How to Send Help Scout Tickets to Slack with Make

make.com > Scenarios > Create a new scenario

Create a new scenario in Make

Log into Make at make.com and click the blue 'Create a new scenario' button in the top-right corner of the Scenarios dashboard. You'll land on the visual canvas — a dark grid where modules appear as circles. Don't add anything yet. First, name the scenario by clicking the default name ('New scenario') at the top-left and typing something like 'Help Scout → Slack Ticket Alerts'. Naming it now saves confusion later when you have multiple scenarios.

1. 1Log in at make.com
2. 2Click 'Create a new scenario' (top-right, blue button)
3. 3Click the default scenario name at the top-left
4. 4Type a clear name like 'Help Scout → Slack Ticket Alerts'
5. 5Press Enter to save the name

Canvas > + > Help Scout > Watch Conversations (Instant)

Add the Help Scout webhook trigger

Click the grey circle in the center of the canvas to open the module picker. Search for 'Help Scout' and select it from the results. Make will show you a list of Help Scout triggers — choose 'Watch Conversations (Instant)'. This is the webhook-based trigger, not the polling one. You'll know it's the right one because it has a lightning bolt icon next to the name. Instant triggers fire the moment Help Scout sends data; polling triggers check on a schedule and will introduce delay.

1. 1Click the grey circle on the canvas
2. 2Type 'Help Scout' in the search box
3. 3Select 'Help Scout' from the app list
4. 4Choose 'Watch Conversations (Instant)' — look for the lightning bolt icon
5. 5Click 'Add' to open the connection dialog

Help Scout Module > Connection > Add > OAuth Authorization

Connect your Help Scout account

In the connection dialog, click 'Add' to create a new Help Scout connection. Make will redirect you to Help Scout's OAuth authorization page. Log in with your Help Scout credentials if prompted, then click 'Allow' to grant Make access. After authorization, you'll be returned to the Make canvas and the connection will appear with your Help Scout account name. Make stores this connection for reuse across other scenarios.

1. 1Click 'Add' in the connection dropdown
2. 2In the new dialog, click 'Save' — Make redirects to Help Scout OAuth
3. 3Log into Help Scout if not already logged in
4. 4Click 'Allow' on the Help Scout permissions screen
5. 5Confirm you're returned to Make with your account name showing in the connection field

Help Scout Module > Event > Conversation Created

Configure the Help Scout trigger filter

With the connection set, configure the trigger settings. Set 'Event' to 'Conversation Created'. In the 'Mailbox' dropdown, you can either leave it set to 'All Mailboxes' or pick a specific one if you only want alerts for a particular inbox. Leave 'Status' as 'Any' for now — you can tighten this later. Click 'OK' to close the module. Make now needs to register a webhook URL with Help Scout, which happens in the next step.

1. 1Set 'Event' to 'Conversation Created'
2. 2Set 'Mailbox' to 'All Mailboxes' or choose a specific mailbox from the dropdown
3. 3Leave 'Status' as 'Any'
4. 4Click 'OK' to save the module configuration

Help Scout > Manage > Company > Webhooks > New Webhook

Register the Make webhook in Help Scout

Make generates a unique webhook URL for this scenario, but Help Scout needs to know about it. Click 'Run once' at the bottom of the Make canvas — this puts the scenario in listening mode and shows you the webhook URL. Copy that URL. Now open Help Scout in a new browser tab, go to Manage > Company > Webhooks, click 'New Webhook', paste the URL, check the 'Conversation Created' event box, and save. Help Scout will immediately send a test ping to verify the URL is live.

1. 1Click 'Run once' at the bottom of the Make canvas
2. 2Copy the webhook URL shown in the Help Scout trigger module
3. 3Open Help Scout in a new tab
4. 4Navigate to Manage > Company > Webhooks
5. 5Click 'New Webhook', paste the URL, check 'Conversation Created', click 'Save'

Help Scout > New Conversation > Send > Make Canvas > Help Scout Module > Inspect Bundle

Send a test ticket to capture sample data

With Make still in 'Run once' mode and listening, go to Help Scout and manually create a test conversation in your chosen mailbox. Use a realistic subject like 'Login not working — urgent' and a real-looking customer email. Within 5–10 seconds, Make should capture the incoming data and show a green checkmark on the Help Scout trigger module. Click the module to inspect the captured bundle — you'll see fields like subject, customer email, conversation ID, status, and the direct URL to the ticket.

1. 1Go to Help Scout and click 'New Conversation'
2. 2Fill in a test subject and customer email
3. 3Click 'Send' or 'Start Conversation'
4. 4Switch back to Make — watch for a green checkmark on the trigger module
5. 5Click the trigger module to open the bundle inspector and verify the data

Canvas > + > Slack > Create a Message

Add the Slack module

Click the small '+' icon to the right of the Help Scout module on the canvas to add the next module. Search for 'Slack' and select it. From the action list, choose 'Create a Message'. This is the action that posts to a Slack channel. Connect your Slack workspace by clicking 'Add' in the connection field — Make will redirect to Slack's OAuth page where you authorize access. Select the correct workspace if you belong to more than one.

1. 1Click the '+' icon to the right of the Help Scout module
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the search box and select it
3. 3Choose 'Create a Message' from the action list
4. 4Click 'Add' in the connection field
5. 5Authorize Make on Slack's OAuth page and select your workspace

Slack Module > Channel > Text > Map Variables

Map Help Scout fields to the Slack message

In the Slack module configuration, set the 'Channel' field to the Slack channel where alerts should appear — type the channel name or ID (e.g., #support-queue). In the 'Text' field, build your message using Make's variable picker. Click inside the Text field, then click the map icon (the small toggle) to switch to mapping mode. Use the variables from the Help Scout bundle to construct the message. A good starting message: ':ticket: New ticket from {{customer.email}} — *{{subject}}* — <{{_links.web.href}}|View in Help Scout>'. Keep it short — agents read this at a glance.

1. 1Set 'Channel' to your target channel (e.g., #support-queue)
2. 2Click inside the 'Text' field
3. 3Toggle mapping mode on (small toggle icon to the right of the field)
4. 4Type your message and use the variable picker to insert Help Scout fields
5. 5Insert: subject, customer.email, and _links.web.href as a hyperlink

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Canvas > Connection Line > Add Router > Filter > Slack Module (per path)

Add conditional routing for urgent tickets (optional but recommended)

If you want urgent tickets to post to a separate #support-urgent channel, add a Router module between Help Scout and Slack. Click the wrench icon on the connection line between the two modules and select 'Add a router'. This creates two paths. On Path 1, add a filter: set it to check if 'subject' contains 'urgent' (case-insensitive). On Path 2, set a fallback with no filter so all other tickets go to #support-queue. Duplicate the Slack module onto each path and set the channel differently per path.

1. 1Right-click the arrow between Help Scout and Slack modules
2. 2Select 'Add a router'
3. 3Click the filter icon on Path 1 and set: subject > Contains (case insensitive) > 'urgent'
4. 4On Path 1, add a Slack module pointed at #support-urgent
5. 5On Path 2 (no filter), keep the Slack module pointed at #support-queue

Canvas > Run once > Inspect each module > Slack Channel

Test the full scenario end-to-end

Click 'Run once' on the Make canvas again. Create another test conversation in Help Scout with a realistic subject. Watch the Make canvas — each module should light up green as data flows through. Click each module after the run to inspect what data passed through it. Check your Slack channel to confirm the message arrived with the correct subject, email, and a working link to the Help Scout ticket. If the link is clickable and opens the right conversation, the setup is complete.

1. 1Click 'Run once' at the bottom of the Make canvas
2. 2Create a new test conversation in Help Scout
3. 3Watch the Make canvas for green checkmarks on each module
4. 4Click each module to confirm data mapped correctly
5. 5Open Slack and verify the message appeared in the correct channel with a working link

Canvas > Scenario toggle (bottom-left) > On

Activate the scenario

Once the end-to-end test passes, click the toggle at the bottom-left of the canvas to switch the scenario from 'Off' to 'On'. The toggle turns blue. From this point, every new Help Scout conversation will trigger the scenario automatically without you clicking 'Run once'. Set the scheduling to 'Immediately' — this is the default for instant/webhook scenarios and means Make processes each incoming webhook as it arrives, not in batches.

1. 1Click the grey toggle at the bottom-left of the canvas
2. 2Confirm it turns blue (active)
3. 3Verify the scenario status shows 'Active' in the Scenarios list
4. 4Check that scheduling is set to 'Immediately' in scenario settings

Paste this formula into the Make Slack module's 'Text' field using the formula editor (click the 'f(x)' icon in the field). It formats the createdAt timestamp into a readable time, adds a priority label based on subject keywords, and gracefully handles missing customer names — all in one expression without adding extra modules.

if(
  contains(lower(subject); "urgent") or contains(lower(subject); "down") or contains(lower(subject); "broken");
  ":rotating_light: *URGENT* — ";

if(
  contains(lower(subject); "urgent") or contains(lower(subject); "down") or contains(lower(subject); "broken");
  ":rotating_light: *URGENT* — ";
  ":ticket: New ticket — "
)
& if(
  customer.firstName != null;
  customer.firstName & " (" & customer.email & ")";
  ifempty(customer.email; "Unknown customer")
)
& " submitted: *" & subject & "*"
& "\nReceived: " & formatDate(createdAt; "MMM D, YYYY [at] h:mm A"; "America/New_York")
& "\n<" & _links.web.href & "|Open ticket #" & id & " in Help Scout>"