid JSON, but not a valid Make blueprint. It appears that someone has removed a few crucial parts that defines it as a blueprint export format." Ask for an unmodified export, or download the file again.

Modules with a red exclamation mark

Missing connection. Expected after every import; see the steps above. If you already added the connection and the mark stays, open the module — a required field below the connection is empty, usually a placeholder you have not replaced.

"Requested entity was not found" (Google Sheets) or "chat not found" (Telegram)

A placeholder is still in the field, or the value is wrong. For Google Sheets, re-select the spreadsheet from the dropdown. For Telegram, check the chat ID including its minus sign — the guide on Telegram chat IDs below covers every case.

The module looks different from the tutorial

Make versions its apps. A blueprint exported from an old Gmail module opens with the legacy module, which behaves differently and, for personal @gmail.com accounts, demands a custom OAuth client. Our blueprints are kept on the current versions — Gmail v4, Google Sheets v2, Telegram Bot v1 as of 29 September 2026 — and each automation page says when the file was last imported into our own account.

Three blueprints to try it on

Each has a page with the sheet template, the exact placeholders and what does not work in it. The lead alert is the best first import: three modules, one webhook, a result you can see on your phone within a minute.

All 21 blueprints in one ZIP, with the READMEThe blueprint pack arrives by email; the individual files stay free on each automation page

Still broken? Check these three things

• The file itself: size under 2 MB, extension .json, first character {, contains "flow". If any of these fail, the download is the problem, not Make.
• Where you are importing: a new, empty scenario, via the three-dot menu → "Import blueprint" → "Choose File" → "Save". Not Ctrl+V on the canvas, not the templates gallery.
• The first red module: open it and read the field under the connection. Nine times out of ten it is a placeholder in braces waiting for your value.

1. Make Help Center — Scenario blueprints (import/export steps, 2 MB limit, unsaved-changes warning, connections not included; updated 1 June 2026)
2. Make Community — "Importing Blueprints: pasting into scenario editor; display invalid JSON errors" (January 2026)
3. Make Community — "I tried to import a JSON blueprint and I receive no error but nothing loads" (August 2025)
4. Make Help Center — New Gmail app is now available (V4; updated 19 January 2026)
5. Make — Pricing (Free plan limits)

Next step

All automations →

DUPLICATE CHECK

Returning lead → recognised → "second contact", not "new lead"

A returning lead is greeted as new. Before logging, the phone is checked against the log; if it is there, the alert says "came back", not "new lead".

MakeGoogle SheetsTelegramTally4 ops/run✓ imported in Make

MISSING INFO

Form arrives incomplete → an email asking for exactly what is missing

A lead without a phone, an order without an address. Instead of someone chasing, one email lists the missing fields; the lead is logged as "incomplete".

MakeGoogle SheetsGmailTally3 ops/run✓ imported in Make

AUTO WELCOME

New client → welcome email → onboarding checklist → alert

A client signs and hears nothing until someone is free. On signing, they get an email saying what comes next, a checklist opens and the team is alerted.

MakeGmailGoogle SheetsTelegramTally4 ops/run✓ imported in Make

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