How to Create Copper Tasks from Slack with Pipedream

pipedream.com > Workflows > New Workflow

Create a new Pipedream Workflow

Go to pipedream.com and sign in. Click the green 'New Workflow' button in the top-left of the dashboard. Give the workflow a clear name like 'Slack → Copper: Follow-up Tasks' so it's easy to find later. Pipedream opens a blank canvas with a trigger slot at the top.

1. 1Click 'New Workflow' in the left sidebar
2. 2Enter the workflow name 'Slack → Copper: Follow-up Tasks'
3. 3Click 'Create' to open the workflow editor

Workflow Editor > Add Trigger > Slack > Slash Command

Add a Slack Slash Command trigger

Click the grey 'Add Trigger' block. Search for 'Slack' in the app search bar and select it. From the trigger list, choose 'Slash Command' — this fires every time a user invokes your custom slash command in any channel. Pipedream will generate a unique webhook URL that Slack will POST to when the command is used. Copy this URL; you'll need it in step 3.

1. 1Click the 'Add Trigger' block
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the search field and select the Slack app
3. 3Scroll to find 'Slash Command' and click it
4. 4Copy the generated webhook URL shown in the trigger config panel

api.slack.com/apps > Your App > Slash Commands > Create New Command

Register the Slash Command in your Slack App

Go to api.slack.com/apps and open your existing Slack app, or click 'Create New App' if you don't have one. Navigate to 'Slash Commands' in the left sidebar and click 'Create New Command'. Set the command to /copper-task, paste the Pipedream webhook URL into the 'Request URL' field, and add a short description like 'Create a follow-up task in Copper'. Save the command, then reinstall the app to your workspace from 'Install App' in the left nav.

1. 1Open api.slack.com/apps and select your Slack app
2. 2Click 'Slash Commands' in the left sidebar
3. 3Click 'Create New Command'
4. 4Set Command to '/copper-task', paste the Pipedream webhook URL into 'Request URL'
5. 5Click 'Save', then go to 'Install App' and click 'Reinstall to Workspace'

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Add a step to immediately acknowledge Slack

Slack will time out if it doesn't receive a 200 response within 3 seconds. Add a new step in Pipedream right after the trigger by clicking the '+' button. Select 'Run Node.js code'. Use $.respond() to immediately return a 200 acknowledgment to Slack before the rest of the workflow runs. This step must be the first step after the trigger.

1. 1Click the '+' button below the Slack trigger block
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code' from the step menu
3. 3Paste the acknowledgment code into the code editor
4. 4Name the step 'ack_slack'

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Parse the slash command text

The Slack slash command payload arrives as a URL-encoded body. Pipedream's trigger automatically parses it into steps.trigger.event.body. Add another Node.js code step to extract the task name, due date, and assignee from the command text. For example, /copper-task follow up with Acme Corp by Friday @jess sends text='follow up with Acme Corp by Friday @jess'. Write a simple parser to split on 'by' for the date and '@' for the user mention.

1. 1Click '+' below the ack_slack step
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code'
3. 3Name the step 'parse_command'
4. 4Paste the parsing code that reads steps.trigger.event.body.text

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Look up the Copper contact by name

Copper tasks must be linked to a resource — typically a Person or Opportunity. Add a Node.js code step that calls the Copper People Search API (POST /v1/people/search) with the company or person name extracted from the command text. This returns the Copper person ID you'll attach to the task. Connect your Copper account via 'Connect an Account' in the step config panel — Pipedream stores the API key securely.

1. 1Click '+' below the parse_command step
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code'
3. 3Name the step 'lookup_copper_contact'
4. 4Click 'Connect an Account' and select or add your Copper credentials
5. 5Paste the Copper People Search API call code

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Resolve the Slack @mention to a Copper assignee

The @mention in the slash command gives you a Slack user ID, not a name or email. Add a Node.js step that calls the Slack users.info API to get the user's email address, then queries Copper's /v1/users endpoint to find the matching Copper user ID. This ID goes into the task's assignee_id field. Without this step, all tasks would be assigned to the API key owner by default.

1. 1Click '+' below the lookup_copper_contact step
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code'
3. 3Name the step 'resolve_assignee'
4. 4Paste code that calls Slack users.info then matches email against Copper /v1/users

Paste this as a single Node.js code step in Pipedream — it handles Slack's immediate acknowledgment, command parsing, Copper contact lookup, assignee resolution, task creation, and Slack confirmation in one step with full error handling. Place it directly after the Slack Slash Command trigger and name the step 'full_task_pipeline'.

import axios from 'axios';
export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {

import axios from 'axios';

export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {
    const body = steps.trigger.event.body;
    const rawText = body.text || '';
    const channelId = body.channel_id;
    const slackUserId = body.user_id;

    // Immediately acknowledge Slack to avoid timeout
    await $.respond({ status: 200, body: '' });

    // --- Parse slash command text ---
    // Format: "task description by [date] @mention"
    const byIndex = rawText.toLowerCase().lastIndexOf(' by ');
    const atIndex = rawText.lastIndexOf('@');

    const taskName = byIndex > -1
      ? rawText.substring(0, byIndex).trim()
      : rawText.replace(/@\S+/, '').trim();

    const dateStr = byIndex > -1
      ? rawText.substring(byIndex + 4, atIndex > byIndex ? atIndex : undefined).trim()
      : null;

    const mentionUsername = atIndex > -1
      ? rawText.substring(atIndex + 1).trim().split(' ')[0]
      : null;

    // Convert natural date to Unix timestamp (seconds)
    const dueTimestamp = dateStr
      ? Math.floor(new Date(dateStr).getTime() / 1000)
      : Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 86400 * 3; // default: 3 days from now

    const copperHeaders = {
      'X-PW-AccessToken': process.env.COPPER_API_KEY,
      'X-PW-Application': 'developer_api',
      'X-PW-UserEmail': process.env.COPPER_USER_EMAIL,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    };

    // --- Resolve Slack @mention to Copper assignee ID via email ---
    let copperAssigneeId = null;
    if (mentionUsername) {
      try {
        const slackUsersResp = await axios.get(
          `https://slack.com/api/users.lookupByEmail?email=${mentionUsername}@${process.env.COMPANY_EMAIL_DOMAIN}`,
          { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}` } }
        );
        const slackEmail = slackUsersResp.data?.user?.profile?.email;
        if (slackEmail) {
          const copperUsersResp = await axios.get(
            'https://api.copper.com/developer_api/v1/users',
            { headers: copperHeaders }
          );
          const matched = copperUsersResp.data.find(u => u.email === slackEmail);
          if (matched) copperAssigneeId = matched.id;
        }
      } catch (e) {
        console.log('Assignee resolution failed, proceeding without assignee:', e.message);
      }
    }

    // --- Search for Copper contact by name ---
    let relatedResource = null;
    try {
      const searchResp = await axios.post(
        'https://api.copper.com/developer_api/v1/people/search',
        { name: taskName.replace(/^(urgent:|follow up with|check in with)/i, '').trim() },
        { headers: copperHeaders }
      );
      if (searchResp.data.length > 0) {
        relatedResource = { id: searchResp.data[0].id, type: 'person' };
      }
    } catch (e) {
      console.log('Contact lookup failed:', e.message);
    }

    // --- Create Copper task ---
    let copperTask = null;
    try {
      const taskPayload = {
        name: taskName,
        due_date: dueTimestamp,
        status: 'Open',
        details: `Created from Slack #${body.channel_name}: ${rawText}`,
        ...(copperAssigneeId && { assignee_id: copperAssigneeId }),
        ...(relatedResource && { related_resource: relatedResource }),
      };

      const taskResp = await axios.post(
        'https://api.copper.com/developer_api/v1/tasks',
        taskPayload,
        { headers: copperHeaders }
      );
      copperTask = taskResp.data;
    } catch (e) {
      // Notify user of failure via Slack DM
      await axios.post(
        'https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage',
        {
          channel: slackUserId,
          text: `❌ Couldn't create Copper task for: "${rawText}"\nCreate it manually: https://app.copper.com/companies/tasks/new`,
        },
        { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}` } }
      );
      throw new Error(`Copper task creation failed: ${e.message}`);
    }

    // --- Send Slack confirmation ---
    await axios.post(
      'https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage',
      {
        channel: channelId,
        text: [
          `✅ *Task created in Copper*`,
          `*Task:* ${copperTask.name}`,
          `*Due:* ${new Date(copperTask.due_date * 1000).toDateString()}`,
          `*Assigned to:* ${copperAssigneeId ? mentionUsername : 'Unassigned'}`,
          relatedResource ? `*Linked contact:* Copper Person #${relatedResource.id}` : '',
          `<https://app.copper.com/companies/tasks/${copperTask.id}|View task in Copper>`,
        ].filter(Boolean).join('\n'),
      },
      { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}` } }
    );

    return { copperTaskId: copperTask.id, taskName: copperTask.name, assigneeId: copperAssigneeId };
  },
});

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Create the task in Copper

Add a final Node.js code step that calls the Copper Tasks API (POST /v1/tasks). Map the parsed values into the request body: name from the command text, due_date as a Unix timestamp, assignee_id from the resolved user, and related_resource linking to the Copper person found in step 6. The Copper API returns the full created task object including its ID.

1. 1Click '+' below the resolve_assignee step
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code'
3. 3Name the step 'create_copper_task'
4. 4Map steps.parse_command.taskName, steps.parse_command.dueDate, steps.resolve_assignee.copper_assignee_id, and steps.lookup_copper_contact.copper_person_id into the POST body

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Send a confirmation back to the Slack user

After the task is created, post a confirmation back to the channel or DM the user who triggered the command. Add a Node.js code step that calls the Slack chat.postMessage API with the task details: task name, due date, assignee, and a link to the Copper task using the format https://app.copper.com/companies/tasks/{task_id}. Use the channel_id from the trigger payload as the target channel.

1. 1Click '+' below the create_copper_task step
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code'
3. 3Name the step 'notify_slack'
4. 4Use steps.trigger.event.body.channel_id as the Slack channel target
5. 5Build the message string using steps.create_copper_task.$return_value.id for the Copper link

Workflow Editor > + Add Step > Run Node.js code

Add error handling for failed lookups

If the Copper contact lookup or assignee resolution fails, the workflow should not silently drop the task. Add a Node.js step with try/catch that catches errors from steps 6 and 7, then posts a fallback Slack DM to the command sender with a direct link to create the task manually in Copper. Use steps.trigger.event.body.user_id to target the DM. This prevents tasks from being lost when a contact name doesn't match.

1. 1Click '+' after the notify_slack step, or wrap steps 6-9 in a single try/catch step
2. 2Name the step 'error_handler'
3. 3Use $.send.http or the Slack chat.postMessage API to DM the user on failure
4. 4Include the original command text in the DM so the rep has context to fix it manually

Workflow Editor > Deploy button (top right) > Event Inspector (bottom panel)

Deploy and test end-to-end

Click 'Deploy' in the top-right corner of the Pipedream workflow editor to make the workflow live. Open any Slack channel and type /copper-task follow up with Acme Corp by Friday @jess. Watch the Pipedream event inspector (bottom of the workflow editor) to see each step execute in real time. Confirm the task appears in Copper under the matched contact within 5 seconds.

1. 1Click the blue 'Deploy' button in the top-right corner
2. 2Open a Slack channel and type '/copper-task follow up with Acme Corp by Friday @jess'
3. 3Watch the Pipedream Event Inspector update as each step fires
4. 4Open Copper and navigate to the matched contact to confirm the task appears