Make.com Webhook Queue Explained

Every incoming webhook in Make.com lands in a queue before a scenario ever processes it. Most of the time that queue drains instantly and you never think about it. Then a burst of events arrives faster than your scenario can process them, the queue starts backing up, and you are staring at a growing number in the webhook's Events Received counter wondering why data is showing up late or not at all.

I run into this most often on client accounts connecting a voice agent or a form provider that can send a burst of events at once, rather than one at a time. This post covers what the Make.com webhook queue actually is, how instant triggers differ from scheduled ones, when parallel processing helps and when it hurts, and how to clear a backlog once it has already built up.

What Is the Make.com Webhook Queue?

Every webhook you create in Make.com is tied to a queue. Incoming data always lands in that queue first, regardless of your scenario's Data is Confidential setting, and it stays there until a scenario run processes it. Once processed, the entry is permanently deleted from the queue. If your scenario is inactive, or already busy with a run and configured to wait for it to finish, incoming webhook data simply piles up in the queue until something processes it.

You can check a webhook's queue directly from the Webhooks section of the Make interface. Each webhook shows an Events Received count, and clicking into it shows you what is actually waiting.

Instant vs Scheduled Webhooks

A webhook trigger in Make.com is an instant trigger by definition. The moment an event lands in the queue, Make attempts to start a scenario run for it right away, rather than waiting for a scheduled interval the way a polling-based trigger does. This is the whole point of using a webhook instead of a scheduled check: near-zero delay between the event happening and your automation reacting to it.

The queue exists specifically to handle the gap between "event arrived" and "scenario is free to process it." If your scenario is idle, that gap is close to zero. If it is not, the queue is what holds the data safely until it can be.

Parallel Processing

By default, Make processes webhook-triggered scenario runs in parallel. If five events land in the queue close together, Make can kick off multiple scenario executions at roughly the same time rather than forcing each one to wait for the previous run to finish completely. For most use cases, this is exactly what you want. A burst of form submissions or CRM events should not have to wait in a strict single-file line if there is no reason they need to.

Process Data in Order

Make also gives you an explicit setting called Process Data in Order, found under a scenario's advanced settings. When enabled, it applies to both scheduled runs and webhooks, and it changes parallel processing into strict sequential processing: each run has to finish completely before the next one starts, and if there is an incomplete execution sitting unresolved, no new runs begin until it is cleared.

This is a deliberate trade-off, not a free upgrade. You gain guaranteed ordering, which matters when a later event depends on an earlier one having already been written somewhere, like updating a running balance or checking whether a record already exists before creating it. You lose throughput, because a single slow or stuck run now blocks everything behind it.

Why Webhook Queues Back Up

The queue grows whenever events are arriving faster than your scenario can clear them. The most common causes I see on client accounts: Process Data in Order is enabled and one execution is taking unusually long or has stalled, the scenario itself is inactive while the webhook keeps receiving live traffic, a burst of events arrives all at once from something like a bulk import or a retry storm on the sending side, or an individual run is hitting an external API rate limit and sitting in a retry loop instead of completing.

A queue that grows slowly and steadily usually points to raw volume outpacing your operations budget or execution speed. A queue that spikes suddenly and then sits there almost always points to Process Data in Order being on and one specific run being stuck.

Queue Limits

Make does not process an unlimited backlog gracefully forever. If a webhook's queue grows large enough, delayed processing becomes the visible symptom, since new events genuinely have to wait behind everything ahead of them, particularly under Process Data in Order. Treat a large, non-shrinking queue as an incident to investigate rather than something that will quietly sort itself out, since the underlying cause (a stuck execution, a rate limit, an inactive scenario) generally will not resolve on its own.

How to Clear a Backlog

Start by checking whether the scenario is active at all. An inactive scenario with an active webhook is the single most common reason a queue balloons, since events keep arriving with nothing consuming them.

If the scenario is active, check the execution history for incomplete or stuck runs. Under Process Data in Order, a single incomplete execution blocks every run behind it until you resolve it, so this is usually where to look first. Resolve or discard the stuck execution and watch whether the queue starts draining.

If neither of those is the issue and you genuinely have more volume than the scenario can process, consider whether ordering actually matters for this specific webhook. If it does not, turning off Process Data in Order restores parallel processing and lets Make clear the backlog far faster, since runs stop waiting on each other. Make.com Error Handling Tutorial covers how to build retry and error branches so a single failing step does not become a queue-blocking incident again.

Preventing Future Backlogs

Only enable Process Data in Order when you have an actual ordering dependency, not as a default setting. For anything without one, parallel processing is faster and does not carry the single-stuck-run risk.

Keep individual scenario runs fast. If a run makes several sequential API calls, batch them where the target API supports it, and move anything that does not need to happen before Make responds to the webhook into a separate downstream step. Make.com HTTP Module Tutorial covers structuring HTTP calls efficiently within a scenario.

For webhooks fed by something that can burst, like a voice agent platform or a form tool sending several events in quick succession, design the scenario to handle that burst rather than assuming events will always trickle in one at a time. Make.com Webhook Tutorial covers the core webhook trigger setup this builds on, and if you are using Make as a persistent counter or lookup layer to avoid reprocessing the same event twice, Make.com Data Store Tutorial covers that pattern.

Finally, set up a Make Error trigger scenario if you have not already. It will alert you the moment a run starts failing repeatedly, which is usually the earliest warning sign of a queue that is about to back up.

If you are running into webhook queue backlogs on a live Make.com automation, or need help deciding whether a specific scenario actually needs strict ordering, that is exactly the kind of reliability work I take on for clients. Book a free 30-minute call and bring the scenario, and we can work through the fix together.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Make.com webhook queue?

It is where incoming webhook data lands the moment it arrives, before a scenario run processes it. Once processed, the entry is deleted from the queue. If nothing is consuming events, they sit in the queue and build up.

Why is my Make webhook queue full?

Usually one of: the scenario is inactive while the webhook is still receiving traffic, Process Data in Order is enabled and one run is stuck or unusually slow, or a genuine burst of events arrived faster than the scenario can process them.

How do I clear a Make webhook queue?

Check first that the scenario is active. Then check execution history for a stuck or incomplete run, since under Process Data in Order a single stuck execution blocks everything behind it. Resolve that run and the queue should start draining.

Does Make process webhooks in parallel?

Yes, by default. Make can run multiple webhook-triggered executions at roughly the same time rather than forcing strict single-file processing, unless you explicitly enable Process Data in Order.

How do I process Make webhooks in order?

Enable Process Data in Order in the scenario's advanced settings. This applies to webhooks as well as scheduled runs, and forces each execution to finish before the next one starts.

What happens when a Make webhook queue is full?

New events wait behind everything already queued, and under Process Data in Order that wait can stretch out significantly if a run is stuck. It does not resolve itself if the underlying cause is a stalled execution or a rate limit.

Should I always enable Process Data in Order to be safe?

No. It is a genuine trade-off. Only enable it when a later event actually depends on an earlier one having already completed. Otherwise it turns a single slow run into a bottleneck for everything queued behind it.

If you would rather have this fixed than fix it yourself, I take on Make.com reliability and automation work through Fiverr.