Zapier
Ask for live web data from a Zap and get it back as records, each value with the page it was read from and when. Send the records to a sheet, a CRM, or a channel. A Zap can start again whenever SpecStream finds something new or changed.
SpecStream for ZapierAutomation
What you need
- A Zapier account.
- A SpecStream account. New accounts get $10 of work free, with no card.
- A SpecStream API key, which step 2 creates.
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1. Add SpecStream to Zapier
Open the SpecStream invitation link (opens in a new tab) while signed in to Zapier and accept it. SpecStream then shows up as an app in any Zap.
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2. Create an API key
Make the key in SpecStream: Agents & API, then API keys, then Create API key. Label it Zapier so you can find it later.
A Zap that asks for data needs Read saved requests, Create and edit requests, Prepare work and follow-ups, Authorize paid work, and Read account and balance. A Zap that only receives records needs Read saved requests, Read results and their sources, and Read account and balance. Turn on all of them when one key serves both.
Leave Project on All your projects. Triggers register a webhook on your account, which a key tied to one project can't do.
With Authorize paid work on, set a Total spending limit to cap what the key can spend in all. Your account needs a spending limit as well, under Usage and billing in Settings, before any key can start paid work.
Copy the key when it's shown. It isn't shown again.
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3. Connect your key
Add any SpecStream step to a Zap. When Zapier asks you to connect an account, paste the key into API key. The connection carries the email on your SpecStream account as its name.
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4. Ask for data with Find a List
Add Find a List as an action. In What to Find, describe the data the way you'd say it to a person, for example "Roofing companies in Columbus, Ohio with their website and phone". Then set Number of Results and Maximum Price (USD).
SpecStream reads the request and prices it. The run starts when the most it can cost is at or below your maximum, so the maximum is your approval. Above it, the Zap halts at this step and shows the price. Nothing is spent.
The step answers right away with a list ID, the request as SpecStream read it, the maximum price, and a link to the list in your workspace. The records arrive through the trigger in the next step. If the request is too vague to price, the step stops and quotes how SpecStream read it. Add the place or the requirement it missed.
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5. Send each record to the next step
Build a second Zap that starts with the New Row in a Finished List trigger. It runs once for every record when a list on your account finishes, whether you started the list with Find a List, in the workspace, or from an agent.
While you build, the trigger test shows up to three records from your newest finished list. Add the sheet, CRM, or messaging step you want and map its fields. Map
source_urlandchecked_attoo, so each record keeps its page and its read time. - 6
6. Follow data that changes
For records that arrive over time, start a Zap with New or Changed Row in a Watched List. In SpecStream, open a list, click Keep it current, set how often it runs, and click Start monitor.
Each run that finds a new or changed record starts the Zap once for that record. Monitors explains cadence and limits.
What arrives
Each trigger run is one record, flattened into fields a Zap can map.
A column that shares a name with one of the built-in fields gets " (column)" added to its name, so it can't overwrite them.
| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
id | The list ID and the record ID, joined with a colon. |
list_id | The list the record came from. |
list_link | A link to the list in your workspace. |
position | The record's place in the list. |
| One field per column | Named the way the list names it, such as Business, Website, or Phone. |
source_url | The page the record's first value was read from. |
checked_at | When that page was read. |
Run keys and retries
Zapier can replay a step. To keep a replay from buying the same data twice, SpecStream treats identical requests with the same count and maximum in the same UTC hour as one run.
Map a value that is unique to each Zap run into Run Key when you want a fresh run every time. A key is 8 to 128 characters, and a second request with the same key returns the run it already started without a new charge.
Limits and cost
The SpecStream app is free. Each run is paid from your SpecStream balance, only for the results that match, and your maximum caps it. Pricing details sit in balance, quotes, and billing.
Disconnect
Turn a Zap off and Zapier removes its webhook from SpecStream. Webhooks are listed under Webhooks in Agents & API.
To end the connection, revoke the key under API keys in Agents & API. The next request made with it fails. Records Zapier already sent stay where it put them. Questions go to [email protected].
More
SpecStream for Zapier covers what it does in Zapier on one page. Every other tool has its guide in Connect your tools. You see the most a request can cost before it starts, and only the matches come out of your balance. Billing has the details. For help, email [email protected].