zapier-demo

Files (1)

• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Zapier demo

Walk a new user through the smallest possible first win — one app, one read action, one prompt that actually runs. The whole flow should feel quick: a few minutes from "I'm curious" to "oh, that worked."

This is the natural next step after `zapier-onboard` for users who want to see Zapier work before configuring a full toolkit.

## When to use vs. other skills

- **zapier-demo** (this skill) — *one app, one action, immediate demo.* Fastest path to "oh, this works."
- **zapier-onboard** — *pitch + connect + diagnose.* Run this first if the server isn't connected yet.
- **zapier-explore** — *role-tailored expansion.* Run this after demo to set up a full toolkit for the user's role.
- **zapier-status** — *health checks and audits* on an existing setup.

If the user says "show me," lean here. If they haven't connected the server yet, route to zapier-onboard first.

## Step 1: Confirm the server is connected

Inspect available Zapier MCP tools. If none exist, the server isn't authenticated yet — authenticate first via `mcp_auth` or the client's MCP settings (same pattern as `zapier-onboard`'s connection step). Don't continue until at least the configuration tools are available.

Once connected, set the tone:

> "Let's get one Zapier action working so you can see this in action. We'll pick one app, enable one thing, and try it — should take just a couple minutes."

## Step 2: Ask what app to start with

Lead with concrete popular options — most people find it easier to react to a list than to come up with one cold:

> "Which app do you want to try first? A few popular ones to pick from:
> - **Gmail** — find or draft emails
> - **Slack** — find messages and ping channels
> - **Google Sheets** — look up rows in a sheet
> - **Google Calendar** — check your schedule
> - **HubSpot** — find contacts and deals
> - **Jira** — look up tickets
> - **Notion** — find pages
>
> Or name something else — Zapier supports 9,000+ apps."

### Confirm support and pull app details

Once the user picks, **fetch the app's Zapier marketing page** to confirm Zapier supports it and surface action details for Step 3:

```
https://zapier.com/apps/{app-slug}.md
```

Examples: `https://zapier.com/apps/slack.md`, `https://zapier.com/apps/hubspot.md`, `https://zapier.com/apps/google-calendar.md`.

**Slug conventions:** lowercase and hyphenated. `Google Calendar` → `google-calendar`. `Microsoft Teams` → `microsoft-teams`. `HubSpot` → `hubspot`. When uncertain, check `https://zapier.com/find-apps/{letter}` (the alphabetical browse) to confirm the canonical slug.

The fetched page tells you:
- **Whether Zapier supports the app** — a successful fetch = yes
- **Available read/write actions and triggers** — use these to recommend the right starter in Step 3
- **Popular cross-app Zaps** — useful for the Step 6 "what's next" pitch

If the `.md` mirror 404s, try the HTML page at `https://zapier.com/apps/{app-slug}` as a fallback. If both 404, be honest with the user:

> "I'm not finding [App] in Zapier's catalog under that name. Want to pick a different one, or check [zapier.com/apps](https://zapier.com/apps) to verify the spelling?"

If they're stuck choosing:

> "If nothing jumps out — Google Calendar is the easiest first one. Everyone has a calendar, and the 'what's tomorrow?' demo lands every time."

## Step 3: Recommend one starter action (read-only)

Use the action list from the Step 2 marketing-page fetch to pick **one read action** — search/find/get/lookup. Read-only matters here: write actions need confirmation, which adds friction to a first demo. We want the simplest possible "click run, see result" loop.

Tell the user what you're recommending and why, in plain language:

> "Great — for Calendar, the simplest first action is **Find Events**. It lets your AI look up what's on your schedule. We'll add that one and try it."

### Fallback starter actions by app

If the marketing-page fetch didn't surface a clear read action, fall back to this table for the most common apps:

| App | Recommended first action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Find Events | Universal, easy to verify ("what's tomorrow?") |
| Gmail | Find Email | High-impact, every user has emails to find |
| Slack | Find Message | Most-used in chat-heavy workflows |
| Google Drive | Find a File | Works for any user with Drive |
| Google Sheets | Lookup Spreadsheet Row | Needs a specific sheet but very tangible |
| Jira | Find Issue by Key | Needs a Jira ticket key (e.g., PROJ-123) — easy to test |
| Linear | Find Issue | Same pattern as Jira |
| GitHub | Find Pull Request | Read-heavy use, fast demo |
| GitLab | Find Merge Requests | Same as GitHub |
| Notion | Find Page | Useful for note-takers |
| HubSpot | Find Contact | Sales-flavored, easy to test with own email |
| Salesforce | Find Record | Like HubSpot — pick by email or name |
| Trello | Find Card | Visible, easy to verify |
| Asana | Find Task | Project-management equivalent |
| Airtable | Find Record | Database-flavored |
| Google Docs | Get Document Content | Pull a doc you have open |

If the user names an app not on this list, default to a "Find [Thing]" pattern — almost every Zapier-supported app has a search/find action. If you're unsure of the exact name, say "the find/search action for [App]" and let them pick the right one in the configuration UI.

## Step 4: Walk them through enabling it

If the server exposes a `get_configuration_url` tool, call it first and give the user the direct link. Otherwise, point them at [mcp.zapier.com](https://mcp.zapier.com).

Then tell them what to do:

> "Open [that link], find your server, and add the **[App] – [Action]** action. You'll also need to connect your [App] account when prompted (OAuth). Come back and say **done** when it's added."

Wait for confirmation. If they hit issues:

- **"It's not showing up after I added it"** — they need to restart their MCP client so it re-reads the tool list (Cursor: Cmd+Shift+P → "Reload Window"; Claude Desktop: quit and reopen; Claude Code: quit and restart — `/mcp` shows status but won't re-fetch tools).
- **"It says I need to authenticate [App]"** — that's the OAuth flow on mcp.zapier.com. Have them complete it and retry.

Once they confirm, re-inspect tools and verify the action is now available.

## Step 5: Try it live

Now the moment of truth. Suggest a prompt tailored to what they enabled:

| Action | Suggested prompt |
|---|---|
| Calendar: Find Events | "What's on my calendar tomorrow?" |
| Gmail: Find Email | "Find my last email from [their colleague's name or domain]" |

From zapier/zapier-mcp, MIT.

More from zapier/zapier-mcp