How to Bypass Cloudflare Protection: A Guide for Make.com Users

Problem: Cloudflare Blocking File Download Access

We recently encountered a problem while trying to move/upload an audio file from Podio to Google Drive. The audio file was stored as a URL to a WAV file on a remote server that belongs to SmrtPhone. The scenario was working, but it could not download the file from SmrtPhone. Instead, it downloaded a text file that contained an HTML error page. It seemed like SmrtPhone had Cloudflare protecting its servers and Cloudflare just wasn’t letting Make.com through to download the file.

Solution: Bypassing Cloudflare

After some investigation, we found a solution. SmrtPhone advised us to replace the URL with a Twilio one to bypass Cloudflare. So, we replaced 'rec.phone.smrt.studio' with 'api.twilio.com' in the URL string while preserving the rest of the URL. We used the replace() function to achieve this.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Identify the URL that is being blocked by Cloudflare.
  2. Find an alternative URL that bypasses the Cloudflare protection. In our case, we used a Twilio URL.
  3. Use the replace() function to replace the original URL with the alternative URL. The syntax is: replace("original URL"; "part of the original URL to replace"; "new part of the URL").
  4. Test the new URL to ensure that it works and bypasses the Cloudflare protection.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you're still encountering issues, try the following:

  • Ensure that you've correctly identified the part of the URL that needs to be replaced.
  • Check that the alternative URL is correct and bypasses the Cloudflare protection.
  • Make sure that you've correctly used the replace() function.

Conclusion

Cloudflare is a common tool used to protect servers, but it can sometimes block legitimate access. By finding an alternative URL and using the replace() function, we were able to bypass the Cloudflare protection and successfully download the file. We hope this guide helps other Make.com users who encounter a similar problem.

You do have further questions?

Ask your question via E-Mail: Richard@make-app.de
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