Using the CLI - Zapier

The Zapier SDK CLI lets you explore and run actions across apps directly from your terminal, authenticated, with no OAuth setup required. It’s the fastest way to understand what an app can do and what inputs an action needs before writing any code.

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Help me get started with the Zapier SDK CLI. Work through these steps one at a time, running each command in the terminal and telling me what happened before moving on:

1. Check Node.js is installed and is version 20 or higher: node -v
   - If Node is not found: tell me to install it from https://nodejs.org or run brew install node, then stop.
   - If Node is older than 20: tell me to upgrade it, then stop.

2. Check whether the CLI is already available: zapier-sdk --version
   - If available, skip the install step.
   - If not available, install it globally: npm install -g @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli
   - An EPERM error on ~/.npm/_cacache usually means the command sandbox is blocking npm's cache writes, not a file permissions issue.

3. Install the Zapier SDK skill — it covers both SDK and CLI patterns: npx skills add zapier/sdk -y

4. Authenticate with Zapier.
   - If I do not have a Zapier account yet, and we're talking through a remote environment like Telegram or Discord, run: zapier-sdk signup --non-interactive --headless.
   - If I do not have a Zapier account yet, and you are running on my machine, run: zapier-sdk signup --non-interactive
   - If I already have a Zapier account, and we're talking through a remote environment like Telegram or Discord, run: zapier-sdk login --non-interactive --headless.
   - If I already have a Zapier account, and you are running on my machine, run: zapier-sdk login --non-interactive
   - If you are not sure which applies, ask me whether to sign up or log in and whether you're running on my machine or through a remote environment before running any auth command.
   - The --non-interactive flag tells the CLI not to ask optional setup questions. Use --headless when signup or login needs to happen through a browser outside this terminal; the command will still wait for the final OAuth callback URL.
   - In headless mode, show me the printed signup or login URL, ask me to open it, and pass the final OAuth callback URL back to the waiting command when I provide it.
   - Browser-based signup and login open a browser window. A permissions or sandbox error here typically means the command sandbox is preventing credentials from being written to disk.
   - If authentication fails for another reason, try again.

5. List my connected apps: zapier-sdk list-connections --owner me --json 2>/dev/null | head -n 1000
   - Read the output and show only the first 10 results as a markdown table with columns: ID, App Key, Expired. Do not show Title. Always tell me how many total connections there are, and if there are more than 10, note that you are only showing the first 10.
   - The page size is 100. If the output contains exactly 100 connections, there may be additional connections beyond this first page. Just note that and move on — do not fetch additional pages.
   - If the list is empty: tell me to connect at least one app at https://zapier.com/app/assets/connections and come back.

Once all steps are done, tell me I am ready and explain:

The Zapier SDK CLI is the fastest way to explore what an app can do and run actions interactively — yourself in a terminal, or an agent executing a task on demand. Each command takes an app key (like "slack" or "google-sheets") and most action commands take a --connection for which authenticated account to use. The main commands:

- **Discover apps:** `zapier-sdk list-apps --search "<term>"`
- **Discover actions for an app:** `zapier-sdk list-actions <app>`
- **Inspect what an action needs:** `zapier-sdk list-action-input-fields <app> <action-type> <action-key>`
- **Run an action:** `zapier-sdk run-action <app> <action-type> <action-key> --connection <ID> --inputs '{"key":"value"}'`
- **Make raw authenticated requests:** `zapier-sdk curl <app> --connection <ID> -- <url>`

See the full CLI reference: https://docs.zapier.com/sdk/cli-reference

**Want to try something?**

Pick 1–3 apps from the connections table and show me the commands I could use to explore each. Do not run these commands yet — just display them so I can try on my own. For example:
   zapier-sdk list-actions slack --json | head

If you're feeling adventurous, suggest one specific end-to-end action I could try based on my connected apps. Show me the inspect step first (list-action-input-fields), then the run step. Keep it to one action — not a sequence. Examples: "DM yourself on Slack using write/direct_message"; "List your most recent Jira issues using read/list_issues". Make the suggestion specific to my actual connected apps — not generic.

CLI and SDK, complementary by design
The CLI is built on the SDK and is the fastest way to explore — discover what an app can do, inspect input fields, and run actions interactively. You or an agent can go back and forth with it freely: try an action, check what fields it needs, adjust inputs, repeat. For some agent use cases, the CLI alone may be enough.

When you need something repeatable, embedded, or production-grade — a scheduled workflow, a backend integration, a tool in an AI agent — reach for the TypeScript SDK. Everything you learned with the CLI transfers directly: same app keys, same action keys, same input shapes.

Before You Start

Install the CLI and authenticate:

npm install @zapier/zapier-sdk
npm install -D @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli

npx zapier-sdk signup
# or, if you already have an account:
npx zapier-sdk login

Use signup when you’re new to Zapier. Use login when you already have an account. Both commands finish in the same place: the CLI creates a local SDK credential, marks it as the default, and createZapierSdk() can authenticate without code changes.

Other ways to authenticate

signup opens Zapier’s account creation flow first. login starts from an existing Zapier account. Both commands support the same authentication flags:

Need	New Zapier account	Existing Zapier account
Terminal can open your browser	`npx zapier-sdk signup`	`npx zapier-sdk login`
SSH, a remote dev box, or another machine with no browser	`npx zapier-sdk signup --headless`	`npx zapier-sdk login --headless`
Agent or piped terminal in a remote environment	`npx zapier-sdk signup --non-interactive --headless`	`npx zapier-sdk login --non-interactive --headless`
Give the browser flow more than the default 5 minutes	`npx zapier-sdk signup --timeout 600`	`npx zapier-sdk login --timeout 600`
Start with approval prompts enabled	`npx zapier-sdk signup --use-approvals`	`npx zapier-sdk login --use-approvals`

Alternative: manage credentials programmatically with client credentials

For CI pipelines and server deployments, you can also create long-lived client credentials. Learn how to set them up.

npx zapier-sdk create-client-credentials "my-script"

Response

{
  "client_id": "Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890",
  "name": "my-script",
  "client_secret": "37893783ajshj3hy387893hjjk3jk3839083"
}

Save the client_secret; it’s only shown once. Use the returned client_id and client_secret wherever the CLI needs authentication instead of the locally stored credential.To remove a credential pair when you no longer need it, use the delete-client-credentials command and pass the client_id:

npx zapier-sdk delete-client-credentials Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890

Key Concepts

CLI commands work with three concepts: apps, connections, and actions. An app is an integration — Google Sheets, Slack, GitHub. Each app has an app key, a short identifier you use in every command (google-sheets, slack, github). A connection is an authenticated account for an app — your personal Google account, a Slack bot account, a CI GitHub account. Each connection has a connection ID that you pass with every action call to tell the CLI which account to use. An action is something the app can do — create a spreadsheet, add a row, send a message. Each action has input fields: the specific values it needs to run. Some input fields are static; others are dynamic and only appear once you provide context (like which spreadsheet you’re targeting as each may have different columns).

Apps and Connections

App keys come in two forms. Commands take an app as a positional argument, which can be a short slug like google-sheets or a longer key like GoogleSheetsV2CLIAPI. Slugs are easier to type and remember, so use those when you can. When in doubt, search:

npx zapier-sdk list-apps --search "google sheets" --json

Response

[
  {
    "slug": "google-sheets",
    "key": "GoogleSheetsV2CLIAPI",
    "title": "Google Sheets",
    "description": "Create, edit, and share spreadsheets wherever you are with Google Sheets, and get automated insights from your data.",
    ...
  }
]

Use the slug as the app in all subsequent action commands for that specific app. Every action needs a connection ID. A connection ID ties a command to a specific authenticated account, like your Google Sheets connection, Slack account, or GitHub org. List all connections you already have for an app:

npx zapier-sdk list-connections google-sheets --json

Response

[
  {
    "id": "12345678",
    "title": "foo@example.com",
    "app_key": "GoogleSheetsV2CLIAPI",
    ...
  },
  ...
]

Find the first matching connection for your account:

npx zapier-sdk find-first-connection google-sheets --json

Response

{
  "id": "12345678",
  "title": "foo@example.com",
  "app_key": "GoogleSheetsV2CLIAPI",
  ...
}

Hold onto that id. You’ll use it in every action call.

Other ways to find a connection

find-unique-connection has the same syntax as find-first-connection, but throws an error if more than one connection matches. Use this when you need to be certain you got the right account, not just the first one.

npx zapier-sdk find-unique-connection google-sheets --owner me --json

Response

{
  "id": "789101112",
  "date": "2026-02-20T20:40:40Z",
  "account_id": "2000001",
  "is_invite_only": false,
  "is_private": false,
  "shared_with_all": false,
  "lastchanged": "2026-02-20T20:41:10Z",
  "destination_selected_api": null,
  "is_stale": "false",
  "is_shared": "false",
  "marked_stale_at": null,
  "label": "baz@example.com",
  "identifier": null,
  "title": "Google sheets - baz@example.com",
  "url": "http://zapier.com/api/authentications/v1/authentications/789101112",
  "groups": [],
  "members": "",
  "permissions": {
    "delete": true,
    "edit": true,
    "reconnect": true,
    "share": true,
    "test": true,
    "transfer": true,
    "use": true
  },
  "implementation_id": "GoogleSheetsV2CLIAPI@2.10.1",
  "profile_id": "7777777",
  "is_expired": "false",
  "expired_at": null,
  "app_key": "GoogleSheetsV2CLIAPI",
  "app_version": "2.10.1"
}

list-connections returns all matching connections as a paginated list. Useful when you have multiple Google accounts connected and need to pick the right one.

npx zapier-sdk list-connections google-sheets --json

find-first-connection with --owner me filters to only connections you own, useful in shared Zapier accounts:

npx zapier-sdk find-first-connection google-sheets --owner me --json

Filter to expired connections to audit which connections need to be re-authenticated:

npx zapier-sdk list-connections google-sheets --expired --json

Walkthrough: Create a Spreadsheet, Then Add Rows

This walkthrough shows the full pattern: connect to an app, discover what it can do, figure out what inputs an action needs, and run it. We’ll create a new Google Sheet with a header row and then add rows to it.

Explore available actions

npx zapier-sdk list-actions google-sheets --json

Response

[
  {
    "key": "get_many_rows",
    "title": "Get Many Spreadsheet Rows (Advanced)",
    "action_type": "search",
    "description": "Return up to 1,500 rows as a single JSON value or as line items.",
    ...
  },
  ...,
  {
    "key": "lookup_row",
    "title": "Lookup Spreadsheet Row",
    "action_type": "search",
    "description": "Find a specific spreadsheet row based on a column and value. If found, it returns the entire row.",
    ...
  },
  ...,
  {
    "key": "lookup_row",
    "title": "Find or Create Row",
    "action_type": "search_or_write",
    "description": "Finds or creates a specific lookup row.",
    ...
  },
  ...,
  {
    "key": "add_row",
    "title": "Create Spreadsheet Row",
    "action_type": "write",
    "description": "Create a new row in a specific spreadsheet.",
    ...
  },
  ...,
  {
    "key": "create_spreadsheet",
    "title": "Create Spreadsheet",
    "action_type": "write",
    "description": "Creates a new spreadsheet. Choose from a blank spreadsheet, a copy of an existing one, or one with headers.",
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "create_worksheet",
    "title": "Create Worksheet",
    "action_type": "write",
    "description": "Creates a new worksheet in a Google Sheet.",
    ...
  },
  ...
]

Filter by action type to narrow things down:

npx zapier-sdk list-actions google-sheets --action-type write --json

Response

[
  {
    "key": "add_row",
    "title": "Create Spreadsheet Row",
    "action_type": "write",
    "description": "Create a new row in a specific spreadsheet.",
    ...
  },
  ...,
  {
    "key": "create_spreadsheet",
    "title": "Create Spreadsheet",
    "action_type": "write",
    "description": "Creates a new spreadsheet. Choose from a blank spreadsheet, a copy of an existing one, or one with headers.",
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "create_worksheet",
    "title": "Create Worksheet",
    "action_type": "write",
    "description": "Creates a new worksheet in a Google Sheet.",
    ...
  },
  ...
]

Other ways to explore actions

get-action is for when you already know the action key and want its full detail instead of scanning a list:

npx zapier-sdk get-action google-sheets write create_spreadsheet --json

Response

{
  "key": "create_spreadsheet",
  "title": "Create Spreadsheet",
  "action_type": "write",
  "description": "Creates a new spreadsheet. Choose from a blank spreadsheet, a copy of an existing one, or one with headers.",
  ...
}

--page-size is useful when apps like Salesforce or HubSpot have many actions and you want to page through the results

npx zapier-sdk list-actions hubspot --action-type write --page-size 20

Inspect spreadsheet creation inputs

Before running an action, use list-action-input-fields to see exactly what it expects:

npx zapier-sdk list-action-input-fields google-sheets write create_spreadsheet \
  --connection 789101112 --json

Response

[
  {
    "key": "drive",
    "title": "Drive",
    "is_required": false,
    "description": "Select the Google Drive location for your spreadsheet. Choose between My Drive or a Shared Drive; the former is the default.",
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "title",
    "title": "Title",
    "is_required": true,
    "description": "Enter the name of the new spreadsheet.",
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "spreadsheet_to_copy",
    "title": "Spreadsheet to Copy",
    "is_required": false,
    "description": "Select a spreadsheet to duplicate.",
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "headers",
    "title": "Headers",
    "is_required": false,
    "description": "Enter column headers for your new spreadsheet. These will be ignored if \"Spreadsheet to Copy\" is selected.",
    ...
  }
]

Other ways to inspect input fields

get-action-input-fields-schema returns the same information as a JSON Schema object instead of a list. Useful when you’re building an agent tool definition or need machine-readable validation rules:

npx zapier-sdk get-action-input-fields-schema google-sheets write create_spreadsheet \
  --connection 789101112 --json

Response

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-06/schema#",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "drive": {
      "type": "string",
      "zapier:dynamicEnum": true,
      "title": "Drive",
      "description": "Select the Google Drive location for your spreadsheet. Choose between My Drive or a Shared Drive; the former is the default."
    },
    "title": {
      "type": "string",
      "title": "Title",
      "description": "Enter the name of the new spreadsheet."
    },
    "spreadsheet_to_copy": {
      "type": "string",
      "zapier:dynamicEnum": true,
      "title": "Spreadsheet to Copy",
      "description": "Select a spreadsheet to duplicate."
    },
    "headers": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      },
      "title": "Headers",
      "description": "Enter column headers for your new spreadsheet. These will be ignored if \"Spreadsheet to Copy\" is selected."
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": ["title"]
}

Create a spreadsheet

npx zapier-sdk run-action google-sheets write create_spreadsheet \
  --connection 789101112 \
  --inputs '{"title": "Zapier SDK CLI Demo", "headers": ["Name", "Email", "Role"]}' \
  --json

Response

[
  {
    "id": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
    "worksheet_id": 0,
    "url": "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237/edit?ouid=112649538831883565437"
  }
]

The headers field populates the first row of the default sheet (Sheet1) in one step — no separate worksheet creation needed. Note the spreadsheet id — that’s your spreadsheetId. The response also includes a worksheetId field (the numeric sheet ID, 0 for the default sheet); you’ll pass both to add_row.

Inspect row creation inputs

Without context, list-action-input-fields returns only the structural fields — spreadsheet and worksheet selectors, but no column fields:

npx zapier-sdk list-action-input-fields google-sheets write add_row \
  --connection 789101112 --json

Response

[
  {
    "key": "spreadsheet",
    "title": "Spreadsheet",
    "is_required": true,
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "worksheet",
    "title": "Worksheet",
    "is_required": true,
    "description": "Worksheets must have column headers. Learn more about [spreadsheet formatting](https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/8496276985101).",
    ...
  },
  ...
]

The column fields are dynamic — they don’t exist until the action knows which spreadsheet and worksheet you’re targeting. Pass those IDs to get the full field list, including the per-column keys:

npx zapier-sdk list-action-input-fields google-sheets write add_row \
  --connection 789101112 \
  --inputs '{"spreadsheet": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237", "worksheet": "0"}' \
  --json

Response

[
  {
    "key": "spreadsheet",
    "title": "Spreadsheet",
    "is_required": true,
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "worksheet",
    "title": "Worksheet",
    "is_required": true,
    "description": "Worksheets must have column headers. Learn more about [spreadsheet formatting](https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/8496276985101).",
    ...
  },
  ...,
  {
    "key": "COL$A",
    "title": "Name",
    "is_required": false,
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "COL$B",
    "title": "Email",
    "is_required": false,
    ...
  },
  {
    "key": "COL$C",
    "title": "Role",
    "is_required": false,
    ...
  }
]

COL$A maps to “Name”, COL$B to “Email”, and COL$C to “Role” — the headers you defined when creating the spreadsheet. These are the keys you’ll use in --inputs below.

Add rows

npx zapier-sdk run-action google-sheets write add_row \
  --connection 789101112 \
  --inputs '{
    "spreadsheet": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
    "worksheet": "0",
    "COL$A": "Alice",
    "COL$B": "alice@example.com",
    "COL$C": "Engineer"
  }' \
  --json

Response

[
  {
    "COL$A": "Alice",
    "COL$B": "alice@example.com",
    "COL$C": "Engineer",
    "id": 2,
    "row": 2
  }
]

npx zapier-sdk run-action google-sheets write add_row \
  --connection 789101112 \
  --inputs '{
    "spreadsheet": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
    "worksheet": "0",
    "COL$A": "Bob",
    "COL$B": "bob@example.com",
    "COL$C": "Designer"
  }' \
  --json

Response

[
  {
    "COL$A": "Bob",
    "COL$B": "bob@example.com",
    "COL$C": "Designer",
    "id": 3,
    "row": 3
  }
]

npx zapier-sdk run-action google-sheets write add_row \
  --connection 789101112 \
  --inputs '{
    "spreadsheet": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
    "worksheet": "0",
    "COL$A": "Carol",
    "COL$B": "carol@example.com",
    "COL$C": "Manager"
  }' \
  --json

Response

[
  {
    "COL$A": "Carol",
    "COL$B": "carol@example.com",
    "COL$C": "Manager",
    "id": 4,
    "row": 4
  }
]

Check your spreadsheet; all three rows should be there.

Zero Auth Setup

Here’s what you just did without writing a single line of auth code:

WITHOUT the SDK CLI                        WITH Zapier SDK CLI
─────────────────────────   ─────────────────────
Create a Google Cloud project           1. npx zapier-sdk login
Enable the Sheets API                   2. npx zapier-sdk run-action …
Create a service account
Generate and download a JSON key file
Generate a Bearer token from the key
curl with Authorization header

If a user has a Google account connected to Zapier, find-first-connection gives you authenticated access immediately. This is true for all apps on Zapier.

Beyond built-in actions

Zapier’s apps cover the most common operations, but every API has endpoints that go beyond what’s been modeled as actions. For those cases, use curl — it makes authenticated requests to any endpoint directly, with credentials injected automatically from the same connection you’ve been using.

GET: Read row data

The Google Sheets API’s values endpoint returns the raw cell data for a named range, useful as a ground-truth read outside of the SDK action layer:

npx zapier-sdk curl \
  "https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237/values/Sheet1" \
  --connection 789101112

Response

{
  "range": "Sheet1!A1:Z1004",
  "majorDimension": "ROWS",
  "values": [
    ["Name", "Email", "Role"],
    ["Alice", "alice@example.com", "Engineer"],
    ["Bob", "bob@example.com", "Designer"],
    ["Carol", "carol@example.com", "Manager"]
  ]
}

GET: Spreadsheet metadata

The spreadsheets.get endpoint returns full spreadsheet metadata (sheet names, tab structure, locale, timezone) that isn’t exposed as a built-in Zapier action:

npx zapier-sdk curl \
  "https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237" \
  --connection 789101112

Response

{
  "spreadsheetId": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
  "properties": {
    "title": "Zapier SDK CLI Demo",
    "locale": "en_US",
    "timeZone": "Etc/GMT",
    ...
  },
  "sheets": [
    {
      "properties": {
        "sheetId": 0,
        "title": "Sheet1",
        "sheetType": "GRID",
        ...
      }
    }
  ]
}

No token. No Authorization header. No OAuth setup. Zapier injects the user’s stored credentials automatically.

POST: Add a row directly via the API

npx zapier-sdk curl \
  "https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237/values/Sheet1:append?valueInputOption=USER_ENTERED" \
  --connection 789101112 \
  -X POST \
  --json '{"values": [["Dave", "dave@example.com", "Analyst"]]}'

Response

{
  "spreadsheetId": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
  "tableRange": "Sheet1!A1:C4",
  "updates": {
    "spreadsheetId": "3780-dhjhj34784jjh4kkl48_48934uk-49834jkA237",
    "updatedRange": "Sheet1!A5:C5",
    "updatedRows": 1,
    "updatedColumns": 3,
    "updatedCells": 3
  }
}

Scripting and chaining commands

Every command supports --json for raw output, making it easy to pipe into jq or chain into shell scripts. A common pattern: grab a connection ID and use it immediately:

CONNECTION_ID=$(npx zapier-sdk find-first-connection google-sheets --json | jq -r '.data.id')

npx zapier-sdk run-action google-sheets write create_spreadsheet \
  --connection $CONNECTION_ID \
  --inputs '{"title": "Generated Sheet"}' \
  --json

Extract just the action keys for an app:

npx zapier-sdk list-actions google-sheets --json | jq '[.[].key]'

Next Steps

CLI Reference: full flag reference for every command
API Reference: TypeScript SDK methods that mirror everything shown here

​Set up with your AI

Open in Codex

Open in Claude Code

Open in Cursor

Open in VS Code Copilot

Open in ChatGPT

Open in Claude

Open in Perplexity

​Before You Start

​Key Concepts

​Apps and Connections

​Walkthrough: Create a Spreadsheet, Then Add Rows

​Explore available actions

​Inspect spreadsheet creation inputs

​Create a spreadsheet

​Inspect row creation inputs

​Add rows

​Zero Auth Setup

​Beyond built-in actions

​GET: Read row data

​GET: Spreadsheet metadata

​POST: Add a row directly via the API

​Scripting and chaining commands

​Next Steps

Set up with your AI

Before You Start

Key Concepts

Apps and Connections

Walkthrough: Create a Spreadsheet, Then Add Rows

Explore available actions

Inspect spreadsheet creation inputs

Create a spreadsheet

Inspect row creation inputs

Add rows

Zero Auth Setup

Beyond built-in actions

GET: Read row data

GET: Spreadsheet metadata

POST: Add a row directly via the API

Scripting and chaining commands

Next Steps