How to Forward Gmail Meeting Emails to Slack with n8n

n8n Dashboard > Workflows > New Workflow

Create a new workflow in n8n

Log into your n8n instance (cloud at app.n8n.io or self-hosted). Click the orange 'New Workflow' button in the top-right corner of the Workflows dashboard. Give it a clear name like 'Gmail → Slack Meeting Distributor' — this matters when you're debugging later. You'll land on a blank canvas with a single gray 'Start' node.

1. 1Click 'New Workflow' in the top-right corner
2. 2Click the workflow name at the top and rename it to 'Gmail → Slack Meeting Distributor'
3. 3Press Enter to save the name

Canvas > Add Node > Gmail > Trigger

Add and configure the Gmail trigger node

Click the gray Start node and search for 'Gmail'. Select the Gmail node and choose 'Trigger' mode. Set the operation to 'Message Received'. n8n will poll your Gmail inbox on the schedule you define in Step 3. Connect your Google account by clicking 'Create new credential' — you'll need to authorize Gmail access via OAuth2.

1. 1Click the '+' icon on the canvas or on the Start node
2. 2Type 'Gmail' in the search bar and select it
3. 3Set 'Operation' to 'Message Received'
4. 4Click 'Create new credential' under the Credential dropdown
5. 5Sign in with your Google account and grant Gmail read access

Gmail Node > Parameters > Poll Times + Filters

Set polling interval and label filter

Inside the Gmail trigger node, set the 'Poll Times' field to every 5 minutes — this gives near-real-time delivery without hammering the Gmail API. Under 'Filters', add a label filter if you use Gmail labels for external meetings (e.g., 'external-meetings'). If you rely on subject keywords instead, leave the label field blank and you'll handle filtering in Step 5.

1. 1Click the 'Poll Times' field and select 'Every 5 Minutes'
2. 2Expand the 'Filters' section
3. 3Set 'Label Names or IDs' to your meeting label, or leave blank to filter by keyword later
4. 4Check 'Return All' is set to false — you want only new messages per poll

Gmail Node > Test Step button

Test the Gmail trigger with a real email

Click 'Test Step' on the Gmail node. n8n will immediately pull recent emails from your inbox matching your filter. You need at least one real meeting-related email in your inbox for the test data to be useful — send yourself a test email with a subject like 'Re: Project Kickoff Meeting Notes' before running this step. Look at the output panel on the right and expand one email item to see its structure.

1. 1Send a test email to your Gmail with subject 'Re: Project Kickoff Meeting Notes'
2. 2Click 'Test Step' on the Gmail node
3. 3Expand the output item in the right panel
4. 4Note the field paths for subject, snippet, from, and body fields

Canvas > Add Node > IF

Add an IF node to filter for meeting-related emails

Not every email in your inbox is a meeting follow-up. Add an IF node after the Gmail trigger to check whether the subject line contains relevant keywords. This prevents noise from being posted to Slack. You'll build a multi-condition check using OR logic across keywords like 'meeting', 'action items', 'follow-up', 'recap', and 'notes'.

1. 1Click the '+' after the Gmail trigger node and search for 'IF'
2. 2Set Condition 1: 'String' | '{{ $json.subject }}' | 'Contains' | 'meeting'
3. 3Click 'Add Condition' and set Condition 2: subject Contains 'action items'
4. 4Add Condition 3: subject Contains 'follow-up'
5. 5Add Condition 4: subject Contains 'recap'
6. 6Set the 'Combine' dropdown to 'OR'

Canvas > Add Node > Code

Add a Code node to classify and extract meeting data

After the true branch of the IF node, add a Code node. This is where n8n earns its place — you can write JavaScript to extract the sender name, detect the meeting type from the subject, strip HTML from the email body, and assign a target Slack channel based on keywords. This single node replaces 4-5 manual routing steps you'd need in Zapier.

1. 1Click '+' after the IF node's true output
2. 2Search for 'Code' and select it
3. 3Set 'Language' to 'JavaScript'
4. 4Paste the classification code from the Pro Tip section below
5. 5Click 'Test Step' to verify output fields

Paste this into the Code node (Step 6) that sits after your IF filter node. It strips HTML from the email body, detects meeting type from subject keywords, assigns the correct Slack channel, and formats the sender name — all in one pass. The $input.all() call pulls every email that passed the IF filter in the current execution.

// n8n Code Node — Meeting Classification & Data Prep
// Place after the IF filter node, before the Slack node
const items = $input.all();

// n8n Code Node — Meeting Classification & Data Prep
// Place after the IF filter node, before the Slack node

const items = $input.all();
const results = [];

// Map meeting types to Slack channels — update these to match your workspace
const channelMap = {
  'action items': '#action-items',
  'follow-up': '#follow-ups',
  'follow up': '#follow-ups',
  'recap': '#meeting-recaps',
  'notes': '#meeting-recaps',
  'confirmation': '#external-meetings',
  'confirmed': '#external-meetings',
  'meeting request': '#external-meetings',
  'default': '#general-meetings'
};

for (const item of items) {
  const email = item.json;

  // --- 1. Strip HTML from body ---
  const rawBody = email.text || email.snippet || '';
  const cleanBody = rawBody
    .replace(/<[^>]*>/g, ' ')
    .replace(/&nbsp;/g, ' ')
    .replace(/&amp;/g, '&')
    .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
    .trim()
    .substring(0, 500);

  // --- 2. Extract sender name from 'from' field ---
  // Gmail 'from' field is usually: "First Last <[email protected]>"
  const fromRaw = email.from || '';
  const nameMatch = fromRaw.match(/^([^<]+)/);
  const senderName = nameMatch ? nameMatch[1].trim() : fromRaw;
  const emailMatch = fromRaw.match(/<([^>]+)>/);
  const senderEmail = emailMatch ? emailMatch[1] : fromRaw;

  // --- 3. Classify meeting type by subject keyword ---
  const subject = (email.subject || '').toLowerCase();
  let meetingType = 'General Meeting';
  let targetChannel = channelMap['default'];

  for (const [keyword, channel] of Object.entries(channelMap)) {
    if (keyword !== 'default' && subject.includes(keyword)) {
      targetChannel = channel;
      meetingType = keyword
        .split(' ')
        .map(w => w.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + w.slice(1))
        .join(' ');
      break;
    }
  }

  // --- 4. Format received date ---
  const rawDate = email.date || email.internalDate || '';
  let formattedDate = 'Unknown date';
  if (rawDate) {
    const d = new Date(isNaN(rawDate) ? rawDate : parseInt(rawDate));
    formattedDate = d.toLocaleString('en-US', {
      month: 'short',
      day: 'numeric',
      year: 'numeric',
      hour: 'numeric',
      minute: '2-digit',
      hour12: true
    });
  }

  // --- 5. Build Slack message text ---
  const emoji = meetingType.includes('Confirmation') ? '📅' : '📋';
  const slackMessage = [
    `${emoji} *${meetingType}* from ${senderName} (${senderEmail})`,
    `*Subject:* ${email.subject}`,
    `*Received:* ${formattedDate}`,
    '',
    cleanBody
  ].join('\n');

  results.push({
    json: {
      ...email,
      senderName,
      senderEmail,
      cleanBody,
      meetingType,
      targetChannel,
      formattedDate,
      slackMessage,
      messageId: email.id
    }
  });
}

return results;

Canvas > Add Node > Slack > Send Message

Add the Slack node and configure message formatting

Add a Slack node after the Code node. Set the operation to 'Send Message'. In the 'Channel' field, use the dynamic value from your Code node output: '{{ $json.targetChannel }}'. This is what routes the message to the right Slack channel per email. Build the message text using Slack's Block Kit or a simple formatted string combining sender, subject, date, and a clipped body preview.

1. 1Click '+' after the Code node and search for 'Slack'
2. 2Select 'Send Message' as the operation
3. 3Connect your Slack workspace by clicking 'Create new credential' and authorizing via OAuth2
4. 4Set 'Channel' to '{{ $json.targetChannel }}'
5. 5Set 'Message Text' to the formatted template (see field mapping section)

Canvas > Test Workflow button (top bar)

Test end-to-end with a real meeting email

Click 'Test Workflow' at the top of the canvas. n8n will run all nodes in sequence using real data. Watch each node light up green as it executes. Check the Slack channel you targeted — the message should appear within seconds of the test completing. Click each node's output panel to verify the data transformation happened correctly at each stage.

1. 1Click 'Test Workflow' in the top toolbar
2. 2Watch each node turn green as execution proceeds
3. 3Open your target Slack channel and confirm the message arrived
4. 4Click the Code node output panel to verify 'targetChannel' mapped correctly
5. 5Click the Slack node output panel to confirm 'ok: true' in the response

Canvas > Three-dot menu > Settings > Error Workflow

Add an error handler for failed Slack posts

Real workflows fail. Add an Error Trigger node connected to a second Slack node that posts to a dedicated #automation-errors channel when the main workflow breaks. In n8n, click the three-dot menu on the workflow canvas and toggle 'Error Workflow'. Create a second minimal workflow with an Error Trigger that sends the error message and node name to your monitoring channel.

1. 1Click the three-dot menu at the top of the canvas
2. 2Select 'Settings'
3. 3Under 'Error Workflow', click 'Select Workflow' and create or select an error-handling workflow
4. 4In that error workflow, add an Error Trigger node and a Slack node posting to #automation-errors

Canvas > Active/Inactive toggle (top right)

Activate the workflow

Click the 'Inactive' toggle in the top-right corner of the canvas to switch it to 'Active'. n8n will immediately begin polling Gmail every 5 minutes according to your schedule. The workflow is now live. Leave the canvas — it runs independently in the background.

1. 1Click the gray 'Inactive' toggle in the top-right corner
2. 2Confirm the dialog if prompted
3. 3Watch the toggle turn green and read 'Active'
4. 4Navigate to the Executions tab to monitor the first few runs