How to Log Slack Messages to Copper CRM with n8n

n8n Dashboard > Workflows > + New Workflow

Create a new n8n workflow

Log into your n8n instance and click the '+ New Workflow' button in the top-right corner of the Workflows dashboard. Give it a clear name like 'Slack → Copper: Customer Message Log'. You'll land on the canvas with an empty trigger node waiting to be configured. This name shows up in execution logs, so make it descriptive.

1. 1Click '+ New Workflow' in the top-right
2. 2Click the workflow title field and type 'Slack → Copper: Customer Message Log'
3. 3Press Enter to save the name

Canvas > Add First Step > Search 'Slack' > Slack Trigger > Message Received

Add the Slack trigger node

Click the grey 'Add first step' node on the canvas. In the search bar that appears, type 'Slack' and select the Slack node from the results. Set the resource to 'Message' and the event to 'Message Received'. This uses Slack's Events API via webhook, which means n8n gets notified the moment a message is posted — no polling delay. You'll need a Slack app with the webhook URL configured in the next step.

1. 1Click the grey 'Add first step' node
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the search field
3. 3Select 'Slack Trigger' from the list
4. 4Set Event to 'Message Received'
5. 5Click 'Add Credential' to connect your Slack app

api.slack.com/apps > [Your App] > Event Subscriptions > Subscribe to Bot Events

Configure the Slack app and subscribe to events

Open api.slack.com/apps, select your Slack app (or create one), and navigate to Event Subscriptions. Toggle 'Enable Events' to On, then paste the n8n webhook URL into the Request URL field. Slack will immediately send a challenge request — n8n auto-responds to verify the URL. Under 'Subscribe to bot events', add the 'message.channels' scope so the app receives messages from public channels. Save the changes and reinstall the app to your workspace.

1. 1Go to api.slack.com/apps and select your app
2. 2Click 'Event Subscriptions' in the left sidebar
3. 3Toggle 'Enable Events' to On
4. 4Paste the n8n webhook URL into the 'Request URL' field
5. 5Click '+ Add Bot User Event' and add 'message.channels'
6. 6Click 'Save Changes', then reinstall the app when prompted

Canvas > + Node > IF > Conditions

Filter messages to the correct Slack channel

Add an IF node after the Slack trigger. You only want to log messages from your dedicated customer channel — not every channel in the workspace. Set the condition to check that the 'channel' field from the Slack output equals the channel ID of your target channel (e.g. C04ABCD1234). Channel IDs are found by right-clicking the channel name in Slack > View channel details > scroll to the bottom. Wire the 'true' branch to the next step; leave the 'false' branch empty.

1. 1Click the '+' button to the right of the Slack Trigger node
2. 2Search for and select 'IF'
3. 3Set Condition 1 Value 1 to '{{ $json.channel }}'
4. 4Set the operator to 'Equal'
5. 5Set Value 2 to your channel ID (e.g. C04ABCD1234)

Canvas > + Node > HTTP Request

Extract the sender's email via Slack API

Copper matches contacts by email address. The Slack message payload gives you a user ID (like U05XYZ789), not an email. Add an HTTP Request node to call the Slack users.info API and resolve the user ID to a profile including their email. Set the method to GET, URL to 'https://slack.com/api/users.info', and add a query parameter 'user' set to '{{ $json.user }}'. Add the Authorization header with your Slack bot token as 'Bearer xoxb-...'.

1. 1Add an HTTP Request node after the IF node's 'true' branch
2. 2Set Method to 'GET'
3. 3Set URL to 'https://slack.com/api/users.info'
4. 4Under Query Parameters, add 'user' = '{{ $json.user }}'
5. 5Under Headers, add 'Authorization' = 'Bearer xoxb-your-bot-token'

Canvas > + Node > Copper > Person > Search

Look up the matching Copper contact by email

Add a Copper node and set the resource to 'Person' and operation to 'Search'. Use the email resolved in step 5 as the search term: '{{ $json.user.profile.email }}'. Copper's search returns an array — if it returns an empty array, the contact doesn't exist yet and you'll need to decide whether to create a new one or skip. For now, wire a second IF node to check that the result array length is greater than 0.

1. 1Add a Copper node after the HTTP Request node
2. 2Set Resource to 'Person'
3. 3Set Operation to 'Search'
4. 4Set the 'Email' field to '{{ $json.user.profile.email }}'
5. 5Click 'Execute Node' to test with a real email

Canvas > + Node > IF

Guard against missing contacts

Add an IF node after the Copper search. Set the condition to check that '{{ $json.length }}' is greater than 0, or more reliably, check that '{{ $node["Copper"].json[0].id }}' exists. Wire the 'true' branch to the activity creation step. Wire the 'false' branch to a No-Op or an optional Slack notification back to the team that the contact wasn't found. This prevents failed Copper API calls from cluttering your execution log.

1. 1Add an IF node after the Copper Search node
2. 2Set Value 1 to '{{ $node["Copper Search"].json[0].id }}'
3. 3Set operator to 'Is Not Empty'
4. 4Leave the 'false' branch disconnected or connect a Slack message node to alert the team

Canvas > + Node > Code

Build the activity note text

Add a Code node (JavaScript) to format the Slack message into a clean Copper activity note. This is where you combine the message text, timestamp, and channel context into a single readable string. Copper activity notes are plain text — there's no markdown rendering. Keep the format structured so it's scannable inside Copper's activity feed. Paste the code from the pro tip section below into this node.

1. 1Click '+' after the IF node's 'true' branch
2. 2Search for and select 'Code'
3. 3Set Language to 'JavaScript'
4. 4Paste the pro tip code into the editor
5. 5Click 'Execute Node' to preview the formatted output

Canvas > + Node > Copper > Activity > Create

Create the Copper activity note

Add a second Copper node and set the resource to 'Activity' and the operation to 'Create'. Set the 'Parent Type' to 'person' and 'Parent ID' to '{{ $node["Copper Search"].json[0].id }}'. Set 'Type' to 'note' and 'Details' to the formatted note text from the Code node: '{{ $json.noteText }}'. The activity will appear in the contact's timeline inside Copper immediately after the API call succeeds.

1. 1Add a Copper node after the Code node
2. 2Set Resource to 'Activity'
3. 3Set Operation to 'Create'
4. 4Set 'Parent Type' to 'person'
5. 5Set 'Parent ID' to '{{ $node["Copper Search"].json[0].id }}'
6. 6Set 'Details' to '{{ $json.noteText }}'

n8n Canvas > Toggle Workflow Active > Executions (left sidebar)

Test end-to-end with a real Slack message

Activate the workflow using the toggle in the top-right of the canvas. Go to the configured Slack channel and post a test message. Switch back to n8n and open the Executions panel from the left sidebar. You should see a new execution appear within 5-10 seconds. Click it to inspect each node's input and output. Then open Copper, find the contact whose email matches the Slack user, and confirm the activity note appears in their timeline.

1. 1Click the 'Inactive' toggle in the top-right to activate the workflow
2. 2Post a test message in the configured Slack channel
3. 3Click 'Executions' in the left sidebar
4. 4Click the latest execution to inspect node outputs
5. 5Open Copper and navigate to the contact's Activity tab to verify the note

This Code node runs between the Copper contact lookup and the Copper activity creation step. It formats the raw Slack data into a clean, timestamped note string and handles the Unix-to-readable timestamp conversion. Paste it into a Code node (JavaScript mode) immediately after the contact guard IF node.

// n8n Code Node — Format Slack message into Copper activity note
// Place this node between the contact lookup IF and the Copper Activity Create node
const items = $input.all();

// n8n Code Node — Format Slack message into Copper activity note
// Place this node between the contact lookup IF and the Copper Activity Create node

const items = $input.all();
const results = [];

for (const item of items) {
  // Slack timestamp is Unix seconds with decimal — convert to milliseconds
  const slackTs = item.json.ts || '';
  const tsMillis = parseFloat(slackTs) * 1000;
  const messageDate = new Date(tsMillis);

  // Format as readable UTC datetime string
  const formattedDate = messageDate.toISOString()
    .replace('T', ' ')
    .substring(0, 16) + ' UTC';

  // Pull sender display name from the upstream users.info HTTP node
  const senderName =
    $node['Get Slack User'].json?.user?.profile?.real_name ||
    $node['Get Slack User'].json?.user?.name ||
    'Unknown Sender';

  // Pull channel name — hardcode or resolve via conversations.info
  const channelLabel = '#customer-success';

  // Raw message text — strip Slack user mention formatting like <@U05XYZ789>
  const rawText = item.json.text || '';
  const cleanText = rawText.replace(/<@[A-Z0-9]+>/g, '').trim();

  // Compose the final note body
  const noteText = `[Slack | ${channelLabel} | ${formattedDate}] ${senderName}: ${cleanText}`;

  results.push({
    json: {
      noteText,
      formattedDate,
      senderName,
      cleanText,
      originalTs: slackTs
    }
  });
}

return results;