What is a Zap in Zapier?
A Zap is Zapier's name for an automated workflow, made of a trigger that starts it and one or more actions that Zapier then carries out.
Zapier is a no-code automation tool, and every automation built in it is called a Zap. Each Zap starts with a trigger, an event in an app such as a new email, form entry, or calendar event, and then runs one or more actions, such as creating a record, sending a message, or updating a spreadsheet. Once a Zap is turned on, it runs by itself whenever the trigger event happens.
A simple Zap might watch for new responses to a web form and, for each one, add the person to a CRM, send them a welcome email, and post a note in the team's chat channel. A more complex Zap can add conditions so that it only runs for certain entries, or so that different entries are handled in different ways.
Zaps depend on the connections to each app staying valid. If a password changes, an account loses access, or an app changes the data it sends, a Zap can stop or produce wrong results. Zapier keeps a record of each run, and checking it after setup, and from time to time afterward, is the simplest way to catch problems early.
Other automation tools use different names for the same idea. Make calls an automation a scenario, Microsoft Power Automate calls one a flow, and n8n calls one a workflow. The underlying pattern of a trigger followed by actions is broadly the same, although the tools differ in how steps are arranged, which apps they connect to, and how usage is counted.
An example
A Zap saves every email attachment from a particular supplier into a shared folder and notifies the purchasing team in chat.