03 - The Utilities for the Engine

FIELD NOTE // AWS S3

03 - The Utilities for the Engine

Written by Matteo Cavalli

AWS S3 Telegram Bot Make.com Automation

AWS S3

As explained in The Warehouse chapter, all our flyers live in Google Drive. However, I hit a major technical roadblock: even with a sharable link for every image, that URL is not supported by Instagram APIs to create posts.

To automate the posting, I needed a hosting solution that was:

  • Compatible with Instagram APIs
  • Cost-Effective providing a Free Tier.
  • Integrable: Perfectly compatible Make.com.

The Search for the Perfect Host

I experimented with three different image-hosting services, but they all had the same problem: as soon as the project scaled, I hit their Free Tier limits within days.

That’s when I turned to AWS S3. Just like Lambda, S3 offers a generous Free Tier that provided exactly what I needed: a professional-grade environment to host my “Production”.

The “Buffer” Strategy

I created a dedicated S3 Bucket to act as a temporary relay station:

  1. The Upload: When make.com start the process, it downloads the images and upload them to AWS S3.
  2. The Direct Link: S3 generates a unique, direct URL (e.g., https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/club_date.jpg) that Instagram’s API supports.
  3. The Lifecycle Rule: To stay within the Free Tier and avoid paying for storage I don’t need, I implemented a Lifecycle Policy. Every image in the bucket is automatically deleted after 3 days.

The Win

By using AWS S3 as a middleware, I eliminated all “Media Upload” errors. The transition from a private Google Drive to a public-ready Instagram post is now seamless, fast, and—most importantly—completely free.

Telegram Bot

Originally, I had a Telegram channel where I manually posted daily. It was time-consuming and prone to delays. To scale the operation, I built a custom Telegram Bot that acts as the “Voice” and the “Remote Control” of the entire ecosystem.

I integrated the bot into two distinct workflows:

1. The Public Notifier

Instead of me manually typing updates, the Automation Engine (Make.com) now uses the Bot API to broadcast messages automatically.

  • The Flow: Immediately after a successful Instagram post, the Bot sends a confirmation to the Telegram channel with the flyer and the event details.
  • The Result: The community stays updated in real-time, and I have visual confirmation that the automation worked perfectly.

2. The Private Command Center (DevOps & Manual Overrides)

I created a private, encrypted chat between myself and the Bot to manage the backend without opening a laptop.

  • Real-time Logging: If Make.com encounters an error (e.g., a missing file or an API timeout), the Bot sends me a “Critical Alert” instantly.
  • Custom Commands: I programmed specific Slash Commands (e.g., /post_now [ClubName]) that trigger Webhooks in Make.com.
  • The Benefit: This gives me the power to force a manual post directly from my phone while I’m on the move.

The Win

By centralizing logs and triggers into Telegram, I transformed a complex cloud infrastructure into a conversational interface. I don’t need to monitor AWS CloudWatch or Make.com dashboards all day—the system tells me when it needs attention.

Make.com logic

To keep the automation efficient and avoid wasting “operation tokens” in the Make.com Free Tier, I centralized all the logic inside Google Sheets.

Instead of making the AI or the automation “think,” I prepared three specialized sheets that do the heavy lifting: DaysOpenings, Make, and Tags.

1. DaysOpenings Sheet

This sheet acts as a real-time map of all events across different cities.

  • The Logic: Using Excel formulas, it filters the master “Clubs” list by city and opening days.
  • The Output: If a club is marked with a “Yes” for a specific day, the sheet automatically generates a clean, formatted list:
- Club Name — [Google Maps Link]
- Club Name — [Google Maps Link]
  • The Result: For every city and every day, we have a ready-to-use list of active parties.

2. Make Sheet

This is the “Control Room” that Make.com consults before taking any action. It manages three key functions:

  • The AutoPost Trigger: A smart cell that identifies which cities have active parties for tomorrow. Make.com reads this cell to know exactly which posts need to be created.
  • The Link History (Today/Tomorrow): When Make.com publishes a post, it writes the Instagram URL into the “Tomorrow” row. Every night at 1:00 AM, a Google AppScript automatically moves that link to the “Today” row. This ensures our links are always up to date.
  • The Message Builder: This cell automatically assembles the final message for Telegram and WhatsApp using a standardized template:
[City]

Date in italian | Date in English

Info: [Instagram Link]

[List of Clubs & Google Maps Links]

3. Tags Sheet

A simple but vital “database”. For every club (using the Short Name), this sheet stores a comma-separated list of Instagram tags.

  • Why? When the “Automation Engine” creates the post, it looks up this sheet to automatically tag the right instagram pages in the photo.

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