Sub-Zaps is a beta feature. It’s available for use, but still in active development and may change.
Available on plans:
Free
Pro
Team
Enterprise
Sub-Zap is a tool you can use to create a set of actions to re-use in multiple Zaps.
Using this tool doesn't count towards your task usage.
If you have multiple Zaps where you want to use an email address to:
- Look up a customer in Google Sheets.
- Find a contact in Pipedrive.
You can use a Sub-Zap to create those actions. Instead of adding those action steps to each Zap, you can use a single Call a Sub-Zap action to perform those actions.
1. Create a Sub-Zap
Sub-Zaps are created the same way that Zaps are created.
- Create a new Zap.
- In the Zap editor, click the Trigger step. A dialog box will open.
- In the App & event tab, search for and select Sub-Zap by Zapier.
- Click the Event dropdown menu and select the Start a Sub-Zap trigger.
- In the Trigger tab, enter one or more inputs in the Input/Argument List field.
- Click Continue.
- Inputs are the names of fields in your Zap that send the Sub-Zap data. Add any inputs that you’ll need to use in your Sub-Zap actions. If you want an input field to be required, add "required" anywhere in the name of the input.
- If you want to use real data in your Sub-Zap, you must create and test a Call a Sub-Zap action before testing the Sub-Zap trigger. Otherwise, default sample data is provided.
2. Add a Call a Sub-Zap action to your Zap
- In your Zap, click the Action step or click the plus + icon to add an action to your Zap. A dialog box will open.
- Search for and select Sub-Zap by Zapier.
- Click the Event dropdown menu and select the Call a Sub-Zap action. The right sidebar will open.
- In the Action tab, select your sub-Zap from the Select Your Sub-Zap dropdown menu.
- The input fields you created in your sub-Zap will appear. Set up the data that you want to send over to your Sub-Zap.
- Click Continue.
- In the Test tab, click Test step.
3. Test your Sub-Zap trigger
- In your Sub-Zap, select the Test tab.
- Click Test trigger.
4. Add actions to your Sub-Zap
You can add as many actions to your Sub-Zap as you want. All Sub-Zap actions will run each time the Sub-Zap is called by a Zap.
The Sub-Zap must end with a Return From a Sub-Zap action. This action collects the data to send back to your Zap.
- In your Sub-Zap, click the Action step or click the plus + icon to add an action to your Zap. A dialog box will open.
- Search for and select Sub-Zap by Zapier.
- Click the Event dropdown menu and select the Return From a Sub-Zap action. The right sidebar will open.
- In the Action tab, set up your outputs in the Output/Return Values field:
- In the field on the left, enter the output name.
- In the field on the right, click the field and select a field from a preceding action with the data you want to send to your Zap.
- Repeat this step for each output you want to send to your Zap.
- Click Continue.
- In the Test tab, click Test step.
If you add a Return From a Sub-Zap action to your Zap, it will return this error: "Did you fork or replay this step? We expected callbackUrl to be stored!" To prevent this error, only add a Return From a Sub-Zap action in your Sub-Zap.
Frequently asked questions
How many tasks does Sub-Zap by Zapier use?
Sub-Zaps steps do not count towards your task usage.
Why is my Sub-Zap stuck in a Waiting status?
If you see a Sub-Zap with a Waiting status in your Zap run history, a Filter or Path action in the Sub-Zap prevented the Sub-Zap from continuing. Any Zaps associated with your Sub-Zap won't continue past the Return from a Sub-Zap action.
Learn more about Sub-Zap example workflows.
Limitations of Sub-Zap by Zapier
There are limitations on how Sub-Zaps work with other Zapier features.
Sub-Zaps must have a Return from Sub-Zap step
A Sub-Zap must have at least one Return from Sub-Zap step. If you add more than one Return from Sub-Zap step, only the first one will run successfully. This is important to consider when using Looping and Paths within Sub-Zaps.
Adding Paths actions within a Sub-Zap:
- If you use multiple Return from Sub-Zap steps within Paths, only the first one will run successfully. The Path branch logic must be configured to be mutually exclusive so that only one ‘Return from Sub-Zap’ step runs at the same time.
Adding Loop actions within a Sub-Zap:
- Loop actions can't be added before a Return from Sub-Zap step within a Sub-Zap.
For more details, read our Announcing Sub-Zap by Zapier post.