Zapier

Zapier lets agents reach the apps you have already connected in your Zapier account. You build an MCP server in Zapier, choose which actions it exposes, and give Paperclip its generated URL.

Danger: The generated Zapier URL contains its own access token. It is a credential, not just an address — anyone who has the URL can call the actions the server exposes. Treat it exactly like a password: never paste it into a ticket, a chat message, a screenshot, or a commit.

Zapier is available on every instance; no experimental setting is required.

Before you connect

  • A Zapier account with the apps you want to reach already connected there.
  • An MCP server created in Zapier, with the specific actions you want exposed enabled on it.

The actions an agent can call are decided in Zapier, not Paperclip. This is the main thing to get right before connecting: a server with broad actions enabled gives the agent broad reach, and Paperclip cannot narrow it beyond switching off what Zapier advertises.

Connect Zapier

  1. In Zapier, create an MCP server and enable only the actions agents should have. Start with the smallest useful set.
  2. Copy the server's complete generated connection URL.
  3. Open Connectors and select Zapier.
  4. Read the access line above the main button. It says who the connection signs in as and which agents can use it. To pick a different identity, narrow the agents, or use another sign-in method, select Change.
  5. Paste the full MCP server URL and select Connect Zapier. Paperclip verifies it can reach the server, then stores the URL as a secret.

Paste the URL exactly as Zapier generated it, including the token portion. A truncated URL fails the check.

Choose access

Two separate layers, and it is worth knowing which one to reach for:

Layer Controlled in Use it to
Which actions exist at all Zapier, on the MCP server Remove capability entirely
Whether an agent may call an exposed action Paperclip, on the Permissions tab Require approval, or switch one off

Changing the exposed action set in Zapier does not require reconnecting — use Refresh actions in Paperclip afterwards to re-read the list.

Warning: On this connection, an action you expose in Zapier becomes active in Paperclip once you refresh, governed by the policies already in force rather than held back for approval. Widening the Zapier side is the access decision; review the Paperclip list after every refresh.

Anyone in Zapier who can edit that MCP server can widen what the agent can reach, without touching Paperclip. Keep the list of people who can edit it small, and review it when you review the connection.

Because Zapier actions usually act on real systems — sending messages, creating records — most of them classify as writes. Active actions start as Allowed; change them to Ask first if you want to review calls while learning how the agent uses them. See Set action permissions.

Try it

Choose a deliberately read-only action for the first check — for example looking up a record or listing recent items in a connected app — and run it as the agent you intend to use.

Use Zapier to look up the most recent row in my tracking spreadsheet and tell me what it says. Do not create or send anything.

A read confirms the URL, the server, and the agent's permission without acting on an outside system. Avoid verifying with an action that sends a message or creates a record; Zapier actions usually reach real destinations.

Note: Illustrative task, not a recorded test result. Substitute an action your own server exposes.

Troubleshooting and limitations

Problem Likely cause Fix
Connect Zapier fails The URL is incomplete, or the server was deleted in Zapier Copy the complete URL again from Zapier
The action list is empty No actions are enabled on the Zapier MCP server Enable actions in Zapier, then Refresh actions
An action you enabled in Zapier is missing Paperclip has not re-read the list Use Refresh actions
An action you exposed in Zapier is missing Paperclip's copy of the list is stale Use Refresh actions, then confirm the new action's setting — it arrives active under existing policy rather than switched off
An action fails inside Zapier The underlying app connection in Zapier has expired Reconnect that app in Zapier
You suspect the URL leaked The URL is a bearer credential Regenerate the server URL in Zapier and reconnect in Paperclip

Limitations: the action surface is whatever the Zapier server exposes, and Paperclip cannot see or restrict what happens inside a Zap beyond the action it calls. Zapier's own plan limits and task quotas apply. Rotating the URL means reconnecting.

Sources