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Send important emails straight to Slack

Watch a mailbox for messages that match a filter and post a tidy summary into a Slack channel, so nothing important sits unread.

15 minBeginner15 steps
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What this looks like

One step on screen at a time. Read it, do it, tap Next.

Send important emails straight to Slack

Step 1 of 15

01 / 15Step

Create a new blank workflow

Open your n8n instance and create a new workflow. Give it a name straight away — an untitled workflow is impossible to find in three weeks.

Checkpoint

You have an empty canvas with your workflow name in the top left.

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Next

Before you begin

Tick these off as you sort them. Stopping halfway to create an account is how a fifteen-minute build becomes an hour.

0 of 7 ready

Ticks are saved on this device, so you can come back to them.

  • Account

    You will connect it with OAuth, so you need to be able to sign in to it in a browser during setup. A personal Gmail account works fine.

  • Permission

    You need permission to authorise an app. If you are not an admin, someone with admin rights may need to approve the install.

  • Have ready

    Create it before you start and note the exact name. A dedicated channel like #email-alerts is much better than testing in a busy channel.

  • Time

    Most of that is the two OAuth screens. The workflow itself is four nodes.

The basics — ticked once, remembered everywhere

  • Account

    Either the hosted version or a self-hosted install. Everything here works the same on both — the only visible difference is the shape of your webhook URLs.

    Create a workspace
  • Know-how

    Adding a node, connecting two of them, and pressing Execute. If any of that is new, the free primer covers it in about ten minutes.

  • Credential

    You will paste at least one secret during setup. A password manager beats a notes app, and it stops you pasting a live key into a chat window by accident.

The shape of the workflow

The nodes you will end up with, left to right, in the order you add them.

Gmail TriggerIfSlack
The finished Send important emails straight to Slack workflow on the n8n canvas4 things to set here
  1. 1Create a new blank workflow — the trigger — everything starts here
  2. 2Gmail Trigger — Add the Gmail Trigger node
  3. 3Gmail Trigger — Connect your Gmail account
  4. 4Gmail Trigger — Tell the trigger what to watch for
The finished workflow on the n8n canvasTap to enlarge

Skip the node hunting

Import a starter file with every node for this build already on the canvas, named after its step and wired in order, each one carrying a sticky note with the values to enter. You still connect your own accounts and fill the fields — that is what the walkthrough takes you through — but you never start at a blank canvas.

In n8n: Workflows → Import from file.

Included with the library

What you will build

Jump straight to any step, or print the list and tick it off beside your n8n tab.

  1. 1Create a new blank workflow
  2. 2Add the Gmail Trigger node
  3. 3Connect your Gmail account
  4. 4Tell the trigger what to watch for
  5. 5Fetch a real email to work with
  6. 6Add an If node to double-check the message
  7. 7Set the condition
  8. 8Add the Slack node
  9. 9Connect your Slack workspace
  10. 10Choose the channel and write the message
  11. 11Run the whole thing once
  12. 12Unpin, activate, and watch the first real run
  13. 13Send yourself a matching email
  14. 14Wait one poll interval
  15. 15Check the Executions tab

If something goes wrong

Everything ready?

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