My Automation Love Story: Bash, Power Automate, Make and More
Published: November 7, 2025 • 8 min read
I remember that day so well, not the date, just the day that I learned to use the terminal for the first time.
You see, when I chose to study Computer Science, I looked forward to the day when I would be able to do the cool stuff I saw on TV. You know when you watch a movie and you see programmers or hackers typing really fast on a black window, usually with green or yellow text, a few times white text as well.
So the day I learned how to communicate with my computer from the terminal was the first day I felt closest to being like the cool programmers I saw on TV. The first workflow I established with this newfound knowledge was creating folders and subfolders to organize my schoolwork. If you know me, you know I like to keep things, everything actually, organized. Of course, when I was in University, this meant keeping my schoolwork organized.
I had a folder on my computer called 'University Folder'. At the start of each semester, I would 'cd' into this folder and run the mkdir command to create a new folder for that semester. Something like 2022_FALL or 2023_WINTER. Then I'd cd into that folder and create more directories for each course I'd be taking. Usually 5 courses per semester. Then I'd run more mkdir commands to create folders for Week_1, Week_2... down to Week_12 in each of these folders. And that was it, a simpler, faster way to create folders on my computer rather than copying, pasting, and renaming. I loved it!
Now if you are reading this and are really technical, you probably know that there are even more efficient ways to accomplish the above with more sophisticated bash commands or even just creating a script and passing the relevant variables (in this case, the semester folder name and courses I am taking). I learned soon enough about these more sophisticated approaches, but the process above had become a tradition for me in a way. This simple process was a way of preparing my brain to transition from holiday mode to 'back to school' mode, especially after a summer break.
From School Scripts to Real Business Impact
Since then, I've gone on to create multiple complex automation workflows, from a combination of schoolwork to my internships. I've worked with more sophisticated Linux/bash commands and bash scripts as part of school assignments and projects. I've even created automation workflows that integrated multiple applications and services together with Power Automate. My first exposure to Power Automate was during my first internship at Cambium Inc. Now I was no longer creating automation workflows to solve assignment problems. I was creating complex workflows that connected multiple tools in the Microsoft Suite.
My notable projects were a Vacation Request System where I created workflows to allow communication between Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Outlook Calendar, and SharePoint. The system automated the entire approval routing process, automatically updating calendars when requests were approved, sending notifications to managers and HR, and maintaining a centralized record in SharePoint. It served over 100 employees and significantly reduced the time spent processing vacation requests.
I also created a field data collection tool using primarily Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, and SharePoint. Field workers could input data directly from their mobile devices, and the automation workflows would validate the data, route it to the appropriate departments, and generate reports automatically.
The nice thing about Power Automate is how it is so powerful yet it hides behind the scenes. When a person sees and uses a Power Apps application, they don't see the numerous automation systems (often built with Power Automate in this case) working behind the scenes to keep things running. Anyways, that's the brief version of the story of my first application of automation in a real business scenario using a low-code application.
How I Learned About Make
You must be tired of me talking about my French journey by now, but hey, I've got to give you the full context. In that blog post, I mentioned that I had reached a point where I knew I had to find a new tutor. In the process, I tested out multiple tutors and eventually found this guy who I'm still learning with till this day.
But there is another really good tutor I did not mention in that post. When I found him, his hourly rate was set very high, but he had such good reviews I wanted to give it a shot. In our first lesson, he learned that I was a student and did not have a job yet and was even kind enough to offer me a 20% discount. I only had about 5 classes with him though, as I quickly realized that I needed a lot of classes and could not keep up with his rate.
However, in one of our classes, after he learned that I graduated with a Computer Science degree, he told me to look into and learn Make, Zapier, and Cursor. Cursor is a coding IDE, just like Visual Studio Code, but with a dedicated AI agent to assist with coding. Make and Zapier are tools for creating automated workflows. If you've worked with Power Automate, think of Make and Zapier as similar to them, except you are not restricted to connecting just Microsoft 365 applications.
They help you create workflows across multiple, multiple tools from Google Workspace (Gmail, Sheets, Drive), communication platforms like Slack and Discord, databases like Airtable and Notion, payment processors like Stripe and PayPal, CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, and even AI services like OpenAI and Claude API. Basically, if an app has an API, chances are you can connect it with Make or Zapier.
As I saw that they were very similar, it became obvious to me that I just had to choose one of them to learn.
Why I Chose Make (And No, It's Not Because It's Purple)
As I started doing my research and comparing these tools, it became apparent that Make was the right one for me to learn. Here's what I discovered:
The Visual Workflow Builder: Make's interface uses a drag-and-drop canvas where you can see your entire automation workflow laid out visually. Coming from Power Automate, this felt incredibly familiar and intuitive. I could see exactly how data flowed through my scenarios, where branches occurred, and how different modules connected. Zapier's step-by-step interface is simpler, but Make's visual approach gives you so much more control and clarity when building complex workflows.
The Price Point: This was huge for me. Make's Core plan offers 10,000 operations for $9/month, while Zapier's Professional plan costs $19.99/month for just 750 tasks. That's almost 30x more value per action with Make. For someone like me who's building portfolio projects and experimenting with automation, Make's pricing meant I could do significantly more without worrying about hitting task limits. Even their free plan offers 1,000 operations compared to Zapier's 100 tasks.
Advanced Features in Lower Tiers: Make offers multi-step workflows, webhooks, and advanced error handling even in its free and lower-tier plans. With Zapier, many of these features are locked behind higher-priced tiers. I wanted to learn and experiment with complex automation scenarios without having to pay premium prices just to access basic features.
The Learning Curve Was Worth It: Yes, Make has a steeper learning curve than Zapier. The visual builder can feel overwhelming at first. But here's the thing, I didn't want to learn just enough to automate simple tasks. I wanted to truly understand automation at a deeper level. Make forces you to think about your workflows more carefully, to understand data structures, to handle errors properly, and to be efficient with managing operations and credit. That complexity? It's actually an investment in becoming better at automation.
Customization and Control: Make excels at handling complex logic, data transformations, and branching workflows. You can use iterators to process multiple records simultaneously, aggregators to merge data, routers to create conditional paths, and even custom API requests to connect apps that aren't officially supported. This level of control reminded me of the satisfaction I got from writing bash scripts, where you have complete freedom to design exactly what you need.
So I dedicated some time to complete the Make Academy course, and it was fun! All five certifications actually! It reminded me a lot of Power Automate! As I went through the course, I immediately knew I wanted to build projects with it to add to my portfolio, and I am actually currently working on one that would require more robust workflows, unlike the simple workflows in version 1.0 of the French Writing Playground application. I'll be writing a blog post about this new project soon, so stay tuned!
The Magic Behind the Scenes: Seeing Systems Differently
Over the past 4 years of learning and working with different automation tools, I have come to appreciate its relevance in modern society. I get so excited when I see an inefficient process because my brain starts to do its thing, you know, picturing ways I can use the tools I know about to make that system efficient.
You know, it's really nice to know and learn about these 'behind the scenes' tools. When people use an application and they see a dialog box with 2 options to choose from that leads to multiple paths or behaviors within that system, I see something completely different. I see a router module with a conditional if statement or switch statement determining which path to take.
When someone fills out a form and receives an instant confirmation email, followed by notifications to multiple team members, and data being logged in three different places simultaneously, most people just see "it works." But I see a trigger catching the form submission, a series of parallel actions executing simultaneously, data being transformed and validated, conditional logic routing information to the right people, and error handlers ensuring nothing breaks if one service is temporarily down.
It's like being able to see the Matrix, honestly. Every smooth user experience, every "it just works" moment, every seamless integration between apps, I can see the automation architecture supporting it. And the best part? I can build it too.
I promise you, it's really cool to see things from this perspective!
A Love Story That Never Left the Honeymoon Stage
Many love stories start off with a honeymoon stage, then as the people (or people and automation tools) involved become more familiar with each other, the honeymoon stage goes away. The excitement fades. The magic becomes routine.
I've never left the honeymoon stage with automation, and I don't think I ever will.
Every time I create a workflow that saves someone hours of manual work, I feel that same rush I felt when I first learned to use mkdir in the terminal. Every time I connect two apps that previously required manual data transfer, I get that same satisfaction. Every time I see a complex process that could be automated, my brain lights up with possibilities.
From those simple bash commands creating semester folders in university to building enterprise automation systems serving hundreds of users at Cambium Inc, to now experimenting with Make and building projects for my portfolio, automation has been my constant companion. It's the through line in my technical journey.
And honestly? I think we're just getting started. With AI integration, low-code platforms becoming more powerful, and the explosion of APIs and webhooks, the possibilities for automation are only expanding. The honeymoon continues, and I'm here for every moment of it.
Thanks for reading!