How to Post Daily Calendar Agenda to Slack with N8n

Workflows > New Workflow > Add Node > Triggers

Create new N8n workflow

Start with a fresh workflow to handle the daily calendar posting. You'll use a cron trigger to run this at 8am every weekday morning.

1. 1Click 'New Workflow' from the N8n dashboard
2. 2Click the gray + button to add your first node
3. 3Select 'Cron' from the trigger list
4. 4Name your workflow 'Daily Calendar to Slack'

Cron Node > Parameters

Configure cron schedule for 8am daily

Set up the cron expression to fire every weekday at 8am. This ensures your team gets the agenda before the workday starts.

1. 1In the Cron node settings, select 'Custom' mode
2. 2Enter '0 8 * * 1-5' in the cron expression field
3. 3Set timezone to your team's timezone from the dropdown
4. 4Click 'Execute Node' to test the trigger timing

Add Node > Apps > Google Calendar

Add Google Calendar node

Connect to your Google Calendar to fetch today's events. You'll pull all events for the current day when the workflow runs.

1. 1Click the + after the Cron node
2. 2Search for 'Google Calendar' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Event > Get All' operation
4. 4Click 'Create New Credential' to authenticate

Google Calendar Node > Credentials

Authenticate Google Calendar access

Grant N8n permission to read your calendar events. This creates a reusable credential for future calendar workflows.

1. 1Click 'Sign in with Google' in the credential popup
2. 2Allow N8n to access your Google Calendar
3. 3Select your primary calendar from the 'Calendar ID' dropdown
4. 4Name the credential 'My Google Calendar'

Google Calendar Node > Parameters

Filter events for today only

Configure the date range to only fetch today's events when the workflow runs. This prevents pulling old or future events.

1. 1Set 'Start Time' to '{{ $now.format('YYYY-MM-DD') }}T00:00:00'
2. 2Set 'End Time' to '{{ $now.format('YYYY-MM-DD') }}T23:59:59'
3. 3Enable 'Return All' to get all events for the day
4. 4Set 'Order By' to 'startTime'

Google Calendar Node > Execute

Test calendar connection

Execute the Google Calendar node to verify it's pulling your actual events. This confirms the authentication and date filtering work correctly.

1. 1Click 'Execute Node' on the Google Calendar node
2. 2Check the output panel for today's events
3. 3Verify meeting titles, times, and locations appear
4. 4Note the event count in the output summary

Add Node > Core > IF

Add IF node to handle no events

Create a branch to handle days with no meetings. This prevents sending empty messages to Slack on light calendar days.

1. 1Add an IF node after Google Calendar
2. 2Set condition to '{{ $json.length }}' greater than 0
3. 3This checks if any events were returned
4. 4Leave the false branch empty for now

IF Node > True Branch > Add Node > Code

Add Code node to format agenda

Transform the calendar events into a readable Slack message format. This handles the time formatting and message structure.

1. 1Add a Code node on the True branch of the IF
2. 2Paste the agenda formatting code into the JavaScript field
3. 3The code loops through events and formats each one
4. 4Set the output to return a single formatted message

Drop this into an n8n Code node.

// Format agenda with time zones and duration
const events = $input.all();
let agenda = `📅 *Today's Agenda (${new Date().toLocaleDateString()})*\n\n`;

// Format agenda with time zones and duration
const events = $input.all();
let agenda = `📅 *Today's Agenda (${new Date().toLocaleDateString()})*\n\n`;

events.forEach(event => {
  const start = new Date(event.json.start.dateTime);
  const end = new Date(event.json.end.dateTime);
  const duration = Math.round((end - start) / (1000 * 60)); // minutes
  const timeStr = start.toLocaleTimeString('en-US', {hour: 'numeric', minute: '2-digit', timeZoneName: 'short'});
  
  agenda += `🕒 ${timeStr} (${duration}m) - *${event.json.summary}*`;
  if (event.json.location) {
    agenda += ` @ ${event.json.location}`;
  }
  agenda += '\n';
});

return [{json: {agenda}}];

Add Node > Communication > Slack

Add Slack node for posting message

Configure Slack to post the formatted agenda to your team channel. This sends the daily message every morning at 8am.

1. 1Add a Slack node after the Code node
2. 2Select 'Message > Post' operation
3. 3Click 'Create New Credential' for Slack authentication
4. 4Choose 'OAuth2' authentication method

Slack Node > Credentials

Authenticate with Slack

Grant N8n permission to post messages to your Slack workspace. You'll need admin approval if your workspace restricts app installations.

1. 1Click 'Allow' in the Slack permission popup
2. 2Select your target channel from the Channel dropdown
3. 3Set the message text to reference the Code node output
4. 4Enable 'As User' if you want messages from your name

Slack Node > Parameters

Configure Slack message format

Set up the message content and formatting to make the agenda readable in Slack. Use the formatted output from your Code node.

1. 1Set Channel to your team's daily standup channel
2. 2Set Text to '{{ $json.agenda }}' to use the formatted message
3. 3Enable 'Unfurl Links' to false to keep it clean
4. 4Add a thread message with 'Have a great day!' as follow-up

Workflow > Execute Workflow

Test the complete workflow

Execute the entire workflow to verify the end-to-end automation works correctly. This confirms the message posts to Slack with proper formatting.

1. 1Click 'Execute Workflow' at the top of the canvas
2. 2Watch each node execute in sequence
3. 3Check your Slack channel for the posted agenda
4. 4Verify the message format and content accuracy