Troubleshooting Zapier CLI authentication issues

Other Questions Zapier
1

I’m working on a Zapier CLI app and I’m stuck with an auth problem. My API key and client ID work fine in the Zapier UI, but I get a 403 error when using them in the CLI. Here’s what I’ve tried:

// auth.js
const auth = (z, bundle) => {
  const today = new Date();
  return z.request({
    url: 'https://api.example.com/validate',
    method: 'GET',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'x-api-key': bundle.authData.apiKey,
      'client-id': bundle.authData.clientId
    },
    params: {
      date: today.toISOString().split('T')[0],
      limit: 500
    }
  }).then(response => response.throwForStatus());
};

// test.js
const zapier = require('zapier-platform-core');
const App = require('../index');

describe('Auth Test', () => {
  zapier.tools.env.inject();
  const appTester = zapier.createAppTester(App);

  it('authenticates successfully', async () => {
    const bundle = {
      authData: {
        apiKey: process.env.API_KEY,
        clientId: process.env.CLIENT_ID
      }
    };
    const result = await appTester(App.authentication, bundle);
    expect(result).toBeDefined();
  });
});

Any ideas why it’s not working in the CLI? Could it be a config issue or am I missing something in the code?

2

hey mia92, funny but code looks fine. check if ur env vars are set in CLI. also log the API respns to catch any hidden error info. might be a misconfig on the API side. good luck!

3

I’ve encountered similar issues before. One thing to check is if your API endpoint is configured to accept requests from the Zapier CLI’s IP range. Some APIs have stricter security measures for non-browser requests.

Try adding a User-Agent header to your request, like this:

‘User-Agent’: ‘Zapier CLI/1.0’

Also, double-check that your API key and client ID are correctly set in your .env file and that you’re loading them properly. Sometimes, environment variables can be tricky in different environments.

If these don’t work, you might want to use a tool like Postman to test your API directly and compare the results with your CLI requests. This can help isolate whether it’s a Zapier-specific issue or a general API problem.

4

I’ve been down this road before, and it can be frustrating. Have you considered the possibility of rate limiting? Some APIs implement stricter rate limits for programmatic access compared to UI interactions. Try adding a short delay between requests or implement exponential backoff.

Another thing to check is the exact format of your API key and client ID. Sometimes, there are subtle differences in how these credentials are formatted or encoded when used programmatically vs. through a UI.

Lastly, enable verbose logging in your Zapier CLI (zapier --debug) to get more detailed error information. This might reveal something that’s not immediately apparent in the 403 error.

If all else fails, reach out to the API provider’s support. They might have specific requirements or known issues with CLI integrations that aren’t documented publicly.