How to Sync Slack Channel Members to Copper with Zapier

zapier.com > My Zaps > Create Zap > Trigger > Slack

Create a new Zap and connect Slack

Log into zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the left sidebar. The Zap editor opens to a blank canvas with a trigger block at the top. Click that trigger block and type 'Slack' in the search field. Select Slack from the results — you'll see the Slack logo appear with a list of available triggers below it. Choose 'New Channel Member' as your trigger event.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the trigger block labeled 'Trigger'
3. 3Type 'Slack' in the app search box
4. 4Select 'Slack' from the dropdown results
5. 5Choose 'New Channel Member' from the trigger event list
6. 6Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Slack > Choose Account > Sign in to Slack

Connect your Slack account

Click 'Sign in to Slack' and a popup window opens asking you to authorize Zapier. You'll land on Slack's OAuth screen — make sure you're signed into the correct Slack workspace in the top-right dropdown before approving. Click 'Allow'. Zapier needs permission to read channel membership events, so the scopes requested include channels:read and users:read — both are required for this Zap to function.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Slack'
2. 2In the popup, confirm the correct workspace is selected in the top-right
3. 3Click 'Allow' to grant Zapier access
4. 4Close the popup and select the connected account in the Zapier dropdown
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Slack > Set Up Trigger > Channel

Select the target Slack channel

In the 'Set up trigger' panel, click the 'Channel' dropdown. Zapier fetches a list of all public channels your connected Slack account can see. Scroll or search for the channel you want to monitor — for example, #partners or #new-hires. You can only select one channel per Zap. If you need to watch multiple channels, you will build separate Zaps for each or use a multi-step Zap with a filter (covered in step 5).

1. 1Click the 'Channel' dropdown in the 'Set up trigger' panel
2. 2Type the channel name to filter the list
3. 3Select the target channel (e.g. #partners)
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Slack > Test Trigger

Test the Slack trigger

Click 'Test trigger' — Zapier polls the channel for recent membership events to pull in sample data. For this test to return data, the channel must have at least one member added in the recent past. If the channel is brand new, manually add a test user to it now, then click 'Test trigger' again. The sample data will show fields like User ID, Username, Display Name, Email, and Real Name — you'll map these to Copper in later steps.

1. 1Click 'Test trigger'
2. 2If no data appears, add a test member to the Slack channel first
3. 3Click 'Test trigger' again
4. 4Confirm the sample shows fields including 'Email' and 'Real Name'
5. 5Click 'Continue with selected record'

Zap Editor > + > Filter by Zapier > Only continue if...

Add a Filter step to exclude bot accounts

Click the '+' button below the trigger block and select 'Filter' (it is listed under 'Logic' in Zapier). Bots are added to Slack channels frequently — CI systems, support tools, notifications bots — and you do not want those creating ghost contacts in Copper. Set the filter condition to: 'Is Bot' (from Slack trigger data) 'Is false'. This single condition blocks any Zap run where the new member is a bot account.

1. 1Click the '+' button between trigger and action
2. 2Click 'Filter' under the Logic section
3. 3In 'Only continue if...', click the field dropdown and select 'Is Bot'
4. 4Set the condition to 'Is false'
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > + > Action > Copper > Create Person

Add Copper as the action app

Click the '+' button below the Filter step and search for 'Copper' in the action app search. Select Copper and then choose 'Create Person' as the action event — Copper calls individual contacts 'People' in its data model, not 'Contacts'. Click 'Continue' to proceed to account connection.

1. 1Click the '+' button below the Filter step
2. 2Type 'Copper' in the app search box
3. 3Select 'Copper' from the results
4. 4Choose 'Create Person' from the action event list
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Copper > Settings > Integrations > API Keys

Connect your Copper account

Click 'Sign in to Copper'. A popup asks for your Copper API key and the email address associated with your Copper account. To get your API key, open Copper in a separate tab, go to Settings > Integrations > API Keys, and click 'Generate API Key'. Copy it and paste it into the Zapier popup along with your Copper login email. Click 'Yes, Continue to Copper'.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Copper' in the Zapier popup
2. 2Open Copper in a new tab and go to Settings > Integrations > API Keys
3. 3Click 'Generate API Key' and copy the key
4. 4Paste the API key and your Copper email into the Zapier connection form
5. 5Click 'Yes, Continue to Copper'
6. 6Confirm the account name appears in Zapier's account dropdown

Zap Editor > Action > Copper > Set Up Action

Map Slack fields to Copper contact fields

The 'Set up action' panel shows all available Copper Person fields. Click into each field and use the blue insert icon (or type '/') to pull in data from the Slack trigger. Map 'First Name' to the Slack 'First Name' field, 'Last Name' to 'Last Name', and 'Email' to the Slack 'Email' field. In the 'Tags' field, type a static value like 'Slack-Partner' so you can filter these contacts in Copper later. Leave 'Company' blank for now — Copper will auto-match it if the email domain matches an existing company record.

1. 1Click the 'First Name' field and select 'First Name' from the Slack trigger data
2. 2Click the 'Last Name' field and select 'Last Name' from the Slack trigger data
3. 3Click the 'Email' field and select 'Email' from the Slack trigger data
4. 4Click the 'Tags' field and type a static tag value such as 'Slack-Partner'
5. 5Optionally map 'Phone Numbers' if your Slack profile data includes it
6. 6Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > + (between Filter and Copper) > Formatter by Zapier > Text > Split Text

Add a Formatter step to split full name (if needed)

If step 8 revealed that Slack only returns 'Real Name' as a single string (e.g. 'Jordan Ellis') rather than separate first and last name fields, add a Zapier Formatter step before the Copper action. Click the '+' between the Filter and Copper steps, choose 'Formatter by Zapier', select 'Text', then 'Split Text'. Set the input to the Slack 'Real Name' field, the separator to a single space, and the segment index to 'All' — this outputs First (index 1) and Last (index 2) as separate values you can map into Copper.

1. 1Click '+' between the Filter step and the Copper action
2. 2Search for and select 'Formatter by Zapier'
3. 3Choose 'Text' as the transform type
4. 4Choose 'Split Text' as the action
5. 5Set 'Input' to the Slack 'Real Name' field
6. 6Set 'Separator' to a single space character
7. 7Set 'Segment Index' to 'All'
8. 8Click 'Continue' and test — confirm Output 1 and Output 2 appear

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

Zap Editor > Action > Copper > Test Action

Test the full Zap

Click 'Test action' in the Copper step. Zapier uses your sample Slack data to create a real contact in Copper — this is a live write, not a simulation. Open Copper in a separate tab immediately after and search for the contact by the test email address. Confirm the record was created with the correct name, email, and tag. If the contact already exists in Copper, you will likely see an error or a duplicate — handle this by checking Copper's People list for duplicates and deleting the test record before going live.

1. 1Click 'Test action'
2. 2Wait 5-10 seconds for Zapier to confirm success
3. 3Open Copper in a new tab and go to People
4. 4Search for the test contact's email address
5. 5Confirm the record shows the correct name, email, and tag
6. 6Delete the test contact from Copper before publishing

Zap Editor > Zap Name > Publish Zap

Name and publish the Zap

Click the pencil icon next to 'Untitled Zap' at the top of the editor and give it a clear name like 'Slack #partners → Copper Contact'. Click 'Publish Zap' in the top right. The Zap status changes to 'On'. From this point, every time a non-bot user is added to your target Slack channel, Zapier fires within 1-2 minutes and creates the Copper contact automatically.

1. 1Click the pencil icon next to 'Untitled Zap'
2. 2Type a descriptive name: 'Slack #partners → Copper Contact'
3. 3Click 'Publish Zap' in the top-right corner
4. 4Confirm the Zap status shows 'On' in green

This Code by Zapier step runs before the Copper action and formats a clean 'details' note combining the Slack channel name, join date, and display name. Paste this into a 'Code by Zapier' step (choose JavaScript) inserted between the Formatter step and the Copper Create Person action. Map the output variable 'detailsNote' into the Copper 'Details' field.

// Code by Zapier — runs before Copper Create Person
// Inputs (set these in the 'Input Data' section of the Code step):
//   slackChannel: from Slack trigger 'Channel Name'

// Code by Zapier — runs before Copper Create Person
// Inputs (set these in the 'Input Data' section of the Code step):
//   slackChannel: from Slack trigger 'Channel Name'
//   displayName: from Slack trigger 'Display Name'
//   userEmail: from Slack trigger 'Email'

const channel = inputData.slackChannel || 'unknown-channel';
const display = inputData.displayName || 'unknown';
const email = inputData.userEmail || '';

// Build ISO date string for today
const today = new Date();
const dateStr = today.toISOString().split('T')[0]; // e.g. '2024-03-15'

// Construct a clean note for Copper's Details field
const detailsNote = `Source: Slack #${channel}\nJoined: ${dateStr}\nSlack handle: @${display}\nEmail confirmed: ${email ? 'Yes' : 'No'}`;

// Determine a suggested tag based on channel name
let suggestedTag = 'Slack-Member';
if (channel.toLowerCase().includes('partner')) {
  suggestedTag = 'Slack-Partner';
} else if (channel.toLowerCase().includes('hire') || channel.toLowerCase().includes('onboard')) {
  suggestedTag = 'Slack-NewHire';
}

output = [{ detailsNote: detailsNote, suggestedTag: suggestedTag }];