How to Send Help Scout VIP Alerts to Slack with Pipedream

pipedream.com > Projects > New Workflow

Create a new Pipedream Workflow

Go to pipedream.com and sign in. Click 'New Workflow' in the top-right corner of the Projects dashboard. Give it a name like 'Help Scout VIP Alert to Slack' so it's easy to find later. You'll land on the workflow canvas with a trigger slot at the top waiting to be configured.

1. 1Click the blue 'New Workflow' button in the top-right of the dashboard
2. 2Type 'Help Scout VIP Alert to Slack' in the name field
3. 3Click 'Create' to open the blank workflow canvas

Workflow Canvas > Add Trigger > Help Scout > New Conversation

Add the Help Scout webhook trigger

Click the 'Add Trigger' block and search for 'Help Scout' in the app search box. Select the 'New Conversation' event source — this fires the moment a new ticket is created. Pipedream generates a unique webhook URL that you'll register in Help Scout in the next step. You'll see the trigger step expand with a 'Connect Account' button.

1. 1Click the gray 'Add Trigger' block
2. 2Type 'Help Scout' in the search bar
3. 3Select 'Help Scout' from the app list
4. 4Choose 'New Conversation' as the trigger event
5. 5Click 'Connect Account' and authenticate with your Help Scout credentials

Help Scout > Your Profile > Your Account > Webhooks > Add Webhook

Register the webhook URL in Help Scout

Open a new browser tab and log into Help Scout. Navigate to your account settings and find the Webhooks section. Paste the Pipedream webhook URL you copied from Step 2, check the 'Conversation Created' event, and save. Help Scout will immediately send a test ping to verify the endpoint is reachable.

1. 1In Help Scout, click your avatar in the bottom-left and select 'Your Account'
2. 2Click 'Webhooks' in the left sidebar
3. 3Click 'Add Webhook'
4. 4Paste the Pipedream webhook URL into the 'Endpoint URL' field
5. 5Check the box for 'Conversation Created' under Events
6. 6Click 'Save'

Workflow Canvas > Trigger Step > Event Inspector

Send a test ticket to capture a real payload

Back in Pipedream, click 'Send Test Event' or trigger the workflow by creating a test conversation in Help Scout. Open a new Help Scout conversation from a real (or test) customer email and submit it. Pipedream captures the raw JSON payload from Help Scout and displays it in the trigger's event inspector on the right side of the canvas.

1. 1In Help Scout, click 'New Conversation' and create a test ticket from an email address you control
2. 2Return to Pipedream and watch the trigger step — it should show '1 event' within a few seconds
3. 3Click the event to expand the full JSON payload in the inspector panel

Workflow Canvas > + > Run Node.js Code

Add a Node.js code step to filter VIP customers

Click the '+' button below the trigger and select 'Run Node.js code'. This step checks whether the incoming ticket belongs to a VIP or high-priority customer by inspecting the customer's tags or email domain. If the customer doesn't match your VIP criteria, the workflow exits early using $.flow.exit() so no Slack message is sent. Paste the filtering logic from the Pro Tip section below into the code editor.

1. 1Click the '+' button below the trigger step
2. 2Select 'Run Node.js code' from the step type menu
3. 3Paste your VIP filtering code into the editor
4. 4Click 'Test' to run the step against your captured test event

Paste this into the Node.js code step (Step 5 on the canvas). It validates the Help Scout webhook signature, checks the customer against your VIP list by email domain and tag, formats a clean customer name, and exits the workflow early if the ticket doesn't match — so your Slack channel only sees real VIP alerts.

import crypto from 'crypto';
export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {

import crypto from 'crypto';

export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {
    // --- Config: define your VIP criteria here ---
    const VIP_DOMAINS = ['acmecorp.com', 'globex.io', 'initech.com'];
    const VIP_TAGS = ['vip', 'enterprise', 'priority'];
    const HELPSCOUT_SECRET = process.env.HELPSCOUT_WEBHOOK_SECRET;

    // --- Validate webhook signature ---
    const rawBody = steps.trigger.event.$raw_body;
    const signature = steps.trigger.event.$headers['x-helpscout-signature'];
    if (HELPSCOUT_SECRET && rawBody && signature) {
      const expectedSig = crypto
        .createHmac('sha1', HELPSCOUT_SECRET)
        .update(rawBody)
        .digest('base64');
      if (expectedSig !== signature) {
        throw new Error('Webhook signature validation failed. Request may not be from Help Scout.');
      }
    }

    // --- Extract conversation data ---
    const conversation = steps.trigger.event.conversation;
    const customer = conversation?._embedded?.customer?.[0] || {};
    const tags = (conversation?.tags || []).map(t => t.toLowerCase());
    const customerEmail = (customer.email || '').toLowerCase();
    const emailDomain = customerEmail.split('@')[1] || '';

    // --- Check VIP criteria ---
    const isVipDomain = VIP_DOMAINS.includes(emailDomain);
    const isVipTag = tags.some(tag => VIP_TAGS.includes(tag));
    const isVip = isVipDomain || isVipTag;

    if (!isVip) {
      $.flow.exit(`Not a VIP customer (domain: ${emailDomain}, tags: ${tags.join(', ')}). Skipping Slack alert.`);
    }

    // --- Format customer name ---
    const firstName = customer.firstName || '';
    const lastName = customer.lastName || '';
    const customerName = [firstName, lastName].filter(Boolean).join(' ') || customerEmail;

    // --- Format timestamp ---
    const createdAt = conversation.createdAt
      ? new Date(conversation.createdAt).toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'UTC', dateStyle: 'medium', timeStyle: 'short' }) + ' UTC'
      : 'Unknown time';

    // --- Return structured data for Slack step ---
    return {
      isVip: true,
      customerName,
      customerEmail,
      emailDomain,
      matchedVia: isVipDomain ? `domain (${emailDomain})` : `tag (${tags.find(t => VIP_TAGS.includes(t))})`,
      conversationId: conversation.id,
      subject: conversation.subject || '(No subject)',
      helpScoutUrl: conversation?._links?.self?.href || '',
      mailbox: conversation?._embedded?.mailbox?.name || 'Unknown Mailbox',
      assignee: conversation?._embedded?.assignee?.email || 'Unassigned',
      createdAt,
      slackMessage: `🚨 *VIP Ticket — ${customerName}* (${emailDomain})\n*Subject:* ${conversation.subject}\n*Mailbox:* ${conversation?._embedded?.mailbox?.name || 'Unknown'}\n*Assigned to:* ${conversation?._embedded?.assignee?.email || 'Unassigned'}\n*Opened:* ${createdAt}\n<${conversation?._links?.self?.href}|View in Help Scout →>`,
    };
  },
});

Workflow Canvas > + > Slack > Send Message to Channel

Add a Slack step to send the alert message

Click '+' below the code step and search for 'Slack'. Select the 'Send Message to Channel' action. Connect your Slack account via OAuth when prompted — Pipedream will ask for the channels:write and chat:write scopes. Choose the destination channel (e.g. #vip-support) from the dropdown and build the message using data from the previous steps.

1. 1Click '+' below the Node.js code step
2. 2Search for 'Slack' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Send Message to Channel' as the action
4. 4Click 'Connect Account' and authorize Pipedream via the Slack OAuth flow
5. 5Select your target channel (e.g. #vip-support) from the Channel dropdown

Workflow Canvas > Slack Step > Message Field

Configure the Slack message content

In the Slack step's Message field, build your alert using data from the trigger and code step. Reference fields using Pipedream's expression syntax — click the '{}' icon to open the data picker and select fields like steps.trigger.event.conversation.subject or steps.nodejs.customerName. Use Block Kit formatting for a cleaner layout, or a simple text message for fast setup.

1. 1Click inside the Message field in the Slack step
2. 2Click the '{}' data picker icon to browse available fields from previous steps
3. 3Select steps.trigger.event.conversation.subject for the ticket subject
4. 4Select steps.nodejs.customerName for the customer name
5. 5Add the direct Help Scout link using steps.trigger.event.conversation.links.self

Workflow Canvas > Test Workflow button (top bar)

Test the full workflow end to end

Click 'Test Workflow' at the top of the canvas to run all steps against your previously captured test event. Watch each step turn green as it executes. Check your Slack channel — the VIP alert message should appear within 5 seconds. If the Node.js step exits early because your test ticket isn't flagged as VIP, update your test email or tags to match your VIP criteria and retest.

1. 1Click 'Test Workflow' in the top bar of the canvas
2. 2Watch the step-by-step execution in the inspector panel on the right
3. 3Open your #vip-support Slack channel and confirm the message appeared
4. 4Check that the Help Scout link in the message opens the correct conversation

Workflow Canvas > Deploy button (top-right)

Deploy and activate the workflow

Once the test passes, click 'Deploy' in the top-right corner to activate the workflow. Pipedream switches the trigger from test mode to live mode — it will now accept real Help Scout webhook deliveries 24/7. The workflow URL remains the same, so no changes are needed in Help Scout.

1. 1Click the gray 'Deploy' button in the top-right corner of the canvas
2. 2Confirm the deployment dialog
3. 3Wait for the status indicator to switch from 'Development' to 'Active'

pipedream.com > Monitoring > Event History

Verify with a live ticket in Help Scout

Create a real conversation in Help Scout from an email address or customer tag that matches your VIP criteria. Watch the Pipedream event log under Monitoring > Event History — you should see the event arrive and all steps complete within 10 seconds. Confirm the Slack message appears in your channel with accurate customer data and a working link.

1. 1In Help Scout, create a new conversation from a VIP customer email or apply a VIP tag
2. 2In Pipedream, navigate to Monitoring > Event History
3. 3Click the new event row to inspect the execution log
4. 4Confirm all steps show green and check Slack for the alert