How to get any app to work with Zapier

Remember when Apple launched the App Store and the early novelty of app discovery? Oh, how naive we were. Now we roll our eyes whenever a product requires an app download because it just adds to the landscape of apps that don't talk to each other. 

Enter Zapier, a powerful tool designed to bridge this communication gap by automating tasks between your favorite apps—no coding skills required. Zapier has thousands of app integrations, but what do you do if your app isn't available?

Don't worry, you still have some alternative ways to integrate your favorite app with Zapier. We rounded up some of our favorite solutions, in order from least to most technical.

See what you're working with

Before you investigate other ways to connect your app to Zapier, make sure you've searched our App Directory first to see if your app has an existing integration. Or, who knows, you might even find a better alternative that you might not have considered. (I highly recommend checking out our handy guide to all the things you can do with our App Directory.)

If your search comes up empty, now you can explore alternative options: 

1. Does your app use RSS feeds? You can connect to Zapier through our built-in tool. 

2. Does your app have an email integration? You can use existing email integrations in our App Directory.

3. Does Apple's Shortcuts app support your app? You can use a webhook to connect a Shortcut with Zapier.

4. Can your app use webhooks? You can connect to Zapier with our built-in webhooks tool. 

5. None of the above apply? Build your own integration with the Zapier Platform. 

Share data with RSS

RSS feeds are the unsung heroes of the internet. They may sound like a relic today, but they still secretly power everything from your favorite podcasts and YouTube channels to blogs and websites. 

You can also use RSS feeds as a real-time bridge for your apps. First, check to see if an RSS feed is available for your app. You may be pleasantly surprised.

If a feed exists, create a Zap—what we call our automated workflows—and use our built-in RSS by Zapier tool. It lets you send RSS feed content to your favorite tools. You can even create your own custom RSS feed with your favorite sources. 

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Monitor notifications and statuses

Some notifications or statuses are a top priority for your team, so why not filter out what you don't care about? For example, you can create a custom feed with only high priority alerts, such as outages from your favorite apps. 

You can create your own Zap from scratch with our point-and-click editor, but we also have quick templates to get you started. 

Curate your own news feed

There are so many places to check for content—and not enough time to keep up. You can create your own newsletter by sending your favorite media—such as that Patreon podcast you pay for—to a custom RSS feed. 

You don't have to receive your newsletter by email either. You can add your custom feed URL to an RSS reader or thousands of other apps. 

Build a bridge with email

Your email inbox is likely clogged with notifications from businesses and apps you use regularly. But there's a bright side: emails are an easy way to connect those apps with Zapier in an unexpected way. 

Extract information from emails

There's essential information buried in your inbox, such as purchase receipts, appointment confirmations, and bank statements. You can use Zapier to send those messages to the right place. 

For example, you can save email attachments to your favorite cloud storage app.

Or if you only need specific information from emails, our built-in Email Parser tool is another backdoor you can use. Email parsers can recognize patterns within your messages and extract the critical stuff based on your instructions. 

How it works: 

1. Sign in to Email Parser with your Zapier account and create a new mailbox if you don't have one. 

2. Copy the email address generated from your new mailbox. In your email client, forward an email from your app to your parser mailbox.

3. Once your parser mailbox receives your email, you can teach Email Parser the information to extract and save those instructions.

Get started with these automated workflows:

Send emails to your apps

Before smartphones, the main way to send information to apps remotely was to send an email to an app's address. While it's not as exciting or flashy as an app integration, many apps still have built-in email integrations.

For example, you can email documents to Kindle devices and note-taking apps like Goodnotes. Many blogging platforms also have an email-to-draft function. If your app has a built-in email integration, you can use Zapier's email integrations or our Email by Zapier tool to send automatic emails to your apps.

Here's how it works: 

1. Create a new Zap and set up your trigger—the event that will start your Zap. It doesn't matter which app you use for your trigger, as long as it contains information you want to send to your desired app. For example, I have a Zap that uses Gmail's New Labeled Email trigger for emails containing PDF attachments. 

2. Set up the email action—the event your Zap will perform when it's triggered. Copy the special email address from your app's settings and paste it into the recipient field in the Zap editor. In the example below, I'm using the email address provided by GoodNotes.

   

3. Map dynamic values from your trigger to your email action. Dynamic values let you use the results from previous Zap steps to perform an action. For this example, I must include the email attachment file to send to GoodNotes. 

You can also get started quickly with the Zaps below:

Use webhooks to connect any app to Zapier

Your app doesn't use RSS or have an email integration. Now what? Another option is webhooks. 

In short, webhooks are one way that apps can send automated messages or info—known as a payload—to other apps. Check your app's settings and help docs and see if it provides or accepts webhooks. If it does, you can connect it to Zapier through our built-in Webhooks tool—available on paid plans.

You don't need to know how to code to use webhooks, but it helps to understand how HTTP requests are structured to automate them successfully.

But what can you do with webhooks?

Connect apps that accept webhooks

Your app's help documentation mentions webhooks, but you're unsure what to do next. If your app provides a URL for you to use, you can use it in your webhook trigger or action.

For example, some customer relationship management (CRM) tools have automation workflow features that generate webhook URLs. You can create a Zap that routes leads directly into your pre-existing automation. 

These Zaps will also get you started:

If your app doesn't provide a URL for you to use, don't worry. Zapier can create one for you with Webhooks' Catch Hook trigger. 

These beginner-friendly resources can get you started with webhooks and Zapier:

• Zapier for Alfred: Run Zaps from your Mac keyboard

• How to send an email from a webhook

• 7 ways to use webhooks to automate anything

Connect apps that accept scripts

Let's say you have a favorite app that lets you use scripting for automation—but you don't know how to code. Webhooks to the rescue again!

For example, one of my favorite distraction-blocking apps lets you use Bash scripts to automate certain actions. Do I know how to use shell scripts? Not really. Could I switch to another app? Sure, but I'd rather not.

Instead, I can generate a URL with Webhooks' Catch Hook trigger and set up the following command within my app's interface:

curl -X POST https://your-zapier-webhook.example.com/

If you're new to shell scripts and your app can use them, you can try out these examples in RequestBin, which will show you how to structure your shell script to send data. Then, set up the rest of your webhook Zap. 

Try these automated workflows:

Connect your Apple-exclusive apps through Shortcuts

There are some great apps that only exist within the Apple ecosystem. If it offers automation, it will likely use Automator or Apple's Shortcuts app. 

If you need more automation options than Automator or Shortcuts, you can still use those apps to connect to Zapier. 

Here's how it works: 

1. Use Webhooks' Catch Hook for your trigger—the event that starts a Zap—to generate a webhook URL you can use in a Shortcut or in a script within Automator. 

2. Set up your Shortcut or Automator workflow to send information from your app to your Zapier-generated webhook.

3. Test your Shortcut or Automator workflow. 

4. Test your webhook trigger. You should see the results from your previous test. 

5. Set up the rest of your Zap and make sure it's ready to use.

Build your own Zapier integration

If none of the above options suit your needs or you want a more robust solution, you could also build the robot yourself. The Zapier Platform lets you build a Zapier integration—with or without code. 

There are a few benefits to building a custom integration on the Zapier Platform: 

1. You can keep your app account information secure, such as API keys associated with your login or your username and password. You can also let your team use the integration with their credentials. 

2. You can use webhooks that don't send messages. Some webhooks send an empty payload, but Webhooks by Zapier need usable data to pass on to the next Zap step. The Zapier Platform gives you more flexibility with "no-payload" webhooks. 

3. You need to make advanced adjustments to your app's output every time. Formatter and Code by Zapier can help you transform app data into the format you need, but if your app's API returns a messy output, you can use the command line within the Zapier Platform to fix it. 

Non-coders will need to understand APIs and how to read API documentation, but our beginner's guide to APIs will help get you up to speed. 

You can create an integration for an app you don't own—it will just be private for you and your team to use. Or, if you're an app developer, you can create a public integration for your app and let your users automate away. 

Automate your apps with a little creativity

You don't have to miss out on the power of automation. Explore these creative workarounds to connect your apps to Zapier in unexpected ways. And don't forget—you can request to add your app to Zapier. It doesn't hurt to ask!

This article was originally published November 2014, written by Matt Guay. It was most recently updated in April 2023 by Krystina Martinez.