# Zapier, Make & n8n Digital Signage Automation

> Change what screens show from Zapier, Make, n8n or any HTTP request: raise alerts, switch playlists, update tables, and react when a screen goes offline.

Source: https://screentinker.com/integrations/zapier-digital-signage

## Automate your digital signage with Zapier, Make, n8n or a webhook

Let the systems you already run change what your screens show. A form submission can update a table on a screen, a ticketing alert can take over the lobby, and a screen going dark can open a ticket. Zapier, Make, n8n, Power Automate and plain HTTP all work.

### How it works

There are two ways in.

- **Hooks.** A secret web address that does one thing when called. It needs no account and no token, so anything that can send an HTTP request can use it: a script, a building system, a Make or n8n HTTP module.

- **The Zapier API.** Uses a ScreenTinker API token. It lets Zapier start Zaps when something happens here, and run actions from a Zap. Make, n8n and your own code can call the same endpoints.

| Triggers (something happened in ScreenTinker) | Actions (change what screens show) |
| --- | --- |
| A screen went offline | Raise or clear an emergency alert |
| A screen came back online | Switch screens to a playlist for some minutes |
| An emergency alert was raised or cleared | Fire or clear a trigger |
| Content was approved, or a playlist was published | Update a table data source on screen |

Alert and playlist actions can target a group, a screen or a tag. A playlist switch never overrides a head office playlist, and an emergency alert always comes first.

### Set it up

#### Zapier

- **Push the app to your Zapier account.** The ScreenTinker integration is a **private Zapier app** in the `zapier/` folder of the repository. You push it to your own Zapier account with the Zapier CLI, then invite your team. It is not listed in Zapier’s public app directory.

- **Create an API token** in ScreenTinker under Settings → API tokens. Raising alerts, switching playlists and subscribing to triggers need a workspace admin’s token.

- **Connect** with your ScreenTinker address and the token, then build Zaps as usual.

#### Make, n8n, Power Automate or your own code

- For triggers, use the tool’s custom webhook and subscribe it with `POST /api/zapier/subscriptions`, or poll `GET /api/zapier/events`.

- For actions, call `/api/zapier/actions/...` with `Authorization: Bearer st_...`, or call a hook address, which needs no token.

#### A hook

- Open the **Automation** page and choose **New hook**: emergency alert, mass notification, fire a trigger, update a table, or switch to a playlist.

- Copy the address it shows. It is shown only once.

- Point your system at it with a `POST`.

Every endpoint, field and token scope is in [docs/automation.md](https://github.com/screentinker/screentinker/blob/main/docs/automation.md) and the [API reference](https://screentinker.com/docs).

### Security

- **Hook addresses are shown once** and stored only as a fingerprint. A wrong address answers 404. Signing with HMAC-SHA256 is optional, and every call is logged.

- **Deliveries to your webhooks are signed** (`X-ScreenTinker-Signature`) and must go to a public `https` address. Failures are retried after 1, 5, 30 and 120 minutes.

- **Token scopes.** A `read` token can test the connection and read events. Updating tables needs `write`. Alerts, playlists and triggers need `full`.

- **Only workspace admins** can create hooks or subscribe a webhook to this workspace’s events.

### Limits

- The Zapier app is private: someone on your team pushes it once with the Zapier CLI. There is no one-click install from Zapier’s directory.

- Firing a trigger over the internet reaches Raspberry Pi and Windows screens only. Other players listen for triggers on their own network.

- Hooks answer `POST`. `GET` is off unless you switch it on for that hook, because link previews and email scanners open any address with `GET`.

- A hook takes 30 calls a minute, and a table keeps at most 200 rows.

### FAQ

#### Is ScreenTinker in the Zapier app directory?

No. It is a private Zapier app that ships with ScreenTinker. You push it to your own Zapier account once with the Zapier CLI, then invite your team.

#### Can I use Make or n8n instead of Zapier?

Yes. They use the same API: subscribe a custom webhook for triggers, or poll for events, and call the action endpoints with an API token. You can also call a hook address, which needs no token.

#### Can a script change what a screen shows without an API token?

Yes. Create a hook on the Automation page and send it a POST. A hook does one thing, such as switching screens to a playlist or updating a table, and its address is the credential.

#### Can Zapier tell me when a screen goes offline?

Yes. Screen went offline and Screen came back online are Zapier triggers. For a message straight to Slack, Teams or PagerDuty without Zapier, use an alert channel instead.

### Related

- [Screen offline alerts in Slack, Teams and PagerDuty](https://screentinker.com/integrations/slack-teams-offline-alerts.html)

- [Emergency alerts on every screen](https://screentinker.com/solutions/emergency-alert-digital-signage.html)

- [Microsoft 365: SharePoint, OneDrive and Office files](https://screentinker.com/integrations/microsoft-365-digital-signage.html)

- [Enterprise digital signage: SSO, roles, audit](https://screentinker.com/solutions/enterprise-digital-signage.html)

- [Manage screens from an AI assistant (MCP)](https://screentinker.com/guides/mcp-digital-signage.html)

- [All digital signage integrations](https://screentinker.com/integrations/)

### Connect your screens to the rest of your stack

Create a hook in a minute and call it from anything. Start a 14-day Pro trial on hosted ScreenTinker: up to 15 screens, every feature, no credit card.

[Start your free trial](https://screentinker.com/app#/login)

Or host it yourself, free and open source: [self-hosting guide](https://screentinker.com/guides/self-hosted-digital-signage.html) · [GitHub](https://github.com/screentinker/screentinker)