Show HN: Zapier's first API

235 pointsmikeknoop3y ago32 comments

Hey HN! We launched Zapier way back in 2012 on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4138415 and thought we'd return home to announce something special and hopefully exciting :) We are trying to finally live up to the "API" in our name with Zapier's first universal API:

Natural Language Actions – https://zapier.com/l/natural-language-actions

API docs – https://nla.zapier.com/api/v1/docs

(to be fair, we have published APIs before that can access Zapier data, but never before one devs can use to directly call the 5k+ apps / 20k+ actions on our platform)

For example, you can use the API to:

  * Send messages in Slack
  * Retrieve a row in a Google Sheet
  * Draft a reply in Gmail
  * ... and thousands more actions with one universal API

We optimized NLA for use cases that receive user input in natural language (think chatbots, assistants, or any product/feature using LLMs) -- but not strictly required!

Folks have asked for an API for 10 years and I've always been slightly embarrassed we didn't have one. We hesitated because we did not want to pass along our universe of complexity to end devs. With the help of LLMs we found some cool patterns to deliver the API we always wanted.

My co-founder/CTO Bryan did an interview with Garry on YC blog with more details: https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/building-apis-for-ai-an-int...

We also published a LangChain integration to show off some possibilities:

  * Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEK_9wLYEHU
  * Jupyter notebook: https://github.com/hwchase17/langchain/blob/master/docs/modules/utils/examples/zapier.ipynb

We know the API is not perfect but we're excited and eager for feedback to help shape it.

32 comments

bryanh3y ago

This was a ton of fun to build! We'll also be releasing a NLA enabled version of our Chrome extension [0] within the next couple of days which will be similar (but way more convenient than) the demo on the landing page above.

Anyone can start hacking on NLA today, go check out https://nla.zapier.com/get-started/ after you log in!

We're super bullish on LLMs for pulling "no-code" forward, helping more knowledge workers build automations. Already, folks are using our OpenAI [1] + ChatGPT [2] integrations to build very cool automations with summaries, categorization, copy writing, and more. We think there is a ton more to do here.

If anyone is interested in this problem space, shoot me an email bryan@zapier.com!

[0] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zapier/ngghlnfmdgn... [1] https://zapier.com/apps/openai/integrations [2] https://zapier.com/apps/chatgpt/integrations

lagniappe3y ago

Thanks for making this for us! Congrats on your big day

nico3y ago

Joined the wait list 1 week ago - any news on when it will open up or how fast you are taking new users?

trhr3y ago

Hey Zapier! Stop introducing breaking changes into your integrations without deprecation warnings. Follow semver like normal people, or at the very least, publish a release strategy.

Sincerely,

A former consultant who hard sold like 50 of your customers to drop your platform after your last HubSpot integration debacle.

peedee863y ago

Aren't most integrations on Zapier made by the apps themselves - aka HubSpot push updates to their Zapier app and fix anything which breaks.

trhr3y ago

I don't know the inner workings of their deployment strategy, just that we couldn't trust the platform not to break in prod. And breaking the sales team workflow in prod is a high-visibility failure.

I guess I should be thanking them, because I upsold a chunk of those clients on custom development under the logic of "if you can't trust your middleware not to break, you need to own the middleware." But if the release strategy is coordinated solely by a single app developer, that would explain why they couldn't trust Zapier as middleware, I suppose.

mmaia3y ago

Zapier's landing page doesn't live up to what they're releasing. Be sure to check out the LangChain integration and examples.

https://langchain.readthedocs.io/en/latest/modules/utils/exa...

mikeknoopOP3y ago

Agree, will make the landing page better. Would recommend checking out this LangChain notebook: https://github.com/hwchase17/langchain/blob/master/docs/modu...

sontek3y ago

This is going to be an awesome way to optimize Zapier usage. I'm not a huge AI guy but love the idea of sprinkling a little on top of my existing zaps to make them even more useful!

For example I have a zap right now that every time I react in slack with :todoist: it adds it to my TODO backlog. If I can use AI to read that thread and put a summary in there that'll make me more productive.

Reidoutloud3y ago

I'm the PM at Zapier for this and this is one of my personal favorite ways to use GPT-3 in Zapier. Linking you a template. Change the Trigger to New Reaction added. Set it to :todoist: and the user as yourself. Enjoy!

Use this Template: https://zapier.com/webintent/create-zap?template=1173093

toddmorey3y ago

Imagine just 3 years ago reading about a saas product advertising “hallucination protection”. Life comes at you fast.

ahmed_ds3y ago

I would really love to hear a bit about Zapier's pursuit towards innovation.

There are quite a few workflows automation platform out there. It is now an entire industry. With nocode being more and more popular, there is a lot of "Alternative to Zapier platforms".

This makes me wonder, is innovation in no code workflow automation platform limited to just new API services? Or is there possibility to innovate in a new way? Some of Zapier's competitors have integrated programming language interface, spreadsheet element etc.

As the OG workflow automation platform, what does innovation mean to Zapier beyond hosting an API service?

Reidoutloud3y ago

Replying as the PM on the NLA API. But you might want to check out some of the other tools Zapier is building that go beyond being an API connector. Also keep an eye out for more AI stuff soon! https://zapier.com/early-access

killthebuddha3y ago

Related: I've been seeing a ton of news/references to LangChain recently. My own team is working closely with LLMs, and my non-technical cofounder is pushing hard for us to adopt LangChain as one of our core tools. So I spent a couple days diving into the LangChain codebase and I just don't understand why I would use LangChain. It feels to me like almost all of the LangChain codebase is dedicated to solving non-complex problems or interfacing with dozens on dozens of third-party APIs.

All that said, the LangChain team looks solid, they've definitely been shipping code fast, tons of people have committed to the ecosystem, they raised a bunch of money, and I'm a huge believer in just going with standards.

Has anyone here worked through this same dilemma, or a similar one, and could maybe help me with how I should be thinking about it?

tobyjsullivan3y ago

I’m only looking at it for the first time but it looks like a framework to me. And that promises all the usual benefits (and drawbacks) of any framework.

- learning the framework is a one-time cost that pays dividends over multiple projects. Subsequent products can be built by only implementing the domain-specific stuff above the framework.

- presumably the stuff solved by the framework is non-trivial. It might be “obvious” (in hindsight) but chances are the framework designer has thought about it much more than we want to.

- (theoretical) the framework will outlive any single generation of LLM. This is a fast-moving space and learning a new API or model every few months isn’t going to be fun. Hopefully the framework will adapt and adopters can transition to new models using one framework they already know.

Only the third really applies to an existing project adopting the framework. Is that applicable in your case?

killthebuddha3y ago

Ironically, LangChain is basically DOA with OpenAI's plugins release. LangChain would still be useful for multi-model applications, but every other sufficiently powerful model will probably just build the same thing.

1 more reply

ezekg3y ago

Congrats on the launch. Looks useful for certain types of users. I can imagine it now:

> Hey Zapier, generate a new Keygen license for ACME Co. and send the license key to them via email using Postmark. Send me a copy of the email as well. Lastly, mail them a new customer postcard.

Going to share this with a few customers today.

asdfzalsd3y ago

Pretty cool

Was able to get something up and running pretty fast. (Search on google and texted myself)

https://twitter.com/pwang_szn/status/1638707301073956864?s=2...

xavdid3y ago

Congrats on the launch y'all, this is very neat! This was obviously a big effort.

I'm excited to see how the introduction of AI will change the way integrations are built, maintained, and well, integrated.

Cheers!

BrianOnHN3y ago

I wonder if they fixed replying to Gmail threads. Last time I tried, without the NLP layer, it failed to do anything but create new threads.

mikeknoopOP3y ago

We just added a "Gmail: Create Draft Reply" action and by default the NLA API will auto-guess the appropriate thread. Share feedback if you see this not working as expected as it's new!

ShadowBanThis013y ago

Would’ve been nice to say what Zapier is.

lcrmorin3y ago

Maybe they could have used a LLM to expend their message a bit

1 more reply

reality_inspctr3y ago

Super cool. Applied to keep building a calendar that lets you Spend Time from a time budget.

extragood3y ago

Congratulations Zapier team!

I've been an active Zapier user for the past 6 or so years, and my teams have adopted it for various simple integration projects.

I'm excited to see what more we can do with Zapier's new Natural Language Actions.

loopdoend3y ago

This would be really “fun” to scale with all the synchronous work going on. You guys definitely picked one of the hardest businesses to be in given the ungodly number of service providers you interface with!

Very impressive.

jacooper3y ago

Man, that would be great if we can add a step to summarize an article before posting it to social media

bryanh3y ago

We have you covered! https://zapier.com/apps/openai/integrations

jd_smeltser3y ago

You could accomplish this with the existing chatGPT integration

dylburger3y ago

Take a look at https://pipedream.com/apps/openai/actions/summarize

rashidae3y ago

Awesome!!!

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

Show HN: Zapier's first API

235 pointsmikeknoop3y ago32 comments

Natural Language Actions – https://zapier.com/l/natural-language-actions

API docs – https://nla.zapier.com/api/v1/docs

(to be fair, we have published APIs before that can access Zapier data, but never before one devs can use to directly call the 5k+ apps / 20k+ actions on our platform)

For example, you can use the API to:

  * Send messages in Slack
  * Retrieve a row in a Google Sheet
  * Draft a reply in Gmail
  * ... and thousands more actions with one universal API

We optimized NLA for use cases that receive user input in natural language (think chatbots, assistants, or any product/feature using LLMs) -- but not strictly required!

My co-founder/CTO Bryan did an interview with Garry on YC blog with more details: https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/building-apis-for-ai-an-int...

We also published a LangChain integration to show off some possibilities:

  * Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEK_9wLYEHU
  * Jupyter notebook: https://github.com/hwchase17/langchain/blob/master/docs/modules/utils/examples/zapier.ipynb

We know the API is not perfect but we're excited and eager for feedback to help shape it.

32 comments

bryanh3y ago

Anyone can start hacking on NLA today, go check out https://nla.zapier.com/get-started/ after you log in!

If anyone is interested in this problem space, shoot me an email bryan@zapier.com!

[0] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zapier/ngghlnfmdgn... [1] https://zapier.com/apps/openai/integrations [2] https://zapier.com/apps/chatgpt/integrations

lagniappe3y ago

Thanks for making this for us! Congrats on your big day

nico3y ago

Joined the wait list 1 week ago - any news on when it will open up or how fast you are taking new users?

trhr3y ago

Hey Zapier! Stop introducing breaking changes into your integrations without deprecation warnings. Follow semver like normal people, or at the very least, publish a release strategy.

Sincerely,

A former consultant who hard sold like 50 of your customers to drop your platform after your last HubSpot integration debacle.

peedee863y ago

Aren't most integrations on Zapier made by the apps themselves - aka HubSpot push updates to their Zapier app and fix anything which breaks.

trhr3y ago

I don't know the inner workings of their deployment strategy, just that we couldn't trust the platform not to break in prod. And breaking the sales team workflow in prod is a high-visibility failure.

mmaia3y ago

Zapier's landing page doesn't live up to what they're releasing. Be sure to check out the LangChain integration and examples.

https://langchain.readthedocs.io/en/latest/modules/utils/exa...

mikeknoopOP3y ago

Agree, will make the landing page better. Would recommend checking out this LangChain notebook: https://github.com/hwchase17/langchain/blob/master/docs/modu...

sontek3y ago

This is going to be an awesome way to optimize Zapier usage. I'm not a huge AI guy but love the idea of sprinkling a little on top of my existing zaps to make them even more useful!

Reidoutloud3y ago

Use this Template: https://zapier.com/webintent/create-zap?template=1173093

toddmorey3y ago

Imagine just 3 years ago reading about a saas product advertising “hallucination protection”. Life comes at you fast.

ahmed_ds3y ago

I would really love to hear a bit about Zapier's pursuit towards innovation.

There are quite a few workflows automation platform out there. It is now an entire industry. With nocode being more and more popular, there is a lot of "Alternative to Zapier platforms".

As the OG workflow automation platform, what does innovation mean to Zapier beyond hosting an API service?

Reidoutloud3y ago

killthebuddha3y ago

Has anyone here worked through this same dilemma, or a similar one, and could maybe help me with how I should be thinking about it?

tobyjsullivan3y ago

I’m only looking at it for the first time but it looks like a framework to me. And that promises all the usual benefits (and drawbacks) of any framework.

- learning the framework is a one-time cost that pays dividends over multiple projects. Subsequent products can be built by only implementing the domain-specific stuff above the framework.

- presumably the stuff solved by the framework is non-trivial. It might be “obvious” (in hindsight) but chances are the framework designer has thought about it much more than we want to.

Only the third really applies to an existing project adopting the framework. Is that applicable in your case?

killthebuddha3y ago

1 more reply

ezekg3y ago

Congrats on the launch. Looks useful for certain types of users. I can imagine it now:

> Hey Zapier, generate a new Keygen license for ACME Co. and send the license key to them via email using Postmark. Send me a copy of the email as well. Lastly, mail them a new customer postcard.

Going to share this with a few customers today.

asdfzalsd3y ago

Pretty cool

Was able to get something up and running pretty fast. (Search on google and texted myself)

https://twitter.com/pwang_szn/status/1638707301073956864?s=2...

xavdid3y ago

Congrats on the launch y'all, this is very neat! This was obviously a big effort.

I'm excited to see how the introduction of AI will change the way integrations are built, maintained, and well, integrated.

Cheers!

BrianOnHN3y ago

I wonder if they fixed replying to Gmail threads. Last time I tried, without the NLP layer, it failed to do anything but create new threads.

mikeknoopOP3y ago

We just added a "Gmail: Create Draft Reply" action and by default the NLA API will auto-guess the appropriate thread. Share feedback if you see this not working as expected as it's new!

ShadowBanThis013y ago

Would’ve been nice to say what Zapier is.

lcrmorin3y ago

Maybe they could have used a LLM to expend their message a bit

1 more reply

reality_inspctr3y ago

Super cool. Applied to keep building a calendar that lets you Spend Time from a time budget.

extragood3y ago

Congratulations Zapier team!

I've been an active Zapier user for the past 6 or so years, and my teams have adopted it for various simple integration projects.

I'm excited to see what more we can do with Zapier's new Natural Language Actions.

loopdoend3y ago

Very impressive.

jacooper3y ago

Man, that would be great if we can add a step to summarize an article before posting it to social media

bryanh3y ago

We have you covered! https://zapier.com/apps/openai/integrations

jd_smeltser3y ago

You could accomplish this with the existing chatGPT integration

dylburger3y ago

Take a look at https://pipedream.com/apps/openai/actions/summarize

rashidae3y ago

Awesome!!!

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse