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

1. 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.

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

3. 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

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

5. 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

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

2. 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

3. 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."

4. 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

5. 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?

6. 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

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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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]"

5. 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.