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> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
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# 🤖 Can I use external apps like Zapier, Make or n8n to update synced data?

| **Need help with Airtable? We’ve launched SyncBase Studio to assist you! Feel free to reach out at** [theau@syncbase.app](mailto:theau@syncbase.app) **💬**

External tools like Zapier, Make, n8n and others are great to automate workflows — but when it comes to editing data in your synced Airtable base, there are some limitations.

**Airtable does not trigger the kind of webhook we need** when a change is made by an external app. That means SyncBase cannot detect or sync these changes to Shopify.

# What’s possible (and what’s not)

### You cannot

* Use external apps to update tabs and columns **synced by SyncBase**, and expect the change to be pushed to Shopify.
* Even if Zapier or Make successfully updates a value in Airtable, **SyncBase won’t see the change**, so nothing will be synced.

### You can

* Use Airtable automations, scripts and AI (including Shopify synced data with SyncBase).
* Use these external apps to edit or create records in **non-synced tabs or custom columns** you’ve added manually to your synced base. This gives you flexibility to build advanced workflows — as long as they don’t modify the core synced data directly.
* You **can** use external apps to read and pull data from synced tabs — just not to push data into them.

# Recommended workaround: use a staging tab

Here’s a good way to structure your workflow: 

1. Create a new **staging tab** (not synced by SyncBase). See our [complete guide on staging tab](https://help.syncbase.app/en/article/how-to-create-a-staging-environment-within-airtable-15uxqc5/).
2. Use Zapier, Make or any external tool to edit or create records in this staging tab.
3. Once the data is ready, set up an **Airtable automation** to move or copy the values into your synced tab/columns.
This way, the final step (moving data into a synced tab) is done from within Airtable — which **does trigger** a proper webhook and lets SyncBase sync it to Shopify.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/5/e/8/35e84c43b53ca800/using-external-apps-with-syncb_15bbxkl.png =700x233)