How to Forward Gmail to Slack Channels with Make

make.com > Scenarios > Create a new scenario

Create a new Make scenario

Log in to Make at make.com and click the blue 'Create a new scenario' button in the top-right corner of your Scenarios dashboard. You'll land on the visual scenario canvas — a dark background with a single empty circle in the center. This circle is where your trigger module goes. Click it to open the app search panel on the right side of the screen.

1. 1Log in at make.com
2. 2Click 'Create a new scenario' in the top-right
3. 3Click the empty circle in the center of the canvas to open the app picker

Scenario Canvas > App Picker > Gmail > Watch Emails

Add the Gmail 'Watch Emails' trigger

Type 'Gmail' into the app search field and select it from the results. Make will show you a list of Gmail triggers and actions. Select 'Watch Emails' — this polls your Gmail inbox on a schedule you define. You'll be prompted to connect a Google account if you haven't already. Click 'Add' next to the connection field, sign in with your Google account, and grant Make the permissions it requests.

1. 1Type 'Gmail' in the app search field
2. 2Select 'Gmail' from the results
3. 3Click 'Watch Emails' from the trigger list
4. 4Click 'Add' next to the Connection field
5. 5Sign in with your Google account and click 'Allow' on the permissions screen

Gmail Module Panel > Folder > Criteria > Maximum number of results

Configure the Gmail filter criteria

Inside the 'Watch Emails' module panel, set the Folder to 'INBOX' (or another label if you're filtering by label). In the 'Criteria' field, enter a Gmail search query to scope which emails trigger the scenario — for example, 'from:[email protected]' to match a specific sender, or 'subject:Invoice' to match subject keywords. Set 'Maximum number of results' to 1. Leave 'Mark email messages as read' unchecked unless you want Make to mark emails as read after processing — this is a destructive action you can't undo through Make.

1. 1Set Folder to 'INBOX'
2. 2Enter your Gmail search query in the Criteria field (e.g. 'from:[email protected] subject:Invoice')
3. 3Set Maximum number of results to 1
4. 4Leave 'Mark email messages as read' unchecked for now

Scenario Canvas > Gmail Module > + > Router

Add a Router to support multiple destination channels

If you need to send emails to different Slack channels based on rules (e.g. support emails go to #support, vendor emails go to #procurement), add a Router module after Gmail. Click the small '+' icon on the right edge of the Gmail module to add a new module, then search for 'Router' and select it. The Router splits the scenario into parallel paths. Each path gets its own filter and Slack module. If you only need one Slack channel, skip this step and connect Gmail directly to the Slack module.

1. 1Click the '+' icon on the right edge of the Gmail module
2. 2Search for 'Router' in the app picker
3. 3Select 'Router' to add it to the canvas
4. 4You'll see the Router split into two path circles — add more by clicking the '+' on the Router itself

Scenario Canvas > Router path line > Filter icon > Condition setup

Set a filter on each Router path

Click the line between the Router and the first empty path circle — a filter icon appears. Click it to open the filter configuration panel. Set the Condition to match your routing rule. For example, to route by sender domain: set Field to 'From', Operator to 'Contains', and Value to '@vendorname.com'. Name the filter clearly (e.g. 'Vendor Emails') using the Label field at the top. Repeat for each Router path. If you skipped the Router, ignore this step.

1. 1Click the connector line between the Router and the first path circle
2. 2Click the filter icon that appears on the line
3. 3Set Field to 'From' (or 'Subject' or 'Labels')
4. 4Set Operator to 'Contains'
5. 5Enter your match value (e.g. '@vendorname.com')
6. 6Enter a Label name at the top of the filter panel
7. 7Click OK

Scenario Canvas > Path Circle > App Picker > Slack > Create a Message

Add the Slack 'Create a Message' action

Click the empty circle at the end of your first Router path (or directly after the Gmail module if you skipped the Router). Search for 'Slack' and select it, then choose 'Create a Message' as the action. Connect your Slack workspace by clicking 'Add' next to the Connection field and authorizing Make in the Slack OAuth screen. Make will ask which permissions to grant — approve all that are requested.

1. 1Click the empty circle at the end of a Router path
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the app search field
3. 3Select 'Slack'
4. 4Choose 'Create a Message'
5. 5Click 'Add' next to Connection and authorize Slack

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

Slack Module Panel > Channel > Text

Configure the Slack message content

In the Slack module panel, select your destination Channel from the dropdown — all public channels and any private channels the bot has been invited to will appear. In the Text field, build your message using data mapped from the Gmail module. Click inside the Text field and use the variable picker (the small icon that appears) to insert Gmail fields. A useful format: '*From:* {{1.from}} | *Subject:* {{1.subject}}\n{{1.snippet}}' — this gives the Slack channel the sender, subject, and a preview of the email body in one message.

1. 1Select your target Slack channel from the Channel dropdown
2. 2Click inside the Text field
3. 3Click the variable picker icon to browse Gmail output fields
4. 4Map 'From', 'Subject', and 'Snippet' (or 'Body Plain') from the Gmail module
5. 5Optionally set a Bot name and Bot icon URL for cleaner channel display

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

Gmail Module > Clock Icon > Scheduling Panel

Set the polling schedule

Click the clock icon on the Gmail 'Watch Emails' trigger module (bottom-left of the module). This opens the scheduling panel. Set how frequently Make should poll Gmail for new emails. Options range from every 1 minute (requires a paid plan) to every 15 minutes (available on free). For most team notification workflows, every 5 minutes is a good balance of timeliness and operation usage. Click OK to save the schedule.

1. 1Click the clock icon on the bottom-left of the Gmail module
2. 2Set the interval (e.g. Every 5 minutes)
3. 3Click OK

Scenario Canvas > Bottom Toolbar > Run once

Test the scenario with a real email

Before activating, send a test email to your Gmail account that matches your filter criteria. Then click 'Run once' in the bottom toolbar of the Make scenario canvas. Make will execute the scenario one time immediately, polling Gmail for matching emails. Watch the execution flow animate across your modules — green circles mean success, red means an error. Click on any module to inspect the exact data it received and sent.

1. 1Send a test email to your Gmail account matching your filter criteria
2. 2Click 'Run once' in the bottom toolbar
3. 3Watch the animated execution flow across modules
4. 4Click the Gmail module bubble to inspect the email data Make pulled
5. 5Click the Slack module bubble to confirm the message payload

Scenario Canvas > Bottom Toolbar > Active/Inactive Toggle

Activate the scenario

Once the test passes, toggle the scenario from OFF to ON using the switch in the bottom-left of the canvas toolbar. The toggle will turn blue when active. Make will now poll Gmail automatically on your configured schedule. You'll see scenario run history accumulate in the Scenario Detail page — click the scenario name in your Scenarios list to view run logs, operation counts, and any errors.

1. 1Click the toggle switch in the bottom-left toolbar
2. 2Confirm it turns blue (Active)
3. 3Navigate to Scenarios list to confirm the scenario shows 'Active' status

Scenarios > [Scenario Name] > History Tab | Organization > Usage

Review run history and operation usage

After 24 hours, open the scenario's detail page and check the History tab. Each polling cycle counts as operations even if no email was found — one operation is consumed just for the Gmail watch check. If emails are found and Slack messages sent, that's additional operations per email. Monitor your monthly operation count in Organization > Usage to avoid hitting your plan limit mid-month.

1. 1Click your scenario name in the Scenarios list
2. 2Open the History tab
3. 3Check that recent runs show green (success) status
4. 4Go to Organization > Usage to monitor total monthly operations

Paste this into a Make 'Text aggregator' or use it inside a 'Set variable' module's formula field to build a clean, conditional Slack message. The formula checks for attachments and appends a warning emoji, and it formats the Gmail date into a human-readable string. In Make, open a Tools > Set Variable module, set the Variable Name to 'slackMessage', and paste this into the Variable Value field using the formula editor.

{{if(1.payload.parts; "📎 _Has attachments — view in Gmail_"; "")}}
*From:* {{1.from}}
*Subject:* {{1.subject}}

{{if(1.payload.parts; "📎 _Has attachments — view in Gmail_"; "")}}

*From:* {{1.from}}
*Subject:* {{1.subject}}
*Received:* {{formatDate(1.date; "MMM D, YYYY h:mm A"; "America/New_York")}}

{{if(
  length(1.bodyPlain) > 500;
  substring(1.bodyPlain; 0; 500) & "...";
  1.bodyPlain
)}}

{{if(
  contains(1.from; "@acme-logistics.com");
  ":rotating_light: *Vendor alert — tag @ops-lead*";
  ""
)}}

<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/{{1.id}}|Open in Gmail>