How to Send Help Scout Tickets to Slack with n8n

n8n Dashboard > Workflows > + New Workflow

Create a new workflow in n8n

Open your n8n instance and click the '+ New Workflow' button in the top right of the Workflows list screen. Give it a clear name like 'Help Scout → Slack New Ticket'. You'll land on a blank canvas with an 'Add first step' prompt in the center. This is where you'll place the webhook trigger node.

1. 1Click '+ New Workflow' in the top right
2. 2Click the workflow title 'My Workflow' and rename it to 'Help Scout → Slack New Ticket'
3. 3Click 'Add first step' in the canvas center

Canvas > Add Node > Search 'Webhook' > Trigger: Webhook

Add a Webhook trigger node

In the node search panel, type 'Webhook' and select it from the Trigger section. n8n will place the Webhook node on the canvas and open its configuration panel on the right. Set the HTTP Method to POST. Leave the path as the auto-generated UUID — you'll copy this URL in the next step. Set 'Respond' to 'Immediately'.

1. 1Type 'Webhook' in the node search box
2. 2Click 'Webhook' under the Trigger section (not the HTTP Request node)
3. 3Set HTTP Method to POST
4. 4Set Respond to 'Immediately'
5. 5Click 'Copy Webhook URL' and save it — you need it in Step 3

Help Scout > Your Account > Apps & Integrations > Webhooks > Add New Webhook

Register the webhook in Help Scout

Log into Help Scout and navigate to Your Account > Apps & Integrations > Webhooks. Click 'Add New Webhook'. Paste the n8n Production Webhook URL into the Payload URL field. Set the Secret Key to any random string and note it down — you'll use it in n8n to verify payloads later. Under Events, check only 'conversation.created'. Leave the rest unchecked to avoid extra traffic.

1. 1Go to Your Account > Apps & Integrations > Webhooks
2. 2Click 'Add New Webhook'
3. 3Paste the n8n Production Webhook URL into 'Payload URL'
4. 4Enter a Secret Key (e.g. a 32-character random string)
5. 5Check only the 'conversation.created' event box
6. 6Click 'Save'

n8n Canvas > Webhook Node > Test Workflow button (top right)

Activate the workflow and capture a test payload

Back in n8n, click 'Test Workflow' (or toggle the workflow to Active and use the Test URL temporarily). In Help Scout, create a new test conversation manually — assign it to any mailbox, write a short subject like 'Test ticket from n8n setup', and submit it. n8n should receive the webhook within 2-3 seconds. Click the Webhook node to inspect the incoming JSON payload.

1. 1Click 'Test Workflow' in the n8n top bar to begin listening
2. 2In a new browser tab, open Help Scout and create a new conversation
3. 3Return to n8n and wait for the green execution dot on the Webhook node
4. 4Click the Webhook node to open the output panel and inspect the JSON

Canvas > + after Webhook > Search 'Edit Fields' > Add

Add an Edit Fields node to extract key data

Click the '+' button after the Webhook node to add a new node. Search for 'Edit Fields (Set)' and add it. You'll map the raw Help Scout payload fields to clean, readable variable names. This makes the downstream Slack node much easier to configure and keeps your expressions short. Add one field per piece of data you want in the Slack message.

1. 1Click '+' to the right of the Webhook node
2. 2Search 'Edit Fields' and select 'Edit Fields (Set)'
3. 3Click '+ Add Field' and set Name to 'ticket_id', Value to '{{ $json.id }}'
4. 4Add field: Name 'subject', Value '{{ $json.subject }}'
5. 5Add field: Name 'customer_email', Value '{{ $json._embedded.customers[0].email }}'
6. 6Add field: Name 'mailbox_name', Value '{{ $json._embedded.mailbox.name }}'
7. 7Add field: Name 'ticket_url', Value '{{ "https://secure.helpscout.net/conversation/" + $json.id }}'

Canvas > + after Edit Fields > Search 'Slack' > Send a Message

Add a Slack node to send the notification

Click '+' after the Edit Fields node and search for 'Slack'. Select the Slack node and choose 'Send a Message' as the operation. You'll need to connect your Slack workspace via OAuth — click 'Create New Credential' and follow the OAuth flow. Once connected, set the channel (e.g. '#support-live') and compose the message text using the clean fields from the previous node.

1. 1Click '+' after the Edit Fields node
2. 2Search 'Slack' and select the Slack node
3. 3Set Operation to 'Send a Message'
4. 4Click 'Credential for Slack API' > 'Create New Credential' and complete the OAuth flow
5. 5Set Channel to '#support-live' (or your target channel name)
6. 6Paste the message text (see message format in field mapping section)

Slack Node > Message Type > Blocks

Write the Slack message with Block Kit formatting

In the Slack node, switch 'Message Type' to 'Blocks' for a structured, readable notification. This lets you show the ticket subject in bold, the customer email, mailbox, and a clickable link. Using plain text works but the message looks flat in Slack — blocks take 2 extra minutes but are worth it for a channel your team reads all day.

1. 1In the Slack node, change 'Message Type' to 'Blocks'
2. 2Click 'Add Block' and choose 'Section'
3. 3Set the section text to '*New ticket:* {{ $json.subject }}'
4. 4Add a second Section block: 'From: {{ $json.customer_email }} | Inbox: {{ $json.mailbox_name }}'
5. 5Add an Actions block with a Button labeled 'Open in Help Scout' linking to '{{ $json.ticket_url }}'

n8n Canvas > Test Workflow > Help Scout (create test ticket) > Slack channel

Test the full workflow end to end

Click 'Test Workflow' again in n8n. Create another new conversation in Help Scout with a realistic subject and a real-looking customer email. Watch the execution flow through each node — green checks mean success, red means an error. Open Slack and confirm the message arrived in your target channel with all fields populated correctly.

1. 1Click 'Test Workflow' in the n8n top bar
2. 2In Help Scout, create a new conversation: subject 'Broken checkout page', from '[email protected]'
3. 3Watch n8n — all three nodes should show green execution indicators
4. 4Open Slack and confirm the message in '#support-live'

Canvas > + after Edit Fields > Search 'IF' > Add between Edit Fields and Slack

Add optional channel routing by mailbox

If your team uses multiple Help Scout mailboxes (e.g. Sales, Support, Billing), you can route notifications to different Slack channels based on the mailbox name. Add an IF node between the Edit Fields node and the Slack node. Set the condition to check '{{ $json.mailbox_name }}' equals 'Billing', then connect the true branch to #billing-support and the false branch to #support-live.

1. 1Click '+' after the Edit Fields node and add an IF node
2. 2Set Condition: Value 1 = '{{ $json.mailbox_name }}', Operation = 'Equals', Value 2 = 'Billing'
3. 3Connect the True output to a Slack node targeting '#billing-support'
4. 4Connect the False output to the existing Slack node targeting '#support-live'

n8n Canvas > Active toggle (top right)

Activate the workflow for production

Once the test passes, toggle the workflow to 'Active' using the switch in the top right of the canvas. The Production Webhook URL is now live. From this point, every new Help Scout conversation triggers the workflow automatically — no browser tab needs to be open. Check the Executions log after your first real ticket to confirm end-to-end delivery.

1. 1Click the 'Inactive' toggle in the top right to switch it to 'Active'
2. 2Confirm the status bar shows 'Active' in green
3. 3Create one final real test ticket in Help Scout
4. 4Go to n8n > Executions to confirm the workflow ran successfully

This Code node replaces the Edit Fields node entirely — it extracts all fields, formats the timestamp to human-readable time, handles null assignee and missing customer data gracefully, and assembles the full Slack Block Kit JSON payload. Paste this as a Code node between the Webhook trigger and the Slack node, then in the Slack node set the Blocks field to '{{ $json.blocks }}'.

// n8n Code Node: Help Scout → Slack Block Kit payload builder
// Place between Webhook trigger and Slack node
// In Slack node: set Blocks = {{ JSON.stringify($json.blocks) }}

// n8n Code Node: Help Scout → Slack Block Kit payload builder
// Place between Webhook trigger and Slack node
// In Slack node: set Blocks = {{ JSON.stringify($json.blocks) }}

const item = $input.first().json;

// Safely extract nested fields
const customers = item?._embedded?.customers ?? [];
const customer = customers[0] ?? {};
const mailbox = item?._embedded?.mailbox ?? {};
const assignee = item?._embedded?.assignee ?? null;

const customerEmail = customer.email ?? 'No email';
const customerName = [customer.firstName, customer.lastName].filter(Boolean).join(' ') || 'Unknown customer';
const mailboxName = mailbox.name ?? 'Unknown inbox';
const subject = item.subject ?? '(No subject)';
const ticketId = item.id;
const ticketUrl = `https://secure.helpscout.net/conversation/${ticketId}`;

// Format ISO timestamp to readable string
const createdAt = item.createdAt ? new Date(item.createdAt) : new Date();
const formattedTime = createdAt.toLocaleString('en-US', {
  month: 'short', day: 'numeric',
  hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit', timeZoneName: 'short'
});

// Assignee line — only show if ticket was assigned at creation
const assigneeLine = assignee?.email
  ? `*Assigned to:* ${assignee.firstName ?? ''} ${assignee.lastName ?? ''} (${assignee.email})`.trim()
  : '*Assigned to:* Unassigned';

// Tags line — only show if tags exist
const tags = Array.isArray(item.tags) && item.tags.length > 0
  ? `*Tags:* ${item.tags.join(', ')}`
  : null;

// Build Slack Block Kit JSON
const blocks = [
  {
    type: 'header',
    text: { type: 'plain_text', text: '🎫 New Help Scout Ticket', emoji: true }
  },
  {
    type: 'section',
    text: {
      type: 'mrkdwn',
      text: `*${subject}*`
    }
  },
  {
    type: 'section',
    fields: [
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Customer:*\n${customerName}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Email:*\n${customerEmail}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Inbox:*\n${mailboxName}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Received:*\n${formattedTime}` }
    ]
  }
];

// Add assignee/tags section only if relevant
const contextElements = [assigneeLine, tags].filter(Boolean);
if (contextElements.length > 0) {
  blocks.push({
    type: 'context',
    elements: contextElements.map(text => ({ type: 'mrkdwn', text }))
  });
}

// Add action button
blocks.push({
  type: 'actions',
  elements: [
    {
      type: 'button',
      text: { type: 'plain_text', text: 'Open in Help Scout', emoji: true },
      url: ticketUrl,
      style: 'primary'
    }
  ]
});

// Output clean object for Slack node
return [
  {
    json: {
      ticketId,
      subject,
      customerEmail,
      customerName,
      mailboxName,
      ticketUrl,
      formattedTime,
      blocks
    }
  }
];