How to Send Gmail Digest Summaries to Slack with Zapier

zapier.com > Dashboard > Create Zap

Create a new Zap and name it

Log in to zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the left sidebar. You'll land in the Zap editor. Click the default name 'My Zap' at the top of the screen and rename it something like 'Daily Gmail Digest to Slack'. This name shows up in your Zap history and task logs, so make it identifiable. You won't lose progress if you navigate away — Zapier autosaves.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the pencil icon or 'My Zap' title at the top center
3. 3Type your Zap name, e.g. 'Daily Gmail Digest — Client Emails to Slack'
4. 4Press Enter to save the name

Zap Editor > Trigger > App & Event

Set the Schedule trigger

Click the Trigger step card and search for 'Schedule by Zapier' in the app search box. This is a built-in Zapier utility — not Gmail. Select it, then choose 'Every Day' or 'Every Week' depending on your digest frequency. You'll pick the exact time and day next. This trigger fires once per period and kicks off the Gmail search in the following step.

1. 1Click the 'Trigger' card in the editor
2. 2Type 'Schedule' in the app search box
3. 3Select 'Schedule by Zapier' from the results
4. 4Click 'Every Day' (or 'Every Week' if you want weekly digests)
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Configure

Configure the digest schedule

Set the 'Time of Day' field to when you want the digest posted — typically 8:00 or 9:00 AM in your team's timezone, converted to UTC. For weekly digests, also set 'Day of Week' to Monday or whichever day the team starts. Leave 'Trigger on Weekends' set to No unless your team works weekends. Click 'Continue' when done.

1. 1Set 'Time of Day' to your target time in UTC
2. 2If weekly, set 'Day of Week' to your preferred day
3. 3Set 'Trigger on Weekends' to No (unless needed)
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action 1 > App & Event

Add a Gmail 'Find Email' action step

Click the '+' button below the trigger to add a new action. Search for 'Gmail' and select it. For the event, choose 'Find Email'. This lets you search your Gmail inbox using the same query syntax as Gmail's search bar. You'll connect your Google account in the next sub-step. This is the core step that fetches matching emails from the window you define.

1. 1Click the '+' icon below the Schedule trigger
2. 2Search for 'Gmail' in the app search
3. 3Select 'Gmail'
4. 4Choose 'Find Email' as the event
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action 1 > Configure > Search String

Connect your Gmail account and write the search query

Click 'Sign in to Gmail' and complete the Google OAuth flow — you'll need to allow Zapier to read, send, and manage Gmail. Once connected, you'll see a 'Search String' field. Enter a Gmail search query here exactly as you would in the Gmail search bar. For example: 'from:(@acmecorp.com) is:unread newer_than:1d' fetches unread emails from that domain in the last 24 hours. For labeled emails use: 'label:priority-clients newer_than:1d'.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Gmail'
2. 2Select your Google account in the popup
3. 3Grant Zapier the requested permissions
4. 4In 'Search String', type your Gmail query, e.g. 'from:(@vendor.com) is:unread newer_than:1d'
5. 5Toggle 'Find All' to Yes if you want multiple results
6. 6Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action 2 > Code by Zapier > Run Python

Add a Code by Zapier step to format the digest message

Click '+' to add another action. Search for 'Code by Zapier' and select 'Run Python' (or 'Run JavaScript'). This step takes the raw email data from Gmail and formats it into a readable Slack message. Without this step, you'd be sending raw JSON blobs or a single email's fields with no structure. Paste the formatting code from the Pro Tip section into the code box. Map the Gmail 'Find All' results array as the input.

1. 1Click '+' below the Gmail action
2. 2Search for 'Code by Zapier'
3. 3Select 'Run Python'
4. 4In the 'Input Data' section, add a key called 'emails' and map it to the Gmail 'Find All' output
5. 5Paste your formatting code in the 'Code' box
6. 6Click 'Test' to verify output

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

This Python code runs in Code by Zapier (Run Python) and formats the raw Gmail 'Find All' line-item output into a structured Slack message with subjects, senders, timestamps, and body previews. Paste this into the 'Code' box in your Code by Zapier step. In the 'Input Data' section above the code box, create keys named 'subjects', 'senders', 'dates', and 'bodies' — map each to the corresponding Gmail line-item field.

# Input Data keys to map in Zapier:
# subjects -> Gmail: Subject (line item)
# senders  -> Gmail: From (line item)

# Input Data keys to map in Zapier:
# subjects -> Gmail: Subject (line item)
# senders  -> Gmail: From (line item)
# dates    -> Gmail: Date (line item)
# bodies   -> Gmail: Body Plain (line item)

import datetime

subjects = input_data.get('subjects', '').split(',')
senders  = input_data.get('senders', '').split(',')
dates    = input_data.get('dates', '').split(',')
bodies   = input_data.get('bodies', '').split(',')

# Trim whitespace from each item
subjects = [s.strip() for s in subjects if s.strip()]
senders  = [s.strip() for s in senders  if s.strip()]
dates    = [s.strip() for s in dates    if s.strip()]
bodies   = [s.strip() for s in bodies   if s.strip()]

count = len(subjects)
today = datetime.date.today().strftime('%A %b %-d')

if count == 0:
    output = {'message': '', 'count': '0'}
else:
    lines = [f'📧 *Daily Email Digest — {today}* | {count} email{"s" if count != 1 else ""}\n']
    for i in range(count):
        subject = subjects[i] if i < len(subjects) else '(no subject)'
        sender  = senders[i]  if i < len(senders)  else '(unknown sender)'
        body    = bodies[i]   if i < len(bodies)    else ''
        preview = (body[:120] + '...') if len(body) > 120 else body
        # Format date to readable time if possible
        raw_date = dates[i] if i < len(dates) else ''
        try:
            dt = datetime.datetime.fromisoformat(raw_date.replace('Z', '+00:00'))
            time_str = dt.strftime('%-I:%M%p').lower()
        except Exception:
            time_str = raw_date
        lines.append(f'{i+1}. *{subject}*\n   From: {sender} | {time_str}\n   _{preview}_')
    output = {'message': '\n\n'.join(lines), 'count': str(count)}

Zap Editor > Action 3 > Slack > Send Channel Message

Add Slack 'Send Channel Message' action

Click '+' to add another action. Select 'Slack' and choose 'Send Channel Message' as the event. Connect your Slack workspace via OAuth — you'll need to authorize Zapier to post messages. In the 'Channel' dropdown, select the channel where the digest should post (e.g. #client-comms or #team-digest). Map the 'Message Text' field to the formatted output from the Code by Zapier step.

1. 1Click '+' below the Code by Zapier step
2. 2Search for and select 'Slack'
3. 3Choose 'Send Channel Message' as the event
4. 4Click 'Sign in to Slack' and authorize Zapier
5. 5In the 'Channel' field, select your target channel from the dropdown
6. 6In 'Message Text', click the field and select the output from the Code step

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

Zap Editor > Action 3 > Slack > Configure

Configure the Slack message formatting

In the Slack action config, set 'Bot Name' to something like 'Email Digest Bot' so it's clear in Slack who posted the message. Optionally set a 'Bot Icon' using an emoji like ':email:'. Under 'Include a link to this Zap?', set this to No — it adds noise to the message. Leave 'Send as a reply in thread?' as No unless you want all digests threaded under a pinned message.

1. 1Set 'Bot Name' to 'Email Digest Bot' or your preferred label
2. 2Set 'Bot Icon' to ':email:' or ':envelope:'
3. 3Set 'Include a link to this Zap?' to No
4. 4Set 'Link Names?' to Yes so @mentions resolve if used
5. 5Click 'Continue'

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

Zap Editor > Action 3 > Test

Test the full Zap end-to-end

Click 'Test Step' on the Slack action. Zapier will post the formatted digest message to your chosen Slack channel using the sample data from your Gmail test. Open Slack and verify the message looks right — check that subjects, senders, and timestamps are readable, not garbled. If you see 'undefined' or empty fields, go back to the Code step and check your input variable mapping.

1. 1Click 'Test Step' on the Slack action
2. 2Open Slack and navigate to your target channel
3. 3Verify the digest message posted with correct email summaries
4. 4If the message looks wrong, click back to the Code step and re-test
5. 5Delete the test message from Slack once confirmed

Zap Editor > between Gmail and Code steps > Filter by Zapier

Add a filter to skip empty digests

Between the Gmail step and the Code step, add a 'Filter by Zapier' action. Set the condition: only continue if Gmail 'Number of Results' is greater than 0. This prevents Zapier from posting an empty digest message to Slack on days when no matching emails were received. Without this filter, you'll get messages like 'Daily Digest — 0 emails' cluttering your channel every morning.

1. 1Click '+' between the Gmail action and the Code step
2. 2Select 'Filter by Zapier'
3. 3Set condition: 'Gmail > Number of Results' 'Greater than' '0'
4. 4Click 'Continue'
5. 5Confirm the filter logic shown matches your intent

Zap Editor > Publish > Task History

Turn on the Zap and monitor first runs

Click 'Publish' in the top right of the Zap editor. Toggle the Zap to 'On'. Check back the next morning (or next scheduled run) and look at the Zap's Task History — go to zapier.com, click your Zap, then 'Task History'. You should see one task per run showing success or the reason it was filtered. For the first week, manually verify in Slack that the digest is appearing at the right time with the right emails.

1. 1Click 'Publish' in the top right corner
2. 2Toggle the Zap switch to 'On'
3. 3After the first scheduled run, go to zapier.com > Your Zap > Task History
4. 4Confirm each step shows a green checkmark
5. 5Open Slack and verify the digest message content