Build Your Own "Mini‑MCP" in Glide — No Code, Just Workflows

Short version: You can turn Glide into a simple “tool runner” using features you already have: Webhook‑triggered Workflows, Call API, Loops, and a Big Table to keep a clean audit trail. It’s a practical way to orchestrate external APIs from Glide without custom servers.

Who this is for?

Teams who want an approachable way to connect Glide to outside services (CRMs, help desks, docs, billing) and keep a record of every call—what was sent, where it went, and what came back—inside Glide.

What you’ll build?

A lightweight pattern with three parts:

• A Big Table that logs each API call (timestamp, endpoint, method, response code, response body, who triggered it).

• A Workflow you can trigger from a Webhook or an in‑app action. It uses Call API to talk to external services.

• Optional Loops to run the same action across a set of rows (think: “sync all new orders”).

This is all native Glide: Big Tables scale to millions of rows, Webhook‑triggered workflows accept POST requests, Call API handles headers/body and can store the response in your tables, and Loops process rows sequentially.

Why a Big Table for logs?

• Scale & reliability for high‑volume logs.

• Synchronous saves play nicely with workflows.

• Searchable history to troubleshoot, report, and learn.

Suggested columns (keep it simple to start):

• ts (Date/Time)

• actor (email or system)

• endpoint_url (text)

• method (choice)

• request_body (text/JSON)

• response_status (number)

• response_body (text/JSON)

• note / correlation_id (text)

Keep secrets out of tables. Use Secret values in Call API for tokens/keys and only log non‑sensitive context.

The workflow in Glide (3 steps)

1. Trigger

   • Use an in‑app action (button, form submit) or a Webhook‑triggered workflow with its unique URL. External tools can POST to that URL.

2. Call the API

   • Add a Call API step. Set Endpoint, Method, headers, and body. Use Secret values for anything sensitive. Choose a column to store the returned response body.

3. Log the run

   • Add a step to add a row to the Big Table with the timestamp, endpoint, method, request body (if appropriate), response status, and response body (or a short summary).

Want to run it for many rows? Add a Loop step that points at a table or filtered view. Glide will process each matching row sequentially. Use the Limit setting to keep runs predictable.

Real examples you can ship fast

• Create a support ticket from a Glide form and log the API result.

• Sync inventory nightly by looping through “changed since yesterday” rows.

• Post announcements to a chat tool when an admin publishes an update.

Each of these uses the same pattern: trigger → Call API → store the response → log the run.

Good defaults & guardrails

• Secrets stay secret: configure tokens as Secret values in Call API. Don’t store raw keys in tables.

• Right‑sized logs: store full responses only when you need them. Otherwise, keep a short message (status + ID).

• Idempotency helps: include a unique ID in requests when your external service supports it to avoid duplicates.

• Use Limits on Loops: start small (e.g., 10–50 rows per run) and scale up once you’re confident.

What you won’t need

• No custom servers to get started.

• No complex code—this is all configured in Glide’s editors.

Wrap‑up

With a Big Table for logs, a Webhook‑triggered (or in‑app) Workflow, and Call API, Glide becomes a simple, trustworthy hub for your integrations. Start with a single API (create a ticket, add a contact), log the results, then add Loops for bulk runs. As your needs grow, this same pattern scales without adding technical debt.