why is my zap using so many tasks?

Question

I created a zap to add an additional attendee to every new Google Calendar event. The zap worked fine. Unfortunately, the zap used > 1,000 tasks per day. I ran out of tasks now and I need to pay to upgrade to a better plan :( Before I do so, I would like some help to figure out why it used so many tasks. I have certainly not added thousands of new events to the calendar.

The trigger is “New or Updated Event in Google Calendar.” The action is “Add Attendee/s to Event in Google Calendar.” In the “Set up Action” section I selected the same calendar as in the one in trigger. For the “Event” field I selected “Custom” then I selected “1. ID 099rjt4hrulvb0pa2o700kutk.”

I was particularly puzzled by the 099rjt4hrulvb0pa2o700kutk string as it looked as if it would be a specific event. That said, the zap worked, so I think that part might be ok.

Can someone helped me figure out how to prevent this zap from hogging resources?

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Best answer by christina.d 30 August 2021, 22:14

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christina.d · Accepted Answer

Thanks for reaching out, @andresmh! Troy is correct and that is an excellent resource to check out for learning about Zap loops. That said, it looks like you were able to chat with my teammate Cameron in support too, which is perfect. I wanted to post their response here just in case it helps others. 🙂

I've reviewed your Zap and can see that it was originally using the Google Calendar > Event Updated trigger which created a Zap loop. A Zap loop occurs when an action in a Zap causes the same (or another) Zap to trigger endlessly.

In this case, every time your Zap added an attendee to an event this caused the same Zap to trigger due to the event being updated. I can see the Zap has been updated to instead trigger from new events which should resolve the Zap loop and allow the Zap to only trigger on newly created events.

Troy Tessalone · Answer

Hi @andresmhThe trigger is “New or Updated Event in Google Calendar.”You essentially created an infinite loop: https://zapier.com/help/troubleshoot/behavior/zap-is-stuck-in-a-loopEverything the Zap action ran, it’s updating the GCal Event, which is then retriggering the Zap.

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