Zapier Status

Zapier status

Three modes for monitoring and maintaining a Zapier MCP setup. Determine the mode from context, or ask if unclear.

For how the Zapier MCP server itself works, see docs.zapier.com/mcp.

Mode 1: Health check

Trigger: "check my tools", "zapier status", "is everything working?", or any general status inquiry.

A quick dashboard view of the current state.

Steps

• Inspect the available Zapier MCP tools. The exact surface depends on the server's configuration — some servers expose meta-tools that report the action inventory, others expose each configured action as its own named tool. Use whichever signal is available.

• If no Zapier tools are available: report the connection status and suggest running zapier-onboard.

• If tools are available, build a summary by grouping them by app:

For each app, show:

• App name
• Number of actions
• Action types (infer read vs write from names: find/search/get/list = read, send/create/update/add = write)
• Quick status: working / needs auth / error

Format as a dashboard:

Zapier MCP status
=================
Server: connected
Total actions: 14 across 5 apps

Slack         3 actions (2 read, 1 write)     ✓ working
Gmail         3 actions (1 read, 2 write)     ✓ working
Google Cal    2 actions (1 read, 1 write)     ✓ working
Jira          3 actions (2 read, 1 write)     ✓ working
Google Docs   2 actions (1 read, 1 write)     ✓ working

• If any actions appear broken (based on recent errors or auth issues), flag them.

• End with: "Everything looks good." or "Found [N] issues. Want me to diagnose them?"

Mode 2: Audit

Trigger: "audit my setup", "clean up my tools", "find duplicates", "what should I remove?"

Find inefficiencies: duplicate actions, unused tools, conflicts with native MCP servers.

Steps

• Get the full inventory by inspecting the available Zapier MCP tools.

• Check for duplicates within Zapier MCP:
• Multiple actions for the same app that do similar things (e.g., both a "find message" and a "search messages" Slack action)
• Recommend removing the less useful one

• Check for conflicts with native MCP servers:
• Look at other MCP servers configured in the client's MCP config file (e.g., .cursor/mcp.json, claude_desktop_config.json, .mcp.json — depends on the client)
• If the user has both a native Slack MCP and Zapier Slack actions, flag it
• Recommend: "You have Slack through both Zapier and a native Slack server. The native server is usually better for single-app use. Consider removing Zapier's Slack actions."

• Check for unused or low-value actions:
• Actions that are rarely useful as defaults (e.g., very specific write actions that are only needed occasionally)
• Suggest removing actions that can be re-added on demand

• Show the audit report:

Audit results
=============
Duplicates:       1 found
  - Slack: "find_message" and "search_messages" overlap. Recommend removing "search_messages".

Native conflicts:  1 found
  - Slack: native Slack MCP also configured. Consider removing Zapier Slack actions.

Cleanup candidates: 2 found
  - Google Sheets "delete_row": rarely needed, can re-add on demand
  - Jira "add_attachment": niche action, add when needed

Recommended removals: 4 actions
Want me to show you how to clean these up?

• If the user says yes, direct them to mcp.zapier.com to remove the recommended actions (or use the server's in-chat disable tool if available). List exactly which ones to remove.

Mode 3: Diagnose

Trigger: "what's broken?", "my tools aren't working", "debug my MCP", or when a specific tool call has failed.

Systematic troubleshooting with error pattern matching.

Steps

• Gather context: Ask what went wrong, or use the error from the current conversation.

• Run diagnostics in order:

a. Connection check: Try calling any available Zapier tool. If nothing works, the problem is server-level (auth, config, network).

b. Action check: Is the specific action available on this server? If not, the user needs to add it at mcp.zapier.com (or via the server's in-chat discovery tools if available).

c. Auth check: Try calling a read action for the affected app. If it returns an auth error, the app connection needs re-authentication.

d. Parameter check: Review the failing call's parameters. Common issues:

• Missing required fields
• Wrong field format (IDs vs names)
• Instructions that are too vague for the params resolver

• Match against known error patterns:

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |

| ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |

| All tools fail | Server auth expired | Re-authenticate at mcp.zapier.com |

| One app fails, others work | App-level auth expired | Re-connect that specific app |

| Tool not found / unavailable | Action not configured | Direct user to mcp.zapier.com to add it |

| "invalid params" | Wrong fields or format | Check the tool's parameter schema |

| Results are empty but expected data exists | Search too narrow or wrong field | Broaden the search or check field names |

| Timeout on execute | Server overloaded or action is slow | Retry once, then report if persistent |

| "rate limit exceeded" | Too many calls | Space out requests, wait 30 seconds |

| Works in one project, fails in another | Project-level vs global config | Check both project-level and global MCP config for the client |

• Report findings:

"Here's what I found:

• Connection: OK (server responding)
• Actions: 14 tools available across 5 apps
• Auth issue: Gmail connection expired. You need to re-authenticate Gmail at mcp.zapier.com.
• Recommendation: [direct link or specific instruction]"

• If the fix requires user action (re-auth, config change), provide the specific link or instruction. If it's something the AI can fix (adjust parameters, try a different tool), offer to do it.

General notes

• Always inspect the available Zapier MCP tools as the first diagnostic step in any mode.
• Don't dump raw error messages. Translate them into plain language.
• If a problem is beyond what the skill can diagnose (server-side bug, API outage), say so and suggest checking status.zapier.com or contacting support.