How to Send Google Calendar Event Notifications to Slack with Power Automate

My flows > + New flow > Automated cloud flow

Create new automated flow

Go to make.powerautomate.com and sign in with your Microsoft account. Click 'My flows' in the left sidebar, then the blue '+ New flow' button. Select 'Automated cloud flow' from the dropdown. This creates a flow that runs when triggered by an event.

1. 1Click 'My flows' in the left navigation
2. 2Click the blue '+ New flow' button
3. 3Select 'Automated cloud flow'
4. 4Name your flow 'Calendar to Slack Notifications'

Trigger > Search connectors > Google Calendar

Set up Google Calendar trigger

In the trigger selector, search for 'Google Calendar' and select it. Choose 'When an event is added' from the available triggers. This polls your calendar every few minutes for new events. You'll need to authenticate with Google if this is your first time connecting.

1. 1Type 'Google Calendar' in the connector search box
2. 2Click on 'Google Calendar' connector
3. 3Select 'When an event is added' trigger
4. 4Click 'Sign in' to authenticate with Google

Google Calendar trigger > Calendar dropdown

Select target calendar

After authentication, you'll see a dropdown with your available calendars. Select the shared team calendar you want to monitor. If you don't see your target calendar, check that you have edit permissions on it in Google Calendar. The flow will only detect events created after you enable it.

1. 1Click the 'Calendar' dropdown
2. 2Select your shared team calendar
3. 3Leave other settings at default
4. 4Click 'New step' button

New step > Search actions > Condition

Add condition to filter events

Click 'New step' and search for 'Condition' in the actions. This prevents notifications for declined events or cancelled meetings. Set the condition to check if the event status equals 'confirmed'. This avoids spam from tentative or cancelled events that might clutter your Slack channel.

1. 1Click 'New step'
2. 2Search for 'Condition' in actions
3. 3Click 'Condition' control
4. 4Set left side to 'Status' from dynamic content
5. 5Set condition to 'is equal to'
6. 6Type 'confirmed' on the right side

Condition > Yes branch > Add an action > Slack

Add Slack action in Yes branch

In the 'Yes' branch of the condition, click 'Add an action' and search for Slack. Select 'Post message' action. You'll need to authenticate with Slack if it's your first time. Choose the Slack workspace and channel where you want notifications to appear.

1. 1Click 'Add an action' in the Yes branch
2. 2Search for 'Slack' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Post message' action
4. 4Sign in to your Slack workspace
5. 5Select the target channel from dropdown

Slack Post message > Message field > Dynamic content

Configure Slack message format

Click in the 'Message' field and build your notification using dynamic content from Google Calendar. Include the event title, start time, and attendees for context. Use the lightning bolt icon to insert dynamic fields like 'Subject', 'Start time', and 'Attendees' from the calendar trigger.

1. 1Click in the 'Message' text box
2. 2Type 'New meeting: '
3. 3Click the lightning bolt for dynamic content
4. 4Select 'Subject' from Google Calendar section
5. 5Add line break and type 'When: '
6. 6Insert 'Start time' from dynamic content
7. 7Add 'Attendees: ' and insert 'Attendees' field

Message field > Start time > Expression tab

Format start time properly

The raw start time from Google Calendar includes timezone info and looks messy in Slack. Click on the 'Start time' dynamic content and wrap it in formatDateTime() expression. Use formatDateTime(triggerOutputs()?['body/start/dateTime'], 'MMM dd, yyyy h:mm tt') to get a clean format like 'Dec 15, 2023 2:30 PM'.

1. 1Click on the Start time dynamic content in your message
2. 2Click 'Expression' tab in dynamic content panel
3. 3Type: formatDateTime(triggerOutputs()?['body/start/dateTime'], 'MMM dd, yyyy h:mm tt')
4. 4Click OK to insert the expression

Message field > Add dynamic content > Location

Add location if available

Many meetings include location details that are useful for the team. Add a conditional section to include location only when it exists. Click below your current message content and add 'Location: ' followed by the 'Location' dynamic field. This prevents empty location lines for online meetings.

1. 1Click after your attendees line in the message
2. 2Press Enter for a new line
3. 3Type 'Location: '
4. 4Insert 'Location' from dynamic content
5. 5Leave 'Message as user' unchecked

Top toolbar > Save

Save and test the flow

Click 'Save' in the top right to save your flow. Power Automate will validate all connections and expressions. Once saved, the flow activates automatically and starts monitoring your calendar. Test it by creating a new event in your selected Google Calendar.

1. 1Click 'Save' button in top right
2. 2Wait for validation to complete
3. 3Go to your Google Calendar
4. 4Create a test event in the monitored calendar
5. 5Wait 3-5 minutes for the flow to trigger

My flows > Your flow name > Run history

Monitor flow runs

Go back to 'My flows' and click on your flow name to see the run history. Each run shows whether it succeeded, failed, or was skipped. Failed runs usually indicate permission issues with Google Calendar or Slack channel access. Click on individual runs to see detailed logs.

1. 1Click 'My flows' in left navigation
2. 2Click on your flow name
3. 3Review the 'Run history' section
4. 4Click on any failed runs to see error details

Use this expression in the Slack message field to create a cleaner attendee list that removes your own email and formats the remaining attendees nicely.

join(
  filter(
    split(triggerOutputs()?['body/attendees'], ';'),

join(
  filter(
    split(triggerOutputs()?['body/attendees'], ';'),
    lambda('item', 
      and(
        not(empty(item())),
        not(contains(item(), '[email protected]'))
      )
    )
  ),
  ', '
)