Using Zapier with Adafruit IO allows you to automate web tasks on the Internet. For this guide, you'll be creating a Zap using Zapier's Inbound Email integration to send data from a custom email address to an Adafruit IO feed.

Linking Zapier with Adafruit IO

You'll want to first link Zapier with your Adafruit IO Account.

Zapier for Adafruit IO is currently not listed on the Zapier Integrations page (we need 10 active users to make it public), you can sign up for it using this invite link.

Once you have a Zapier Account, you're going create a Zap. A Zap is a combination of a trigger (an incoming email) and an action (sending new data to an Adafruit IO feed). 

To do this, navigate to the Zapier Dashboard and click Make a Zap!

Add a Zapier Trigger

You'll be prompted to choose a trigger app. From the dropdown, select Email by Zapier

Next, you'll want to select a trigger. Click New Inbound Email. This trigger will fire when an email is forwarded to your custom zapiermail.com email address

Customize the name of the email address associated with this zap. Be sure to use lowercase letters and numbers only.

Then, click Copy to Clipboard. Save the email address somewhere safe (like a text file on your desktop), you'll need it later.

Zapier needs an email sent to the address you created to act as a sample.

Send an email to the zapier email address you created with some text in the subject line - a simple Hello Zapier works.

Zapier will check for a new email in the inbox. Once an email shows up, you can check out the raw data Zapier received as part of the sample.

You're going to be sending some of this data, such as the email address (from) and the subject, to an Adafruit IO feed.

Add a Zapier Action

Now that you have a trigger, it's time to add an Action. Once Zapier receives a new inbound email, it needs something to do with it. This is an action, in Zapier terms.

Click Add a Step

Zapier integrates with hundreds of apps, but you'll want to add Adafruit IO as an Action App

Using the search bar - search for Adafruit IO.

Select Create Feed Data as an Adafruit IO Action.

Next, select your Adafruit IO Account (or connect your account if you have not done so already).

Select zapemail as the feed key.

The Value field is be the data sent from Zapier to the Adafruit IO feed you created earlier.

First, Select From as the first value.

To add separation between the email address and the text, press the space bar once in the value field.

Next, Select Subject as the second value.

The Value field should look like the following

Zapier will allow you to test out the Zap by sending a test Zap to Adafruit IO. To do this, click Send Test to Adafruit IO.

If Zapier and Adafruit IO are integrated correctly, Zapier will display that the test was successful. 

But - how do you know if Adafruit IO received the message from Zapier? 

Navigate to your Adafruit IO zapemail feed. You should see the sender and subject from the email you sent earlier appear on the feed.

Lastly, you'll want to turn on the Zap so it runs continuously. 

This guide was first published on Mar 15, 2019. It was last updated on Mar 28, 2024.

This page (Zapier Setup) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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