I’m working on connecting my application to Zapier through their command line tools. My goal is to set up two different triggers - one for when new items are added and another for when existing items get modified. I’ve been looking at the documentation but I’m having trouble understanding the exact steps needed to implement these triggers properly. The concept is still confusing to me and I could really use some guidance on the implementation process. Has anyone successfully created similar triggers before? What’s the best approach to handle both creation and modification events in a Zapier integration?
When I built my first Zapier integration, the breakthrough was realizing triggers are just REST API endpoints that return JSON data in a specific format. Set up your trigger functions to return an array of objects - each object is a triggerable event. For new items, your endpoint needs a ‘since’ parameter and should return all records created after that timestamp. Modification triggers need more planning - you’ve got to track when records change using database triggers or by updating a modified_at field when your app updates records. What caught me off guard was how often Zapier polls your trigger endpoint, so make sure your API can handle that load. The CLI’s zapier logs command saved me during development - it shows exactly what data Zapier’s getting from your triggers. Don’t forget proper error handling since network issues or API changes can silently break everything.
yea, i struggled too! first, run zapier init, then in index.js, use polling for new items as triggers. for updates, utilize timestamps to monitor changes. just ensure your API’s output aligns with zapier’s reqs to avoid errors. you’ll do fine!
The trigger implementation makes way more sense once you get how the polling works. After you initialize with the CLI, define your triggers in the triggers directory. For new items, write a function that hits your API endpoint and grabs recently created records. The trick is using a datetime field so Zapier knows what it’s already processed. For updates, I’ve had good luck keeping a ‘last_modified’ timestamp on your data objects. Your trigger function polls this field and returns anything modified since the last check. Make sure your API response has a unique ID and the modification timestamp - Zapier needs these to avoid duplicates. Testing is huge here. Run zapier test constantly to check your trigger logic before you publish. I’d start with the creation trigger first since it’s way easier than handling updates.