Zapify Troubleshooting: Automation Not Firing

If a Zapify automation is not doing what you expect, the cause is almost always one of a few things: the automation or one of its steps is set to Draft or Off instead of Live, the host plugin it depends on is deactivated, a trigger filter did not match, or the run failed and the reason is sitting in the logs. Check Zapify → Automations for the status first, then Zapify → Logs for what actually happened. The sections below cover each cause and how to confirm it.

Why is my automation not firing?

Work through these in the order they most often turn out to be the answer.

The automation or a step is not Live

An automation has its own status, and every trigger and action inside it carries its own switch — Live, Off, or Draft.

1. Open Zapify → Automations and check the automation's status. A Draft automation has never been published; an Off one was paused deliberately. Click the status to change it.
2. Open the automation in the builder and check each trigger and action card. A step set to Off or Draft is skipped, and the rest of the run carries on without it.

This is the switch people miss most, because the automation itself looks perfectly live. Pausing an automation does not switch its steps off, and resuming does not switch them on — a step you turned off stays off until you turn it back on.

The host plugin is missing

An automation that uses WooCommerce, Gravity Forms or any other integration stops working if that plugin is deactivated. Zapify marks the automation inactive with a stated reason rather than failing silently, and nothing is deleted. Reactivate the plugin and the automation works again, configured exactly as it was.

The trigger filter did not match

A trigger filter that does not match records nothing at all — no run, no log entry. That is by design, but it means "nothing in the log" is a symptom rather than a dead end.

Set Zapify → Settings → Logging → How much to record to Verbose and try again. At that level, misses are recorded too, with both sides of the comparison and their types, so you can see why the filter rejected the event.

The per-user limit was reached

Times per user on the automation limits how often each person can trigger it. If it is set to 1, each person triggers the automation once, ever. Set it to 0 for no limit.

Why did a run fail?

Open Zapify → Logs and open the failed run. Each action records the configuration it was called with after tokens were resolved, saved before the action executed, so you can see whether a token resolved to nothing or an ID was wrong.

Delayed and queued actions depend on WP-Cron. On a low-traffic site WP-Cron may not fire, so nothing in the queue runs either. Zapify → Settings → System status reports whether the action queue has a backlog and whether WP-Cron is disabled without a real system cron replacing it.

Why is my incoming webhook not received?

If a webhook is not creating runs, check these in order:

1. The URL and key are correct. The endpoint is POST or GET to /wp-json/zapify/v1/hook/{key}, where the key is the per-source key shown in Zapify → Settings → Webhooks. A wrong or rotated key returns an error and creates no run.
2. You have not hit the free source limit. Zapify Free allows up to 3 incoming webhook sources. Unlimited sources are a Pro feature — see Webhooks.
3. You are within the rate limits. Incoming requests are capped at 60 per key per minute and 300 per address per minute. Bursts above that are rejected.
4. The body is under 512 KB. Requests with a larger body are refused.

Why is my email action not sending?

If a Send an email action runs successfully in the log but no message arrives, the problem is almost always WordPress mail deliverability, not Zapify. Zapify hands the message to WordPress's wp_mail(); from there it depends on your server and any SMTP setup.

1. Confirm the run reached the email action and completed in Zapify → Logs — if the action was skipped or errored, fix that first.
2. Check the resolved To, Subject and Body in the log; a token that resolved to an empty address means no recipient.
3. Install and configure an SMTP plugin so WordPress sends through an authenticated mail service. Shared hosts frequently drop mail sent with the default PHP mailer.

Conclusion

Most Zapify problems come down to a step that is not Live, a missing host plugin, a filter that did not match, or a deliverability issue outside the plugin — and the run log tells you which. Start at Zapify → Automations for status, then Zapify → Logs for the run detail. If you are still stuck, see Getting support for Zapify for what to send us.

FAQs

Why is my Zapify automation not running?

Check three things in Zapify → Automations and the builder: the automation's status must be Live (not Draft or Off), each trigger and action step must also be set Live, and the integration it uses must be active. Then open Zapify → Logs — if there is no log entry at all, a trigger filter probably did not match the event.

How do I see why a Zapify run failed?

Open Zapify → Logs and click the failed run. Each action shows the configuration it was called with after tokens were resolved, recorded before it executed, so you can spot a token that resolved to nothing or a wrong ID. Set logging to Verbose in Zapify → Settings → Logging to capture full request and response bodies.

Why isn't my incoming webhook creating runs?

Confirm the request hits /wp-json/zapify/v1/hook/{key} with the exact per-source key from Zapify → Settings → Webhooks. Zapify Free allows up to 3 sources, so a fourth is refused. Requests are also rate-limited (60 per key per minute) and the body must be under 512 KB. A mismatched key or an oversized body returns an error and creates no run.

My Send an email action shows success but no email arrives — why?

Zapify passes the message to WordPress's wp_mail(), so a successful action means Zapify did its job and the failure is in mail delivery. Check the resolved recipient in the log is not empty, then set up an SMTP plugin so WordPress sends through an authenticated service. Many hosts silently drop mail from the default PHP mailer.

Do delayed Zapify actions need cron?

Yes. Delayed and queued actions run through the WordPress action queue, which depends on WP-Cron. On a site with little traffic WP-Cron may not fire, so queued actions stall. Check Zapify → Settings → System status for a queue backlog or a disabled WP-Cron, and consider a real server cron on low-traffic sites.