How to Forward Gmail Emails to Slack with Zapier

zapier.com > Dashboard > Create Zap

Create a new Zap

Log into zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the top-left sidebar. You'll land on the Zap editor, a two-panel canvas showing a trigger block on the left and an action block on the right. Zapier gives the Zap a default name like 'My Zap' at the top — rename it now to something like 'Gmail → Slack: Vendor Emails' so you can find it later. Everything you configure is auto-saved, so there's no Save button to worry about during setup.

1. 1Log into zapier.com
2. 2Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
3. 3Click the default Zap name at the top and rename it to something descriptive
4. 4Confirm you see the trigger block labeled 'Trigger' on the left side of the canvas

Zap Editor > Trigger Block > App & Event

Set Gmail as the trigger app

Click the trigger block and type 'Gmail' in the app search field. Select Gmail from the results — it shows Google's red envelope icon. You'll then be asked to choose a trigger event. Pick 'New Email Matching Search' because it lets you filter by sender, subject keywords, or Gmail labels in a single query field. The other Gmail triggers ('New Email', 'New Labeled Email') are coarser — they won't let you combine multiple conditions without extra filter steps.

1. 1Click the trigger block
2. 2Type 'Gmail' in the search field and select it
3. 3Under 'Trigger Event', select 'New Email Matching Search'
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger Block > Account

Connect your Gmail account

Click 'Sign in to Gmail' and a Google OAuth popup will appear. Select the Google account whose inbox contains the emails you want to forward. Zapier will request read access to your Gmail — click 'Allow'. If you need to forward emails from a shared inbox or alias, you must connect the primary Google account that owns that inbox; Zapier cannot connect to Gmail aliases directly.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Gmail'
2. 2Select the correct Google account in the OAuth popup
3. 3Click 'Allow' to grant Zapier read access
4. 4Confirm the connected email address appears in the account dropdown

Zap Editor > Trigger Block > Configure > Search String

Configure the Gmail search filter

In the 'Search String' field, enter a Gmail search query exactly as you would type it in Gmail's search bar. This field accepts full Gmail search syntax. To match emails from a specific sender, type: from:[email protected]. To match emails with a subject keyword, use: subject:"Shipment Update". To combine both: from:[email protected] subject:"Shipment Update". You can also use label:customer-inquiries to match any email with a specific Gmail label. Zapier polls this search query every 1–2 minutes on paid plans (every 15 minutes on free).

1. 1Click into the 'Search String' field
2. 2Type your Gmail search query (e.g., from:[email protected] subject:"Shipment Update")
3. 3Optionally add label: criteria to filter by Gmail labels
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger Block > Test

Test the Gmail trigger

Click 'Test Trigger'. Zapier will run your search query against your inbox and return up to 3 recent matching emails as sample records. You need at least one matching email already in your inbox for this step to succeed — if none exist, send yourself a test email matching your search criteria first, wait 30 seconds, then retry. Review the sample data to confirm the right emails are being captured: check the From, Subject, and Body Plain fields specifically.

1. 1Click 'Test Trigger'
2. 2Wait 5–10 seconds for Zapier to query Gmail
3. 3Review the returned sample records and confirm they match your intended emails
4. 4Click 'Continue with selected record' on the sample that best represents a real email

Zap Editor > Action Block > App & Event

Set Slack as the action app

Click the action block and search for 'Slack'. Select it and then choose 'Send Channel Message' as the action event — this posts a message to a public or private channel. Do not choose 'Send Direct Message' unless you want to DM a specific person instead of broadcasting to a channel. Click 'Continue' to proceed to account connection.

1. 1Click the action block
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the app search field and select it
3. 3Under 'Action Event', select 'Send Channel Message'
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action Block > Account

Connect your Slack workspace

Click 'Sign in to Slack'. A Slack OAuth window opens — select your workspace from the dropdown at the top right if you belong to multiple workspaces. Click 'Allow' to grant Zapier permission to post messages. The account you connect here determines which workspace Zapier can post into. If you need to post into a workspace where you're not an admin, you only need posting permissions — full admin access is not required.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Slack'
2. 2Select the correct Slack workspace from the top-right dropdown in the OAuth window
3. 3Click 'Allow'
4. 4Confirm your workspace name appears in the Slack account field

Zap Editor > Action Block > Configure > Channel + Message Text

Configure the Slack message

Select the destination channel from the 'Channel' dropdown — type the channel name to filter the list. Then build the message text in the 'Message Text' field by clicking into it and inserting Gmail data fields using the blue '+' insert button. A useful default format: start with the sender (From Name field), then the subject (Subject field), then a short excerpt (Body Plain field — trim this to avoid walls of text). Toggle 'Send as Bot' to Yes and optionally set a Bot Name like 'Email Forwarder' and a Bot Icon emoji like :email:.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' dropdown and select the destination Slack channel
2. 2Click into the 'Message Text' field
3. 3Click the blue '+' button and insert 'From Name' from the Gmail trigger
4. 4Add a line break, then insert 'Subject' and 'Body Plain' fields
5. 5Optionally set Bot Name to 'Email Forwarder' and Bot Icon to ':email:'

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

Zap Editor > + (between steps) > Formatter by Zapier > Text > Truncate

Add a Formatter step to truncate the email body (optional but recommended)

Click the '+' icon between the Gmail trigger and Slack action to insert a new step. Search for 'Formatter by Zapier' and select it, then choose 'Text' as the action event and 'Truncate' as the transform. In the 'Input' field, insert the Gmail 'Body Plain' field. Set Max Length to 300 characters. This keeps Slack messages readable. Connect the Formatter's output field — labeled 'Output' — back to the Slack message text in Step 8 in place of the raw 'Body Plain' field.

1. 1Click the '+' icon between the Gmail trigger and Slack action
2. 2Search for 'Formatter by Zapier' and select it
3. 3Set Action Event to 'Text' and Transform to 'Truncate'
4. 4Set Input to the Gmail 'Body Plain' field
5. 5Set Max Length to 300
6. 6Go back to the Slack action and replace the 'Body Plain' pill with the Formatter 'Output' pill

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

Zap Editor > Action Block > Test

Test the full Zap

Click 'Test Step' on the Slack action. Zapier will send a real message to the Slack channel you selected using the sample email data from Step 5. Go to Slack immediately and find the channel — you should see a message posted by your bot with the sender, subject, and truncated body. If the formatting looks off, go back to the Slack action's Message Text field and adjust spacing or punctuation around the data pills.

1. 1Click 'Test Step' on the Slack action
2. 2Open Slack and navigate to the destination channel
3. 3Confirm the test message appears with the correct sender, subject, and body snippet
4. 4Return to Zapier and adjust message formatting if needed

Zap Editor > Publish > Zap Dashboard > Zap History

Turn on the Zap

Click 'Publish' in the top-right corner of the Zap editor. Toggle the Zap to 'On' in the confirmation panel. Zapier will now poll your Gmail search query on its regular interval — every 1–2 minutes on Starter and above, every 15 minutes on the free plan. You'll see the Zap listed as 'On' in your Zap dashboard. Check the Zap History tab after 10–15 minutes to confirm the first real runs are completing successfully.

1. 1Click 'Publish' in the top-right corner
2. 2Toggle the Zap status to 'On'
3. 3Navigate to the Zap dashboard and confirm the Zap shows as 'On'
4. 4After 10–15 minutes, click into the Zap and review the History tab for successful runs

This Code by Zapier step runs after the Gmail trigger and before the Slack action. It extracts only the first paragraph of the email body (stopping at the first double line break), strips email signatures automatically, and formats the final Slack message with bold fields — producing a cleaner output than Formatter's Truncate transform alone. Paste this into a 'Code by Zapier' step (JavaScript), add 'body' and 'subject' and 'from_name' as input data fields mapped from your Gmail trigger, and map the output 'message' field into your Slack message text.

// Input data (map these from your Gmail trigger in the Zapier UI):
// inputData.body       → Gmail 'Body Plain' field
// inputData.subject    → Gmail 'Subject' field

// Input data (map these from your Gmail trigger in the Zapier UI):
// inputData.body       → Gmail 'Body Plain' field
// inputData.subject    → Gmail 'Subject' field
// inputData.from_name  → Gmail 'From Name' field
// inputData.from_email → Gmail 'From Email' field

const body = inputData.body || '';
const subject = inputData.subject || '(No Subject)';
const fromName = inputData.from_name || inputData.from_email || 'Unknown Sender';
const fromEmail = inputData.from_email || '';

// Extract first paragraph — stop at first double newline or after 400 chars
const firstParagraphMatch = body.match(/^([\s\S]{1,400}?)(\n\n|\r\n\r\n|$)/);
const preview = firstParagraphMatch
  ? firstParagraphMatch[1].trim()
  : body.slice(0, 400).trim();

// Strip common signature delimiters
const cleanPreview = preview
  .replace(/^--[\s\S]*$/m, '')       // removes lines starting with '--'
  .replace(/^Sent from my[\s\S]*$/im, '') // removes mobile signatures
  .trim();

// Build formatted Slack message
const message = [
  `:email: *New email from ${fromName}* (${fromEmail})`,
  `*Subject:* ${subject}`,
  `*Preview:* ${cleanPreview || '(No body text)'}`,
].join('\n');

return [{message}];