A Zap is a workflow that connects your apps to automate repetitive tasks. It consists of a trigger, which starts the Zap, and one or more actions, which are the events that the Zap performs after it’s triggered.
Triggers and actions
Every Zap has two building blocks:
- Trigger: The event that starts your Zap. For example, receiving a new email or adding a new row to a spreadsheet. Zapier watches for this event and runs the Zap each time it occurs. Learn more about how Zap triggers work.
- Action: What the Zap does after it triggers. For example, creating a contact, sending a message, or updating a record. A Zap can have one or more actions. Learn more about how to set up your Zap action.
How data flows through a Zap
Each step in a Zap has fields where you enter data. You can type a static value that stays the same every time the Zap runs, or you can use a dynamic value that changes with each run.
To use dynamic values, you map fields from a previous step. Instead of typing a value directly, you select data from the trigger or an earlier action so each Zap run uses the actual data from that event. For example, you can map a lead's email address from your trigger step into the Email field of your action step, so every new lead gets their own contact created automatically.
How to build and run a Zap
Building a Zap follows three phases:
- Build: Choose your trigger and action apps, select events, and map fields between steps in the Zap editor.
- Test: Test each step to verify your Zap is set up correctly. Test records are sample data used while building and may differ from the data your Zap receives during live runs.
- Publish: When you're satisfied with your setup and tests, publish your Zap to turn it on. Your Zap will only process new data created after it's published.
Learn more about how to start building Zaps.
What can I do with a Zap?
Use Zaps to automate your repetitive tasks without code, saving you time and money. You can use any of the 8,000+ apps on Zapier to build a workflow that combines a trigger and one or more actions.
You want to build a system to manage incoming sales leads from Facebook by automatically adding them to your customer relationship management app, HubSpot.
- In the trigger step, select the Facebook Lead Ads as the app that triggers your workflow, then select the New Lead event. With this trigger, your Zap will run each time you get a new lead.
- In the action step, select the HubSpot app and the Create Contact action. The Zap will create a new contact in HubSpot for you from that new lead.
- You can add another HubSpot action using the Create Deal action. This will create a new deal for your contact.
- Finally, you can add another step to notify your sales team about the new lead by adding the Send Channel Message action using the Slack app.
Next steps
- Zaps quick start guide: Build your first Zap from start to finish.
- Set up your Zap trigger: Choose the app and event that starts your Zap.
- How Zap triggers work: Understand polling vs instant triggers and how Zapier detects new data.
- Set up your Zap action: Configure what your Zap does after it triggers.
- Field types in Zaps: Learn how different field types accept and format data.
- Send data between steps by mapping fields: Connect data from one step to another.
- Test Zap steps: Verify each step works before publishing.
- Learn key concepts in Zaps: A glossary of terms like tasks, filters, paths, and more.