How to Send Out-of-Office Alerts to Slack with Pipedream

pipedream.com > Workflows > New

Create New Workflow

Go to pipedream.com and click New Workflow in the top right. You'll land on the workflow builder with an empty trigger step. The interface shows a clean drag-and-drop canvas where you'll connect Google Calendar to Slack. Name your workflow something like 'OOO Alerts' in the top left field.

1. 1Click 'New Workflow' button in dashboard
2. 2Click the trigger step placeholder
3. 3Type 'OOO Calendar Notifications' in the workflow name field

Trigger Step > Select App > Google Calendar

Add Google Calendar Trigger

Click the trigger step and search for Google Calendar in the app list. Select 'New or Updated Event' as your trigger type. This webhook-based trigger fires instantly when calendar events change, unlike polling triggers that check every 15 minutes. You'll need to connect your Google account and grant calendar permissions.

1. 1Click the empty trigger step
2. 2Search for 'Google Calendar' in the app selector
3. 3Choose 'New or Updated Event' trigger
4. 4Click 'Connect Account' and authorize Google permissions

Google Calendar Trigger > Configuration

Configure Calendar Selection

Choose which calendar to monitor from the dropdown. Most teams use their main work calendar, but you can select a dedicated PTO calendar if your team uses one. Set the trigger to monitor 'All Events' rather than filtering here - you'll filter for OOO events in the next step using code.

1. 1Select your target calendar from the 'Calendar ID' dropdown
2. 2Leave 'Event Types' set to 'All Events'
3. 3Enable 'Watch for Updates' checkbox
4. 4Click 'Save and Continue'

Workflow > Add Step > Code

Add Filter Code Step

Click the + button below your trigger to add a new step. Choose 'Run Node.js Code' instead of selecting an app. This code step will filter events to only process all-day events with 'OOO' or 'Vacation' in the title. You'll write a simple condition that checks the event title and duration.

1. 1Click the + button below the Google Calendar trigger
2. 2Select 'Run custom Node.js code'
3. 3Name the step 'Filter OOO Events'
4. 4Clear the default code placeholder

This code handles edge cases like multi-day events, weekend detection, and graceful fallbacks when attendee data is missing. Paste it into your 'Filter OOO Events' code step to replace the basic filter logic.

export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {
    const event = steps.trigger.event;

export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {
    const event = steps.trigger.event;
    
    // Check if event exists and has required fields
    if (!event || !event.summary) {
      $.flow.exit('No event data or title found');
      return;
    }
    
    // OOO keywords to match (case insensitive)
    const oooKeywords = ['ooo', 'out of office', 'vacation', 'pto', 'personal time off', 'holiday', 'time off'];
    const title = event.summary.toLowerCase();
    
    // Check if title contains any OOO keywords
    const isOOOEvent = oooKeywords.some(keyword => title.includes(keyword));
    
    if (!isOOOEvent) {
      $.flow.exit('Event is not an OOO event');
      return;
    }
    
    // Verify it's an all-day event (has date only, no dateTime)
    const isAllDay = event.start?.date && !event.start?.dateTime;
    
    if (!isAllDay) {
      $.flow.exit('Event is not all-day');
      return;
    }
    
    // Calculate duration and format dates nicely
    const startDate = new Date(event.start.date);
    const endDate = new Date(event.end.date);
    const duration = Math.ceil((endDate - startDate) / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24));
    
    // Get person name with fallbacks
    const personName = event.creator?.displayName || 
                      event.creator?.email?.split('@')[0] || 
                      'Someone';
    
    // Format the message with context
    const emoji = duration > 5 ? '🏖️' : '📅';
    const dateRange = duration > 1 ? 
      `${startDate.toLocaleDateString()} - ${new Date(endDate.getTime() - 86400000).toLocaleDateString()}` :
      startDate.toLocaleDateString();
    
    return {
      personName,
      originalTitle: event.summary,
      dateRange,
      duration,
      formattedMessage: `${emoji} ${personName} is out of office: ${event.summary} (${dateRange})`
    };
  }
});

Code Step > Editor

Write Filter Logic

Paste the filtering code that checks if an event is all-day and contains OOO keywords. The code examines the event title for patterns like 'OOO', 'Vacation', 'PTO', or 'Out of Office' and verifies it's an all-day event by checking the date format. If conditions match, it passes the event data forward; otherwise it stops the workflow.

1. 1Paste the filter code in the editor
2. 2Click 'Test' to validate syntax
3. 3Check that steps.trigger.event contains expected calendar data
4. 4Save the code step

Workflow > Add Step > Slack

Add Slack Step

Add another step below your code filter and search for Slack. Select 'Send Message to Channel' as the action type. You'll need to connect your Slack workspace and grant permissions to post messages. Choose this over 'Send DM' since team notifications work better in shared channels.

1. 1Click + below the code step
2. 2Search for 'Slack' in the app list
3. 3Choose 'Send Message to Channel'
4. 4Click 'Connect Account' and authorize your Slack workspace

Slack Step > Configuration > Channel

Configure Slack Channel

Select your target channel from the dropdown. Most teams use #general, #team-updates, or a dedicated #announcements channel. The dropdown shows all public channels your connected account can access. Private channels require the Pipedream bot to be explicitly invited to that channel first.

1. 1Choose your notification channel from the dropdown
2. 2If channel missing, invite @Pipedream bot to private channels
3. 3Refresh the dropdown to see newly accessible channels
4. 4Confirm channel selection shows correct name

Slack Step > Message Field

Build Message Content

Click in the message field and build your notification using data from previous steps. Reference the calendar event data using steps.trigger.event.summary for the event title and steps.trigger.event.attendees for the person's name. Add context like dates and duration to make notifications more helpful for your team.

1. 1Click in the 'Message' text area
2. 2Type your base message like '🏖️ Someone is out of office:'
3. 3Click 'Insert Data' to add dynamic fields
4. 4Add event title, dates, and attendee information

Workflow > Test Button

Test the Workflow

Click 'Test' in the top right to run your workflow with sample data. Pipedream will simulate a calendar event and show you exactly what message would post to Slack. Check that your filtering logic works and the message formatting looks clean. The test uses cached event data from your calendar if available.

1. 1Click the 'Test' button in workflow header
2. 2Review each step's output in the execution log
3. 3Check that Slack received the test message
4. 4Verify message formatting in your Slack channel

Workflow > Deploy

Deploy Workflow

Click 'Deploy' to activate your workflow for real calendar events. The status changes from 'Inactive' to 'Active' with a green indicator. Pipedream starts monitoring your calendar webhook immediately. You can pause/resume anytime using the toggle switch next to the deploy button without losing your configuration.

1. 1Click 'Deploy' button in the top right
2. 2Confirm deployment in the popup dialog
3. 3Verify status shows 'Active' with green indicator
4. 4Check webhook URL appears in Google Calendar settings