Zapier Workflows Early Access Install

Imperative recipe. Each step gates the next. Do not skip a step that failed.

This is the public-first EA path. It uses the Zapier SDK CLI and does not install the legacy

@zapier/zapier-sdk-code-substrate

package.

Flow

mermaid

flowchart TD
  probe["1. Probe environment"] --> envOk{"Node 18+, npm, git OK?"}
  envOk -->|no| stopEnv["STOP: tell user what to install"]
  envOk -->|yes| installCli["2. Install or update SDK CLI"]
  installCli --> verifyExperimental["3. Verify experimental commands"]
  verifyExperimental --> commandsOk{"Code Workflows commands visible?"}
  commandsOk -->|no| stopCli["STOP: diagnose SDK CLI install"]
  commandsOk -->|yes| checkAuth["4. Check Zapier auth"]
  checkAuth --> authOk{"JSON has data and no errors?"}
  authOk -->|no| login["4b. Ask user to run interactive login"]
  login --> checkAuth
  authOk -->|yes| checkAccess["5. Check Zapier Workflows EA access"]
  checkAccess --> accessOk{"Read-only workflow list succeeds?"}
  accessOk -->|no| stopAccess["STOP: closed beta access required"]
  accessOk -->|yes| installSkills["6. Bootstrap companion skills"]
  installSkills --> report["7. Report success and next steps"]

What This Installs

@zapier/zapier-sdk-cli@latest

— public npm package that provides

zapier-sdk

zapier-sdk-cli

, and

zapier-sdk-experimental

. Installed globally.

Five companion skills installed through the

skills

CLI:

workflows/doctor

workflows/create

workflows/list

workflows/history

, and

workflows/modify

What this does not install:

```
@zapier/zapier-sdk-code-substrate
```
— old private CLI path. Do not install it for EA.
```
@zapier/zapier-durable
```
globally. The create skill installs or pins it inside workflow projects when needed.

Step 1: Probe Environment

Run each check. If any fails, stop and tell the user how to fix it.

bash

node --version
npm --version
git --version

Expected output:

bash

v18.0.0   # or higher
10.x.x    # npm version; any current version is fine
git version 2.x.x

Requirements:

Tool	Minimum version	Install if missing
Node	18	`brew install node` or use nvm
npm	any current version	bundled with Node
git	any	usually preinstalled on macOS; otherwise `brew install git`

If Node or npm is missing, explain that Node includes npm and the user needs a normal Node install before continuing. For macOS users, suggest either the Node LTS installer from

nodejs.org

, Homebrew (

brew install node

), or nvm if they already use it. Do not continue until

node --version

and

npm --version

work.

If git is missing, explain that git is needed only to download the companion skills from GitHub. For macOS users, suggest installing Apple Command Line Tools or Homebrew git. Do not continue until

git --version

works.

Step 2: Install Or Update The Zapier SDK CLI

Check for an existing binary and the latest published CLI version:

bash

which zapier-sdk
zapier-sdk --version
npm view @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli version

zapier-sdk

is missing, install the CLI globally:

bash

npm install -g @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli@latest

zapier-sdk

already exists, compare the installed version from

zapier-sdk --version

with the latest version from

npm view @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli version

. If they differ, update the CLI:

bash

npm install -g @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli@latest

After updating, rerun:

bash

zapier-sdk --version
npm view @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli version

Continue only when the installed CLI version matches the latest published

@zapier/zapier-sdk-cli

version.

Verify the binary is on PATH:

bash

which zapier-sdk
zapier-sdk --version

If global npm installs fail because of permissions, tell the user to fix their Node/npm setup before retrying. Prefer a user-owned Node install through nvm or Homebrew over

sudo npm install -g

Step 3: Verify Code Workflows Experimental Commands

bash

zapier-sdk --experimental --help
zapier-sdk --experimental create-workflow --help
zapier-sdk --experimental publish-workflow-version --help
zapier-sdk --experimental run-durable --help
zapier-sdk --experimental list-triggers --help
zapier-sdk --experimental get-workflow-run --help
zapier-sdk --experimental trigger-workflow --help
zapier-sdk --experimental list-workflow-drafts --help
zapier-sdk --experimental publish-workflow-draft --help

Expected output includes the Code Workflows command group, including commands such as:

text

create-workflow
list-workflows
run-durable
publish-workflow-version
list-workflow-runs
get-workflow-run
list-workflow-drafts
create-workflow-draft
get-workflow-draft
update-workflow-draft
publish-workflow-draft
discard-workflow-draft

The command-specific help must expose the flags the companion skills depend on:

```
create-workflow --help
```
includes
```
--private
```
.

publish-workflow-version --help

includes

--connections

--app-versions

, and

--trigger

update-workflow-draft --help

includes

--draft-revision

publish-workflow-draft --help

includes

--draft-revision

and

--enabled

run-durable --help

includes

--connections

and

--private

```
list-triggers --help
```
succeeds.
```
get-workflow-run --help
```
succeeds.
```
trigger-workflow --help
```
includes
```
--input
```
.

The equivalent binary may also work:

bash

zapier-sdk-experimental --help

If neither form exposes Code Workflows commands, stop and diagnose the SDK CLI install. Do not fall back to

@zapier/zapier-sdk-code-substrate

zapier-sdk

exists but the Code Workflows command group or required command-specific flags are missing, the user likely has an older SDK CLI. Run:

bash

npm install -g @zapier/zapier-sdk-cli@latest
zapier-sdk --experimental --help
zapier-sdk --experimental publish-workflow-version --help

Retry the command-specific help checks once after updating. Proceed only after the Code Workflows command group and required flags are visible. If the required flags are still missing after updating, stop and report the installed CLI version and latest npm version; do not install companion skills into a workspace that cannot run their documented command shapes.

Step 4: Authenticate To Zapier

Check auth state first:

bash

zapier-sdk get-profile --json

Treat auth as successful only if the JSON has a non-null

data

object with an email and the

errors

array is empty. Do not rely on exit code alone; some SDK CLI auth failures return exit code 0 with errors in the JSON body.

Expected successful output includes the user's email:

json

{
  "data": {
    "email": "user@example.com"
  },
  "errors": []
}

data

is null,

errors

is non-empty, or the error message says authentication is required, stop and ask the user to run the interactive login command in a real terminal:

bash

zapier-sdk login

This opens a browser. The CLI error text may suggest

npx zapier-sdk login

, but after the global install above the preferred command is

zapier-sdk login

. Do not run browser login inside a non-interactive shell or background process unless the user explicitly asks you to manage the interactive login. After the user finishes login, rerun

zapier-sdk get-profile --json

and inspect the JSON again.

For Zapier employees, the normal path is to log in with their Zapier work account. For external-user testing, use the account that has been allowlisted for Zapier Workflows EA.

Do not ask the user for a Zapier password, API key, npm token, or copied auth token. Authentication should happen through the browser-based

zapier-sdk login

flow unless the user explicitly says they are using client credentials for automation.

If the user wants non-interactive auth for automation, note that the CLI error message may mention

ZAPIER_CREDENTIALS

or client credential environment variables. For this EA install path, prefer browser login unless the user already has client credentials.

Step 5: Check Zapier Workflows EA Access

After SDK profile auth succeeds, confirm the authenticated account has Zapier Workflows EA access with a read-only Code Workflows call:

bash

zapier-sdk --experimental list-workflows --json

Expected output is JSON containing workflow data or an empty list, with no errors. This command should not create or modify cloud state.

Treat the access check as successful only if the JSON has workflow data or an empty workflow list and

errors

is empty. Do not rely on exit code alone; this command may return exit code 0 while the JSON body contains errors.

If the response says authentication is required, return to Step 4 and diagnose SDK auth.

If the response includes any of the following, treat it as a Zapier Workflows EA access failure and stop before installing companion skills:

None of the security schemes (userJwt) successfully authenticated this request

```
allowlist
```
,
```
not allowlisted
```
, or
```
not whitelisted
```

forbidden

permission

unauthorized

, or

access denied

When EA access fails, tell the user:

text

You're logged in to Zapier as <email>, and the Zapier SDK CLI is installed, but this account does not currently have Zapier Workflows EA access.

Zapier Workflows is currently only available to members of our closed beta.

To request access, fill out the beta sign-up form:

https://next-gen-zaps.zapier.app/

Submitting the form does not grant access immediately. The Zapier team will review your request and let you know once access has been granted.

After your account is allowlisted, rerun the workflows-install skill in this workspace. Reinstalling Node, npm, git, or the SDK CLI will not fix this access check.

Use the email from

zapier-sdk get-profile --json

in place of

<email>

Step 6: Bootstrap The Workflows Companion Skills

Install the companion skills into the current workspace only after SDK auth and Zapier Workflows EA access are confirmed.

Use the public

skills.sh

install path. The

npx

command runs the

skills

CLI; the skill content comes from the public

zapier/agent-skills

GitHub repo after that repo is published.

bash

npx skills add zapier/agent-skills --skill workflows-doctor --yes
npx skills add zapier/agent-skills --skill workflows-create --yes
npx skills add zapier/agent-skills --skill workflows-list --yes
npx skills add zapier/agent-skills --skill workflows-history --yes
npx skills add zapier/agent-skills --skill workflows-modify --yes

Verify:

bash

npx skills list --json

Expected output should include the installed workflows companion skills:

workflows-doctor

workflows-create

workflows-list

workflows-history

, and

workflows-modify

If any companion skill is missing, rerun the specific

npx skills add ...

command and diagnose before proceeding.

Updates later use the standard

skills

CLI update path. If a companion skill detects SDK/skill drift, rerun

workflows-install

or run

workflows-doctor

; those are the canonical repair paths.

bash

npx skills update --project

Step 7: Report Success

Tell the user:

Zapier SDK CLI is installed and on PATH, confirmed via
```
which zapier-sdk
```
.
Code Workflows experimental commands are available.
The authenticated Zapier account email from
```
zapier-sdk get-profile --json
```
.
Zapier Workflows EA access was confirmed with a read-only workflow listing.

Five companion workflow skills are installed:

workflows/doctor

workflows/create

workflows/list

workflows/history

, and

workflows/modify

This confirms SDK CLI install, login, Zapier Workflows EA access, and skill bootstrap. It does not yet prove that building, publishing, triggering, or running a full workflow works.

Next steps for the user:

Configure app connections at https://zapier.com/app/assets/connections before attempting to build workflows.
Reload your agent workspace so the new skills are picked up. This is required before the agent can reliably auto-discover the installed workflow skills.
Ask your agent to create a workflow, for example: "Create a Zapier workflow that takes a manual input and sends a Slack message."

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
`node --version` prints less than `v18`	Old Node	`brew upgrade node` or use nvm to install a current LTS
`npm install -g` fails with permissions errors	Global npm prefix is not user-writable	Use nvm or Homebrew Node; avoid `sudo npm install -g` unless the user explicitly accepts that system-level change
`zapier-sdk --experimental --help` lacks Code Workflows commands	Old CLI or wrong package installed	Install `@zapier/zapier-sdk-cli@latest` , then rerun `zapier-sdk --version` and the help command
`zapier-sdk get-profile` says not logged in	User has not authenticated the CLI	Run `zapier-sdk login` in an interactive terminal, then retry
`get-profile` succeeds but `list-workflows` returns an access, permission, allowlist, or JWT/security-scheme error	The Zapier account is authenticated but does not have Zapier Workflows EA access	Stop before installing companion skills. Tell the user Zapier Workflows is currently only available to members of our closed beta, include the authenticated email, and ask them to rerun `workflows-install` after allowlisting.
`zapier-sdk login` does not open a browser	No default browser configured, or remote/SSH session	Try `zapier-sdk login --no-browser` if supported by the installed CLI, or run from a local terminal
`zapier-sdk login` hangs in a non-interactive shell	`login` is browser-interactive; cannot run unattended	Ask the user to run it manually in an actual terminal
`npx skills add zapier/agent-skills --skill workflows-...` fails	Public skill source is unavailable, the skill has not been published yet, or network access failed	Confirm the `zapier/agent-skills` public repo and workflow skill path are available, then rerun the specific install command
Skills do not auto-invoke after install	Agent workspace has not reloaded the skills directory	Reload workspace or restart your agent

workflows-install

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Zapier Workflows Early Access Install

Flow

What This Installs

Step 1: Probe Environment

Step 2: Install Or Update The Zapier SDK CLI

Step 3: Verify Code Workflows Experimental Commands

Step 4: Authenticate To Zapier

Step 5: Check Zapier Workflows EA Access

Step 6: Bootstrap The Workflows Companion Skills

Step 7: Report Success

Troubleshooting