Connect FastComments to Zapier
The FastComments app for Zapier connects your comments to thousands of other apps without writing code.
Use it to post a Slack message when someone comments, log every comment to a spreadsheet, create a comment from a form submission, or add commenters to your CRM. Triggers fire the moment something happens, because they are backed by webhooks rather than polling, and actions call the FastComments API on your behalf.
This guide assumes you have a FastComments account. You can create one here.
This guide covers using the Zapier app. The endpoints it calls, along with request and response formats and the OAuth flow behind the connection, are documented in the API reference.
Connect Your Account 
Connect Your Account
- In Zapier, add a FastComments step to a Zap, or open the FastComments app page in the Zapier App Directory.
- Choose Sign in to FastComments. Zapier asks for your region first: pick United States unless your
account was created on the EU region (
eu.fastcomments.com). - A FastComments window opens. Sign in if you are not already signed in.
- Review the consent page. It shows the Zapier application, the account it will be connected to, and the permissions requested (read and write). Choose Approve.
- Zapier stores the connection and labels it with your site name and username.
The connection uses OAuth. No API key is copied into Zapier, and the token Zapier holds only works for the account you approved.
Who can connect
The person approving the connection must be an API admin on the FastComments account. Account owners have this permission; other team members can be granted it on the Users page. Someone without it sees a "you do not have permission" page instead of the consent form.
Connecting the right site
The consent page connects the account you are currently signed in to. If you manage several accounts, switch to the right one from the account switcher before approving, or use the switch account link on the consent page. The connection label in Zapier shows the site name, so a wrong choice is easy to spot.
Reviewing and revoking access
Every connection appears under Connected Apps in the FastComments dashboard, with the permissions it holds and when it was last used. Revoking it there disconnects Zapier immediately; any Zap using that connection stops until it is reconnected. You can also remove the connection from the Zapier side under My Apps.
Triggers
Triggers
Triggers start a Zap when something happens in FastComments. All three are instant: FastComments delivers the event to Zapier through a webhook the moment it happens. Nothing polls your account and no API credits are spent waiting.
| Trigger | Fires when |
|---|---|
| New Comment | A comment is posted. By default only approved, non-spam comments trigger. |
| Updated Comment | A comment is edited, approved, voted on, pinned, locked, or otherwise changed. |
| Deleted Comment | A comment is deleted. |
Each trigger returns the full comment: id, page URL and URL ID, commenter name and email, the comment text as markdown and as HTML, vote counts, approval and spam flags, the locale, the domain, and any mentions. The fields match the webhook payload documented under Webhooks, Data Structures.
Options
Domain. Every trigger has an optional domain filter, listing the domains configured on your account. Leave it blank to receive events from every domain.
Include Unapproved and Spam Comments. On the New Comment trigger only. Comments that are held for moderation or marked as spam are skipped by default. When such a comment is approved later, the Updated Comment trigger fires for it, so a Zap that should react to every comment that becomes visible uses Updated Comment with a filter on the approved field.
How delivery works
Turning a Zap on creates a webhook subscription on your account, visible on the Webhooks page with the source API. Turning the Zap off removes it. Zapier's own limits apply to how many events it accepts per minute; FastComments retries a delivery that fails, with a growing delay, and disables a subscription that keeps failing for six days. A disabled subscription can be re-enabled from the Webhooks page, or simply turn the Zap off and on again to create a fresh one.
An account can hold up to 50 API subscriptions. Each Zap using a FastComments trigger uses one.
Actions and Searches
Actions and Searches
Actions create data in FastComments; searches look data up so a later step can use it. Each action calls the FastComments REST API and spends the same API credits the call would cost from your own code: one credit per call unless noted.
Create Comment
Posts a comment on a page.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Page URL ID | Yes | The URL ID the comment widget uses on the page. Comments are grouped by it. |
| Page URL | Yes | The full page URL, used in notification emails. |
| Comment | Yes | The comment body in FastComments markdown. |
| Commenter Name | Yes | Names are unique per email, so reusing a name with a different email fails. |
| Commenter Email | No | A user is created for the email when it does not exist yet. |
| User ID | No | An existing SSO user id. Takes precedence over the name and email. |
| Parent Comment ID | No | Set to post a reply. |
| Approved, Verified | No | Both default to true. Unapproved comments stay hidden until moderated. |
| Posted At | No | Defaults to now. |
| Avatar URL, Page Title, Locale | No | Locale defaults to en_us. |
| Show Live In Widget | No | Pushes the comment to viewers in real time. Costs 2 credits instead of 1. |
| Run Spam Check, Send Emails | No | Off by default. |
Create or Update Page
Creates a page record before any comment exists on it, so it can be listed and restricted. Takes the URL ID, title, URL, and optionally the SSO group ids allowed to see it. If a page with that URL ID already exists it is updated with the fields given, so a Zap can run for the same page repeatedly.
Create or Update SSO User
Creates a single sign-on user. Takes your own user id, username and email, plus optional display name, display label, avatar, website, group ids, and notification and privacy flags. If a user with that id already exists it is updated instead. Administrative roles cannot be granted from Zapier.
Create Feed Post
Creates a post in a FastComments feed from HTML content. The author user id is required (a FastComments or SSO user id); title, tags, and one link preview are optional.
Create or Update Hash Tag
Creates a hash tag that commenters can use, with an optional URL it links to. If the tag already exists it is updated instead.
Flag Comment
Flags a comment for moderator review. The id of the user doing the flagging is required; the author id returned by Create Comment works.
Searches
| Search | Input | Returns |
|---|---|---|
| Find Comment | Comment ID | The comment, or nothing. |
| Find SSO User | The SSO user, or nothing. | |
| Find Page | URL ID | The page, or nothing. |
A search that finds nothing does not fail the Zap. Find SSO User and Find Page offer Zapier's "create if it doesn't exist" option, which runs the matching create when nothing is found.
Example Zaps
Example Zaps
A few workflows that take minutes to set up.
Get notified about new comments. New Comment, then Slack "Send Channel Message" or Discord "Send Channel Message". Map the commenter name, the comment text, and the page URL into the message. Add the domain filter to notify a different channel per site.
Keep a log of every comment. New Comment, then Google Sheets "Create Spreadsheet Row". Add Deleted Comment as a second Zap that appends a row with the comment id, so the sheet doubles as an audit trail.
Email the author when a comment is approved. Updated Comment with a Zapier filter on Approved is true, then Gmail "Send Email". Because Updated Comment fires on every change, the filter is what makes this Zap react only to approvals.
Add commenters to your CRM or mailing list. New Comment, then HubSpot "Create or Update Contact" or Mailchimp "Add or Update Subscriber" using the commenter email. Respect your privacy policy and local law before adding anyone to a marketing list.
Create a comment from a form. Typeform or Google Forms "New Response", then FastComments Create Comment with the page URL ID your site uses for testimonials. Leave Approved unchecked to review each one before it appears.
Post announcements to a feed. RSS by Zapier "New Item in Feed", then Create Feed Post with the item's title, content, and link.
Provision members as SSO users. Memberstack, Memberful, or your own webhook, then Find SSO User followed by Create SSO User in "find or create" mode.
Escalate reported comments. Updated Comment, filtered on a flag count above zero, then Trello "Create Card" or Linear "Create Issue" with the comment id and a link to the moderation page.
Publish pages as they go live. WordPress or Ghost "New Post", then Create Page with the post URL, so the page is listed and restricted before the first comment.
Archive deleted comments. Deleted Comment, then Airtable "Create Record" with the full comment for compliance retention.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
"You do not have permission" when connecting. The signed-in user is not an API admin on the account. Ask the account owner to grant the API permission on the Users page, or connect as the owner.
The connection is labelled with the wrong site. The consent page connects the account you were signed in to at the time. Disconnect in Zapier, switch accounts in the FastComments dashboard, and connect again.
Events stopped arriving. Check the Webhooks page in the dashboard. A subscription whose endpoint kept failing for six days is disabled automatically and shows why. Re-enable it there, or turn the Zap off and on again. If the subscription is missing entirely, someone deleted it; turning the Zap off and on recreates it.
Zapier says the account needs to be reconnected. The connection was revoked from the Connected Apps page, the user who approved it lost the API permission, or the account was deleted. Reconnect from Zapier.
An action fails with "does not have write access". The connection was approved with read-only permission. Reconnect and approve both permissions.
Rate limits and credits. Actions and searches spend API credits from your plan and are subject to the same rate limits as the REST API. Triggers spend none. A Zap that runs into a limit is retried by Zapier after the delay FastComments reports.
The Domain dropdown is empty. Domains appear once they are configured on the Domains page in the FastComments dashboard. Leave the field blank to receive events for every domain.