How to Automate Daily Standups from Asana to Slack with n8n

n8n Canvas > + New Workflow

Create a new n8n workflow

Open your n8n instance and click the '+New Workflow' button in the top-left corner of the canvas. Give it a clear name like 'Daily Standup — Asana to Slack'. You'll see an empty canvas with a single '+' node placeholder in the center. This is where the trigger goes. Save the workflow immediately before adding nodes so you don't lose the name.

1. 1Click '+ New Workflow' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the pencil icon next to 'My Workflow' and rename it 'Daily Standup — Asana to Slack'
3. 3Press Enter to save the name
4. 4Click the '+' node placeholder in the canvas center

Node Picker > Schedule Trigger > Settings

Add the Schedule trigger

In the node picker, search for 'Schedule' and select the 'Schedule Trigger' node. This fires the workflow at a fixed time every day. Click on the node after adding it to open its settings panel on the right. Set the trigger mode to 'Cron' and enter a cron expression for your standup time — for 9:00 AM Monday through Friday in UTC, use '0 9 * * 1-5'. Adjust for your team's timezone offset from UTC.

1. 1Type 'Schedule' in the node search box
2. 2Click 'Schedule Trigger' to add it to the canvas
3. 3Click the node to open its settings panel
4. 4Set 'Trigger Interval' to 'Custom (Cron)'
5. 5Enter '0 9 * * 1-5' in the cron expression field

Node Picker > Asana > Task > Search

Connect Asana and fetch completed tasks

Click the '+' connector on the right side of the Schedule Trigger node to add the next node. Search for 'Asana' and select it. In the Asana node settings, set the Resource to 'Task' and the Operation to 'Search'. You'll need to create an Asana credential first — click 'Create New Credential', select 'Asana API', and paste your personal access token from Asana's developer console. Set the Workspace ID and Project ID to the project you want to pull tasks from.

1. 1Click the '+' connector on the Schedule Trigger node
2. 2Search 'Asana' in the node picker and select it
3. 3Click 'Credential' dropdown and choose 'Create New Credential'
4. 4Select 'Asana API' and paste your Personal Access Token
5. 5Set Resource to 'Task', Operation to 'Search'
6. 6Enter your Asana Workspace GID and Project GID in the respective fields

Asana Node > Additional Fields > Completed Since

Filter for tasks completed in the last 24 hours

The Asana Search operation returns all tasks matching your filters. You need to scope it to tasks completed since yesterday. In the Asana node's 'Additional Fields' section, add 'Completed Since' and set it to an expression. Click the expression editor (the gear icon next to the field) and enter: '{{ new Date(Date.now() - 86400000).toISOString() }}'. This generates an ISO timestamp for exactly 24 hours ago. Also set 'Completed' to true so you only get finished tasks.

1. 1Scroll to 'Additional Fields' in the Asana node settings
2. 2Click 'Add Field' and select 'Completed Since'
3. 3Toggle the field to expression mode by clicking the gear/expression icon
4. 4Paste: {{ new Date(Date.now() - 86400000).toISOString() }}
5. 5Add another field: set 'Completed' to 'true'

Node Picker > Asana > Task > Search (second instance)

Add a second Asana node for upcoming deadlines

You need a separate Asana query to fetch tasks due today or overdue. Add another Asana node connected to the Schedule Trigger (not chained from the first Asana node — both run in parallel). Set this one to Resource 'Task', Operation 'Search', same credentials and project. In Additional Fields, set 'Due On' to today's date using the expression '{{ new Date().toISOString().split("T")[0] }}'. Also add a second variant of this node filtered to 'Due Before' today to catch overdue tasks.

1. 1Click on the Schedule Trigger node to select it
2. 2Click the '+' connector to add a second branch
3. 3Search and add another Asana node
4. 4Set Resource to 'Task', Operation to 'Search', use the same credential
5. 5In Additional Fields, set 'Due On' using the date expression
6. 6Duplicate this node and change 'Due On' to 'Due Before' with today's date for overdue tasks

Node Picker > Merge > Combine > Merge By Position

Merge all three data streams

Add a 'Merge' node and connect all three Asana nodes into it. The Merge node will wait for all branches to complete before proceeding. Set the merge mode to 'Combine' and the combination mode to 'Merge By Position' — this keeps all task data from all three queries accessible downstream. Click the node and verify all three inputs appear in the inputs list on the left panel.

1. 1Search 'Merge' in the node picker and add it to the canvas
2. 2Drag a connector from each of the three Asana nodes into the Merge node
3. 3Click the Merge node to open settings
4. 4Set 'Mode' to 'Combine'
5. 5Set 'Combination Mode' to 'Merge By Position'

Node Picker > Code > JavaScript

Format the standup message with a Code node

Add a Code node after the Merge node. This is where you build the actual Slack message. The Code node runs JavaScript and has access to all merged items from upstream. Write logic that groups tasks by type (completed, due today, overdue), extracts task names and assignees, and builds a Slack Block Kit JSON payload. See the pro tip code below for the full implementation. Paste the code into the Code node's editor and click 'Execute Node' to test.

1. 1Click '+' after the Merge node and search 'Code'
2. 2Select 'Code' and click to open the editor
3. 3Set the language to 'JavaScript'
4. 4Paste the pro tip code into the editor
5. 5Click 'Execute Node' to preview the formatted output

Paste this into the Code node (Step 7). It reads all merged items, splits them by 'task_type', formats the dates into human-readable strings, and returns a Slack Block Kit payload with three labeled sections plus a divider. The output goes directly into the Slack node's 'Blocks' expression field.

// n8n Code Node — Daily Standup Formatter
// Reads all merged Asana task items and builds a Slack Block Kit payload
const items = $input.all();

// n8n Code Node — Daily Standup Formatter
// Reads all merged Asana task items and builds a Slack Block Kit payload

const items = $input.all();

// Group tasks by type stamped in the Set node
const completed = items.filter(i => i.json.task_type === 'completed');
const dueToday = items.filter(i => i.json.task_type === 'due_today');
const overdue = items.filter(i => i.json.task_type === 'overdue');

// Format a date string for the header
const today = new Date();
const dateLabel = today.toLocaleDateString('en-US', {
  weekday: 'long',
  month: 'long',
  day: 'numeric'
});

// Helper: build a bullet line with Slack hyperlink
function formatTask(task) {
  const name = task.json.name || 'Unnamed task';
  const assignee = task.json.assignee?.name || 'Unassigned';
  const url = task.json.permalink_url || '';
  if (url) {
    return `• <${url}|${name}> — ${assignee}`;
  }
  return `• ${name} — ${assignee}`;
}

// Helper: build a section block or a placeholder if empty
function buildSection(emoji, title, taskList) {
  const lines = taskList.length > 0
    ? taskList.map(formatTask).join('\n')
    : '_None_';
  return {
    type: 'section',
    text: {
      type: 'mrkdwn',
      text: `${emoji} *${title}*\n${lines}`
    }
  };
}

// Assemble the Block Kit payload
const blocks = [
  {
    type: 'header',
    text: {
      type: 'plain_text',
      text: `📋 Daily Standup — ${dateLabel}`,
      emoji: true
    }
  },
  { type: 'divider' },
  buildSection('✅', 'Completed Yesterday', completed),
  { type: 'divider' },
  buildSection('📅', 'Due Today', dueToday),
  { type: 'divider' },
  buildSection('🔴', 'Overdue', overdue),
  {
    type: 'context',
    elements: [
      {
        type: 'mrkdwn',
        text: `Generated by n8n at ${new Date().toLocaleTimeString('en-US', { hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit' })} • <https://app.asana.com|View in Asana>`
      }
    ]
  }
];

// Return as a single item so the Slack node receives one message payload
return [{ json: { blocks } }];

Node Picker > Slack > Message > Post

Connect Slack and configure the message post

Add a Slack node after the Code node. Set the Resource to 'Message' and Operation to 'Post'. Create Slack credentials by clicking 'Create New Credential' — you'll need a Slack Bot Token (starts with 'xoxb-') from your Slack app's OAuth settings. Set the Channel to the exact channel name or ID where standups should post, e.g. '#standup'. In the 'Blocks' field, click the expression toggle and reference the blocks array from the Code node: '{{ $json.blocks }}'.

1. 1Click '+' after the Code node and search 'Slack'
2. 2Select the Slack node and set Resource to 'Message', Operation to 'Post'
3. 3Click 'Create New Credential' and paste your Slack Bot Token
4. 4Enter the target channel name in the 'Channel' field (e.g. #standup)
5. 5Toggle 'Blocks' field to expression mode and enter {{ $json.blocks }}
6. 6Set 'Text' to a fallback string like 'Daily Standup Report' for notification previews

Node Settings > Error Output > Slack (fallback)

Add error handling with a fallback Slack alert

n8n lets you add error workflows or use the built-in error output. Click the three-dot menu on any failing node to see error outputs. For production, add a separate Slack node connected to the error output of the Asana and Code nodes. This fallback node posts a simple error alert to a #alerts channel with the error message. Set the Slack message text to '{{ $json.error.message }}' to surface the exact failure reason.

1. 1Click any critical node (e.g., the first Asana node) to select it
2. 2Click the red error output connector on the node's bottom-right
3. 3Add a Slack node connected to this error output
4. 4Set the channel to '#alerts' or your team's error channel
5. 5Set the message text to 'Standup workflow failed: {{ $json.error.message }}'
6. 6Repeat for the Code node and the second Asana node

n8n Canvas Toolbar > Execute Workflow

Test with a manual execution

Before activating the schedule, run the workflow manually to verify the full chain. Click 'Execute Workflow' in the top toolbar. Watch each node light up green as it completes. Check the Slack channel to confirm the message posted correctly with the right task names. If any node turns red, click it to see the error details in the output panel. Fix issues before enabling the schedule.

1. 1Click 'Execute Workflow' in the top-center toolbar
2. 2Watch the execution flow left to right across the canvas
3. 3Click any node to inspect its input and output data
4. 4Open Slack and confirm the standup message appeared in the correct channel
5. 5Check that completed tasks, due-today tasks, and overdue tasks each appear under the right section

n8n Canvas > Active Toggle (top right)

Activate the workflow

Once the test passes, flip the 'Active' toggle in the top-right of the n8n canvas. The workflow will now run automatically on the cron schedule you set in Step 2. You can verify the next scheduled run time by hovering over the Schedule Trigger node — it shows the next execution timestamp. Check the Executions tab in the left sidebar the next morning to confirm the first scheduled run completed successfully.

1. 1Click the gray 'Inactive' toggle in the top-right corner of the canvas
2. 2Confirm it turns green and reads 'Active'
3. 3Click 'Save' to persist the active state
4. 4Navigate to the 'Executions' tab in the left sidebar
5. 5Check back the next scheduled morning to verify the first automatic run