Introduction
The landscape of automation and integration tools can appear daunting without a firm grasp of essential terms and concepts.
Here, we illuminate crucial definitions relevant to workflow automation, app integration, and process optimization. Deepen your comprehension of Zapier and elevate your expertise in streamlining tasks and processes seamlessly.
Zapier Terms
A
Action: The app integration process that locates, generates, or modifies data within your application by utilizing a GET, PUT, or POST request to your API, utilizing the information supplied when a Zap is activated by an event in a different application.
B
Beta: When your app is listed in the Zapier App Directory, it will stay in Beta for 90 days to signal its recent status to end users.
C
Create action: The app integration step that initiates the creation or modification of a single item within your application through a single API request.
D
Delay: A built-in Zapier feature that users can integrate into their Zaps to delay its execution for a set duration before proceeding with the remaining actions, essentially enabling the scheduling of actions.
F
Formatter: A built-in Zapier feature that users can include in their Zaps to tailor and modify text, numerical, and date data generated from triggers and actions.
Filter: An inherent feature within Zapier that users can include in their Zaps to limit their execution to instances where particular conditional values hold specific data.
I
Input Fields: Data fields from trigger and action steps within a Zap are collected and then mapped by the user into subsequent steps, sending this data as inputs to the destination API of those steps.
P
Paths: A Zapier feature that lets users add Filters and Actions to their Zaps to execute different actions based on various conditions. Paths use if/then logic: if A happens in your trigger app, then do this action; if B happens, then do another action.
S
Search action: The app integration step that searches for and retrieves existing data within your application, with the optional capability to create a new item if the search does not yield any results.
T
Task: Each successful action completed by a Zap will contribute towards the user's task usage. The total number of tasks a user can perform is determined by their Zapier pricing plan.
Trigger: The app integration event that triggers a Zap when fresh or modified data is incorporated into your application, achieved either through Zapier actively checking a designated API endpoint for updates or by your application sending a notification via a REST webhook to Zapier with the new data.
Z
Zap: A Zapier automated workflow that establishes connections between your application and others with pre-built integrations. Each Zap comprises a trigger and one or more actions. Activating your Zap initiates the execution of action steps whenever the trigger event takes place.
Zap editor: The user-facing platform where end-users construct their Zaps, incorporating triggers and actions developed by the app integration developers.
Zap history: A record maintained for the end-user, detailing all the Zaps that have been executed, including the data flowing through each step, any error messages encountered, and the associated task usage.
Zapier: A platform for integration that links together more than 6,000 web applications and APIs to create multi-step, automated, and customizable workflows. When an event occurs in one application, Zapier can instruct another application to execute a specific action.