Zapier MCP

Connect your AI agent to 8,000+ apps via Zapier's MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration. This skill provides:

• Full UI Dashboard — Configure your MCP URL, test connections, browse available tools
• No OAuth Complexity — Zapier handles all authentication flows
• MCP Integration — Tools are accessible via mcporter

Overview

Zapier MCP exposes your configured Zapier actions as tools your agent can call. Unlike Pipedream (which requires OAuth token management), Zapier MCP uses a simple URL-based authentication — just paste your MCP URL and you're connected.

Prerequisites

1. Zapier Account — Sign up at zapier.com
2. mcporter — MCP tool runner (npm install -g mcporter)
3. Clawdbot Gateway — v2026.1.0 or later with UI enabled

Quick Start

Step 1: Get Your Zapier MCP URL

1. Go to zapier.com/mcp and sign in
2. Configure which actions to expose (e.g., "Send Slack message", "Create Google Sheet row")
3. Copy your personalized MCP URL (looks like https://actions.zapier.com/mcp/...)

Step 2: Configure in Clawdbot UI

1. Open Clawdbot Dashboard → Tools → Zapier
2. Click Configure
3. Paste your MCP URL
4. Click Save

That's it! Zapier will validate the URL and show how many tools are available.

Step 3: Use Your Tools

Once connected, tools are available via mcporter:

# List available tools
mcporter list zapier-mcp --schema

# Call a tool
mcporter call zapier-mcp.<tool_name> --args '{"instructions": "your request"}'

Usage Patterns

The instructions Parameter

Every Zapier tool accepts an instructions parameter. Zapier's AI interprets this to fill in missing parameters:

# ❌ Vague - may prompt for clarification
mcporter call zapier-mcp.slack_send_message \
  --args '{"instructions": "Send a message"}'

# ✅ Specific - AI can resolve parameters
mcporter call zapier-mcp.slack_send_message \
  --args '{"instructions": "Send \"Hello team!\" to the #general channel"}'

The output_hint Parameter

Control what data is returned:

mcporter call zapier-mcp.google_sheets_find_row \
  --args '{
    "instructions": "Find row where email is bob@example.com",
    "output_hint": "name, email, phone number"
  }'

Common Tool Patterns

# Slack
mcporter call zapier-mcp.slack_send_message \
  --args '{"instructions": "Send \"Build complete!\" to #deployments"}'

# Gmail
mcporter call zapier-mcp.gmail_send_email \
  --args '{"instructions": "Send email to bob@example.com with subject \"Meeting\" and body \"See you at 3pm\""}'

# Google Sheets
mcporter call zapier-mcp.google_sheets_create_row \
  --args '{"instructions": "Add row with Name=John, Email=john@example.com to Sales Leads spreadsheet"}'

# Notion
mcporter call zapier-mcp.notion_create_page \
  --args '{"instructions": "Create page titled \"Meeting Notes\" in the Team Wiki database"}'

# Calendar
mcporter call zapier-mcp.google_calendar_create_event \
  --args '{"instructions": "Create meeting \"Team Standup\" tomorrow at 10am for 30 minutes"}'

Architecture

How It Works

1. You configure actions in Zapier's MCP dashboard
2. Zapier generates a unique MCP URL for your account
3. Clawdbot stores the URL in mcporter config
4. When you call a tool, mcporter sends a JSON-RPC request to Zapier
5. Zapier executes the action and returns results

Files Modified

Location	Purpose
~/clawd/config/mcporter.json	MCP server configuration with Zapier URL

Backend Endpoints

The skill uses these gateway RPC methods:

Method	Purpose
zapier.status	Get connection status and tool count
zapier.save	Validate and store MCP URL
zapier.test	Test the connection
zapier.disconnect	Remove Zapier from mcporter config
zapier.tools	List all available tools

SSE Response Format

Zapier MCP uses Server-Sent Events format:

event: message
data: {"result":{"tools":[...]},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1}

The backend automatically parses this format.

UI Features

The Zapier page in Clawdbot dashboard provides:

• Connection Status — Shows if configured and tool count
• MCP URL Configuration — Paste and validate your URL
• Test Connection — Verify the URL works
• Tool Browser — Expandable groups showing all available tools by app

Tool Grouping

Tools are automatically grouped by app:

• QuickBooks Online (47 tools)
• Google Sheets (12 tools)
• Slack (8 tools)
• etc.

Comparison: Zapier vs Pipedream

Feature	Zapier MCP	Pipedream Connect
Setup	Paste URL	OAuth + credentials
Token refresh	Not needed	Every 45 minutes
Apps	8,000+	2,000+
Cost	Zapier subscription	Pipedream subscription
Complexity	Simple	More control

Use Zapier when: You want simple setup and already use Zapier.

Use Pipedream when: You need fine-grained OAuth control or prefer Pipedream's pricing.

Troubleshooting

"Connection test failed"

• Verify the URL is correct (should start with https://actions.zapier.com/mcp/)
• Check that you've configured at least one action in Zapier's MCP dashboard
• Try regenerating the MCP URL in Zapier

"No tools available"

• Go to zapier.com/mcp and add some actions
• Click "Refresh" in the Clawdbot UI after adding actions

"followUpQuestion" in response

• Zapier needs more information. Be more specific in your instructions parameter.
• Example: Instead of "find customer", use "find customer named Acme Corp"

Tool not found

• Run mcporter list zapier-mcp to see available tools
• Tool names use underscores: quickbooks_online_find_customer
• You may need to add the action in Zapier's MCP configuration

Adding App-Specific Skills

Once Zapier MCP is connected, you can create app-specific skills for commonly used integrations. See:

• zapier-quickbooks — QuickBooks Online tools with detailed parameter documentation

These skills provide deeper documentation for specific apps while using the same underlying Zapier MCP connection.

Reference Files

This skill includes reference implementations:

• reference/zapier-backend.ts — Gateway RPC handlers
• reference/zapier-controller.ts — UI controller logic
• reference/zapier-views.ts — UI rendering (Lit)

These are for reference when building custom integrations or debugging.

Security Considerations

Behavior	Description
URL contains auth	Your MCP URL includes authentication — treat it like a password
Stored in config	URL saved to ~/clawd/config/mcporter.json
External API calls	Calls actions.zapier.com

Best practices:

• Don't share your MCP URL publicly
• Regenerate the URL if compromised (in Zapier dashboard)
• Review which actions are exposed in Zapier's MCP settings

Support

• ClawdHub: clawdhub.com/skills/zapier-mcp
• Zapier MCP: zapier.com/mcp
• Zapier Help: help.zapier.com
• Clawdbot Discord: discord.com/invite/clawd