How to Create Copper Tasks from Slack with Zapier

Zapier Dashboard > Create Zap > Trigger > App & Event

Create a new Zap and choose your Slack trigger

Go to zapier.com, click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar, and search for Slack in the trigger app search box. You're building a trigger that fires when a slash command is used in a specific channel. Select Slack, then choose the trigger event 'New Slash Command' from the dropdown. This event type requires Zapier's Slack bot to be installed in your workspace, which the OAuth connection step handles automatically.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2In the Trigger box, click 'Search for apps...' and type 'Slack'
3. 3Select Slack from the results
4. 4Click the 'Trigger Event' dropdown and choose 'New Slash Command'
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zapier Trigger Panel > Choose Account > Sign in to Slack

Connect your Slack account

Click 'Sign in to Slack' and a popup will open asking you to authorize Zapier's Slack app in your workspace. You must authorize this with an account that has permission to add apps to the workspace. After authorization, Slack redirects back to Zapier and you'll see your workspace name appear in the account dropdown. If you manage multiple Slack workspaces, confirm the correct one is selected.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Slack'
2. 2Select your correct Slack workspace from the modal
3. 3Click 'Allow' to grant Zapier the required permissions
4. 4Back in Zapier, confirm your workspace name appears in the account selector

Zapier Trigger Panel > Configure > Webhook URL | Slack API > Your App > Slash Commands

Configure the slash command name and channel

In the 'Configure' section, Zapier gives you a webhook URL to register as a slash command in Slack. Copy this URL. Then in Slack, go to api.slack.com/apps, open your app (or create one), navigate to 'Slash Commands', and click 'Create New Command'. Set the command to '/copper-task', paste Zapier's webhook URL as the Request URL, and add a short description like 'Create a Copper follow-up task'. Back in Zapier, you can optionally filter to a specific channel so only commands from #sales fire the Zap.

1. 1Copy the webhook URL Zapier displays in the Configure section
2. 2Open api.slack.com/apps in a new tab and select your Slack app
3. 3Click 'Slash Commands' in the left menu, then 'Create New Command'
4. 4Set Command to '/copper-task' and paste the Zapier URL in 'Request URL'
5. 5Save the slash command in Slack, then return to Zapier

Zapier Trigger Panel > Test Trigger

Test the Slack trigger with a real command

Click 'Test Trigger' in Zapier. Zapier will now wait for an incoming payload. Switch to Slack and type '/copper-task Follow up with Meridian Labs about Q3 pricing' in any channel where the bot is present. Return to Zapier — within 10 seconds, the trigger should show a test payload with fields like 'text', 'user_name', 'channel_name', and 'user_id'. The 'text' field contains everything the user typed after the slash command.

1. 1Click 'Test Trigger' in Zapier
2. 2Switch to Slack and type '/copper-task Follow up with Meridian Labs about Q3 pricing' in a channel
3. 3Return to Zapier and wait for the payload to appear
4. 4Click on the payload to expand and inspect the fields
5. 5Click 'Continue with selected record'

Zap Editor > + Add Step > Apps > Formatter by Zapier > Text > Trim Whitespace

Add a Formatter step to parse the task text

The raw slash command text comes in as a single string. Before creating the Copper task, add a Zapier Formatter step to extract the task name cleanly. Click the '+' button below the trigger, search for 'Formatter by Zapier', and select the 'Text' transform type, then 'Trim Whitespace'. Map the 'text' field from the Slack payload as the input. This ensures accidental leading/trailing spaces in the command don't carry into Copper's task name field.

1. 1Click the '+' icon below the Slack trigger step
2. 2Search for 'Formatter by Zapier' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Text' as the Transform type
4. 4Select 'Trim Whitespace' as the action
5. 5In the Input field, select the 'Text' variable from the Slack trigger payload
6. 6Click 'Continue' and run the test

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > + Add Step > Copper > Create Task > Sign in to Copper

Add the Copper action and connect your account

Click '+' again below the Formatter step, search for 'Copper', and select it. Choose 'Create Task' as the action event. Click 'Sign in to Copper' — Zapier will ask for your Copper API key and the email address tied to your Copper account. Find your API key in Copper under Settings > Integrations > API Keys. Paste both into Zapier and click 'Yes, Continue'. Zapier will verify the credentials and show your account name.

1. 1Click '+' below the Formatter step and search for 'Copper'
2. 2Select 'Copper' and choose 'Create Task' as the action event
3. 3Click 'Sign in to Copper'
4. 4Open Copper in a new tab and go to Settings > Integrations > API Keys
5. 5Copy your API key and paste it into Zapier along with your Copper account email
6. 6Click 'Yes, Continue' to confirm the connection

Zap Editor > Copper Action > Configure > Field Mapping

Map the task fields from Slack data

Now fill in the Copper task fields using data from the previous steps. Set 'Task Name' to the Formatter output (the cleaned text string). Set 'Assignees' to the Slack user's email — but note that Slack's slash command payload gives you user_id and user_name, not email. You'll need to either hardcode a default assignee email for now or add a lookup step (covered in Next Steps). Set 'Due Date' by clicking the field and typing a relative value like 'today + 2 days' using Zapier's date helper. Set 'Status' to 'Open' and 'Priority' to 'None' unless your team has a standard.

1. 1Click the 'Task Name' field and select the Formatter output variable
2. 2Click 'Due Date' and use Zapier's date picker to set a 2-day offset from today
3. 3Click 'Assignees' and either select a static email or map from a lookup step
4. 4Set 'Status' to 'Open'
5. 5Leave 'Related Resource' blank for now (covered in step 9)

Zap Editor > Copper Action > Configure > Related Resource

Link the task to a Copper person or opportunity

Copper tasks can be associated with a Person, Company, or Opportunity record. In the 'Related Resource' section of the action config, set 'Related Resource Type' to 'Person' (or 'Opportunity' if your team works deal-first). For 'Related Resource ID', you would ideally pull a Copper record ID from a search step — but for a first version, you can leave this blank and have reps link manually in Copper. If you want auto-linking, insert a 'Find Person in Copper' search step between steps 5 and 6 using the prospect name extracted from the Slack message.

1. 1Scroll to 'Related Resource Type' and select 'Person' from the dropdown
2. 2In 'Related Resource ID', click and check if a search step result is available to map
3. 3If no search step exists, leave the field blank for now
4. 4Note this as a step to improve after initial testing

Zap Editor > Copper Action > Test Action | Copper > Tasks

Test the Copper action with live data

Click 'Test Action' at the bottom of the Copper configuration panel. Zapier will send a real API call to Copper using the test data from your Slack trigger. After 5-10 seconds, Zapier shows a success response with a Copper task ID. Open Copper in your browser, go to the Tasks section in the left sidebar, and look for the task you just created. Confirm the name, due date, and assignee all look correct.

1. 1Click 'Test Action' in the Copper configuration panel
2. 2Wait for the green success message showing a task ID
3. 3Open Copper and navigate to Tasks in the left sidebar
4. 4Search for the task by the name from your Slack test command
5. 5Confirm due date and assignee are correct

Zap Editor > Zap Name (top pencil icon) > Publish Toggle (top right)

Name and publish the Zap

Click the pencil icon at the top of the Zap editor to give it a clear name like 'Slack /copper-task → Copper Task'. Toggle the Zap to 'On' using the switch in the top right. Zapier will confirm the Zap is live. From this point, any '/copper-task' slash command in your Slack workspace fires the Zap within 90 seconds. Share the command syntax with your team — post a pinned message in your #sales channel explaining the format.

1. 1Click the pencil icon next to the default Zap name at the top
2. 2Type 'Slack /copper-task → Copper Task' and press Enter
3. 3Click the toggle in the top right to switch the Zap from Off to On
4. 4Confirm the 'Your Zap is on!' confirmation message appears
5. 5Post the slash command instructions in your Slack #sales channel

This Code by Zapier step parses a structured slash command format — '/copper-task [prospect name] | [task description] | [days until due]' — so you can extract each component into separate fields. Paste this into a 'Run Python' Code by Zapier step placed between the Slack trigger and the Copper action. Map 'inputData.text' to the input, then use the output fields (prospect, task_name, due_days) in your Copper field mapping.

import re
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
# Expect input format: 'Prospect Name | Task description | 3'

import re
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# Expect input format: 'Prospect Name | Task description | 3'
# Example: 'Meridian Labs | Follow up on Q3 pricing | 2'

raw_text = input_data.get('text', '').strip()

# Split on pipe delimiter
parts = [p.strip() for p in raw_text.split('|')]

prospect = parts[0] if len(parts) > 0 else 'Unknown Prospect'
task_description = parts[1] if len(parts) > 1 else raw_text

# Parse due days — default to 2 if missing or non-numeric
try:
    due_days = int(parts[2]) if len(parts) > 2 else 2
except ValueError:
    due_days = 2

# Calculate due date as Unix timestamp in milliseconds (Copper API requirement)
due_datetime = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(days=due_days)
due_timestamp_ms = int(due_datetime.timestamp() * 1000)

# Build task name
task_name = f"{task_description} — {prospect}"

return {
    'prospect_name': prospect,
    'task_name': task_name,
    'due_timestamp_ms': due_timestamp_ms,
    'due_days': due_days,
    'raw_input': raw_text
}