How to Send Help Scout Ticket Assignments to Slack with n8n

n8n Canvas > + New Workflow

Create a new workflow in n8n

Open your n8n instance and click the '+ New Workflow' button in the top right of the canvas. Give the workflow a name like 'Help Scout → Slack Assignment Alerts' so it's easy to find later. You'll start with an empty canvas — the first node you add will be the trigger. n8n saves automatically, but the workflow won't run until you activate it in the final step.

1. 1Click '+ New Workflow' in the top-right corner
2. 2Click the workflow title at the top and rename it to 'Help Scout → Slack Assignment Alerts'
3. 3Click the '+' node button in the center of the empty canvas to add your first node

Canvas > Add Node > Webhook

Add the Webhook trigger node

In the node picker, search for 'Webhook' and select it. n8n will generate a unique webhook URL — copy this, you'll need it in Help Scout. Set the HTTP Method to POST and leave Authentication set to None for now. n8n provides two URLs: a 'Test URL' that only works when you're actively listening in the editor, and a 'Production URL' that fires when the workflow is active. Use the Test URL during setup.

1. 1Type 'Webhook' in the node search box and click the Webhook node
2. 2Set HTTP Method to 'POST'
3. 3Copy the 'Test URL' shown in the node panel — you'll paste it into Help Scout next

Help Scout > Manage > Integrations > Webhooks > Create Webhook

Register the webhook in Help Scout

In Help Scout, go to Your Profile > My Apps > Webhooks (or if you're an admin, Manage > Integrations > Webhooks). Click 'Create Webhook', paste the n8n Test URL into the URL field, and set a Secret Key — save this value, you can use it later to validate payloads. Under Events, check 'Conversation Assigned'. Leave all other events unchecked to avoid flooding n8n with irrelevant payloads. Click Save.

1. 1Go to Manage > Integrations > Webhooks in Help Scout
2. 2Click 'Create Webhook'
3. 3Paste the n8n Test URL into the Payload URL field
4. 4Enter a Secret Key value and save it somewhere safe
5. 5Check only the 'Conversation Assigned' event
6. 6Click 'Save'

n8n Canvas > Webhook Node > Listen for Test Event

Capture a test payload from Help Scout

Back in n8n, click the Webhook node and press 'Listen for Test Event'. In Help Scout, open any conversation and manually assign it to a team member — this fires a real webhook event to your test URL. n8n will capture the payload and show you the raw JSON structure. Look for the fields under 'body': you'll see conversation details including assignee info nested under the 'assignedTo' object.

1. 1Click the Webhook node and press 'Listen for Test Event' in the right panel
2. 2Switch to Help Scout and open any existing conversation
3. 3Assign the conversation to any team member using the Assignee dropdown
4. 4Switch back to n8n — you should see the payload appear within a few seconds

Canvas > + > Code Node

Add a Code node to extract and format fields

Click the '+' button after the Webhook node and add a 'Code' node. This is where you pull out the fields you actually need: the assignee's email, the ticket subject, the customer name, and the Help Scout conversation link. The conversation URL follows a predictable format — Help Scout doesn't return it directly in the webhook payload, so you build it from the conversation ID. Set the Code node to run in 'Run Once for All Items' mode.

1. 1Click '+' after the Webhook node
2. 2Search for 'Code' and select the Code node
3. 3Set Mode to 'Run Once for All Items'
4. 4Paste the transformation code from the Pro Tip section below

Paste this into the Code node (Step 5) set to 'Run Once for All Items' mode. It handles null assignees (team assignments), constructs the Help Scout URL, and outputs a clean object that every downstream node can reference with $json.fieldName.

// Code node — runs once per webhook event
// Safely extracts Help Scout assignment data and builds the Slack message payload
const body = $input.first().json.body;

// Code node — runs once per webhook event
// Safely extracts Help Scout assignment data and builds the Slack message payload

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

// Guard: Help Scout fires this event for team assignments too.
// If assignedTo is null or not an individual agent, exit gracefully.
if (!body.assignedTo || body.assignedTo.type === 'team' || !body.assignedTo.email) {
  return [{
    json: {
      skip: true,
      reason: 'Assigned to a team, not an individual agent',
      conversationId: body.conversation?.id ?? 'unknown'
    }
  }];
}

const conversation = body.conversation;
const assignee = body.assignedTo;
const customer = conversation.customer ?? {};

// Build the full assignee name safely
const assigneeName = [assignee.firstName, assignee.lastName]
  .filter(Boolean)
  .join(' ') || assignee.email;

// Build the customer display name
const customerName = customer.fullName || customer.email || 'Unknown customer';

// Help Scout conversation URL — works for both secure.helpscout.net and app.helpscout.com
const ticketUrl = `https://secure.helpscout.net/conversation/${conversation.id}`;

// Build the Slack message text using mrkdwn formatting
const slackMessage = [
  '🎫 *You have been assigned a new ticket*',
  `*Subject:* ${conversation.subject || '(No subject)'}`,
  `*Customer:* ${customerName}`,
  `*Status:* ${conversation.status ?? 'active'}`,
  `*Mailbox ID:* ${conversation.mailboxId ?? 'N/A'}`,
  `*View ticket:* ${ticketUrl}`
].join('\n');

return [{
  json: {
    skip: false,
    assigneeEmail: assignee.email,
    assigneeName,
    customerName,
    ticketSubject: conversation.subject || '(No subject)',
    ticketUrl,
    mailboxId: conversation.mailboxId ?? null,
    slackMessage,
    conversationId: conversation.id
  }
}];

Canvas > + > HTTP Request Node

Look up the Slack user by email

Add an HTTP Request node after the Code node. You'll call Slack's 'users.lookupByEmail' API endpoint to convert the Help Scout assignee email into a Slack user ID — you need the user ID to send a DM. Set the method to GET, URL to 'https://slack.com/api/users.lookupByEmail', and add the email as a query parameter. Add a Header for Authorization with value 'Bearer YOUR_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN'. The response will contain the Slack user ID under 'user.id'.

1. 1Click '+' after the Code node and add an 'HTTP Request' node
2. 2Set Method to GET
3. 3Set URL to 'https://slack.com/api/users.lookupByEmail'
4. 4Under Query Parameters, add key 'email' with value '{{ $json.assigneeEmail }}'
5. 5Under Headers, add 'Authorization' with value 'Bearer YOUR_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN'
6. 6Click 'Test Step' and confirm the response contains a 'user.id' field

Canvas > + > If Node

Add an IF node to handle lookup failures

Add an 'If' node after the HTTP Request node. Set the condition to check if the Slack API response field 'ok' equals true (boolean). This routes the workflow into two branches: the 'true' branch continues to send the DM, and the 'false' branch can post to a fallback channel or stop gracefully. Without this guard, the Slack message node will fail silently or throw an error if the user ID is missing.

1. 1Click '+' after the HTTP Request node and add an 'If' node
2. 2Set Condition: Value 1 to '{{ $json.ok }}'
3. 3Set Operation to 'Equal'
4. 4Set Value 2 to 'true' (toggle to Boolean type)
5. 5Connect the 'true' output to the next Slack node

Canvas > + > Slack Node > Message > Post

Add the Slack node to send the DM

Connect a Slack node to the 'true' output of the If node. Set Resource to 'Message' and Operation to 'Post'. For Channel, use the Slack user ID pulled from the previous HTTP Request node: '{{ $node["HTTP Request"].json.user.id }}'. This sends a direct message rather than a channel post. Build the message text using the fields from the Code node — subject, customer name, and the ticket URL. Authenticate using your Slack bot token via n8n's credential store.

1. 1Click '+' on the 'true' output of the If node and add a 'Slack' node
2. 2Set Resource to 'Message', Operation to 'Post'
3. 3Set Channel to '{{ $node["HTTP Request"].json.user.id }}'
4. 4Set Text to your message template using Code node fields (see Pro Tip for full template)
5. 5Select your Slack credential or click 'Create New Credential' to add your bot token

Canvas > If Node (false branch) > + > Slack Node

Add an optional fallback channel message

Connect another Slack node to the 'false' output of the If node. Point this message to a fallback channel like '#support-ops' and include a message like 'Could not find Slack user for Help Scout assignee [email]. Ticket: [URL]'. This way no assignment notification is silently dropped — an admin can manually follow up. Use the assigneeEmail from the Code node so the message is actionable.

1. 1Click '+' on the 'false' output of the If node
2. 2Add another Slack node with Resource 'Message' and Operation 'Post'
3. 3Set Channel to '#support-ops' (or your chosen fallback channel name)
4. 4Set Text to 'Could not find Slack user for {{ $node["Code"].json.assigneeEmail }}. Ticket: {{ $node["Code"].json.ticketUrl }}'
5. 5Use the same Slack credential as Step 8

n8n Canvas > Webhook Node > Production URL

Switch from Test URL to Production URL

Go back to the Webhook node and copy the 'Production URL' — it's a different URL from the Test URL. Return to Help Scout under Manage > Integrations > Webhooks, edit the webhook you created in Step 3, and replace the Test URL with the Production URL. The Production URL only fires when your n8n workflow is active. Do this before activating the workflow in the next step.

1. 1Click the Webhook node and copy the Production URL from the node panel
2. 2Go to Help Scout > Manage > Integrations > Webhooks
3. 3Click Edit on the webhook you created
4. 4Replace the Payload URL with the n8n Production URL
5. 5Click Save

n8n Canvas > Workflow Active Toggle (top right)

Activate the workflow

In n8n, toggle the workflow from inactive to active using the switch in the top-right corner of the canvas. The toggle turns blue and the workflow status changes to 'Active'. From this point, every 'Conversation Assigned' event from Help Scout hits the Production webhook URL and runs the full workflow. Assign a real ticket in Help Scout and confirm the DM arrives in Slack within 30 seconds.

1. 1Click the toggle switch in the top-right corner of the canvas
2. 2Confirm the status changes to 'Active' and the toggle turns blue
3. 3Go to Help Scout and assign a real conversation to a team member
4. 4Check the assignee's Slack DMs within 30 seconds to confirm the notification arrived