How to Create Notion Tasks from Slack Messages with Zapier

Zapier Dashboard > Create Zap > Trigger > Search Apps

Create a new Zap and connect Slack

Go to zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the top-left sidebar. The Zap editor opens to a blank canvas with a trigger block at the top. Click that trigger block, then type 'Slack' in the search box and select it from the results. You'll see a list of Slack trigger events — this is where you choose how a Slack message kicks off the workflow.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the empty trigger block labeled 'Trigger'
3. 3Type 'Slack' in the app search field
4. 4Select 'Slack' from the dropdown results

Trigger > Event dropdown

Choose your trigger: New Reaction Added

In the trigger event dropdown, select 'New Reaction Added.' This fires every time anyone adds a specific emoji reaction to any message in a channel you specify. This approach works better than keyword-matching for capturing tasks because it's intentional — someone has to actively react, which cuts down on false positives from conversational messages. You'll pick the exact emoji and channel in the next step.

1. 1Click the 'Event' dropdown in the Slack trigger panel
2. 2Scroll to or search for 'New Reaction Added'
3. 3Select 'New Reaction Added'
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Trigger > Account > Sign in to Slack

Connect your Slack account

Click 'Sign in to Slack' — Zapier redirects you to Slack's OAuth page. Select your workspace from the dropdown if prompted, then click 'Allow.' Zapier needs access to read message history and reaction events. You must sign in as a user who has access to the channels you want to monitor — Zapier acts on behalf of this user account, not as a bot.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Slack' in the Account section
2. 2Select your Slack workspace in the OAuth popup
3. 3Review the permissions and click 'Allow'
4. 4Confirm the connected account appears under 'Account'

Trigger > Configure > Reaction / Channel

Configure the reaction and channel

In the 'Reaction' field, type the emoji name without colons — for example, type 'white_check_mark' for the ✅ emoji. In the 'Channel' field, select the specific Slack channel you want to monitor from the dropdown. If you want to monitor multiple channels, you'll need separate Zaps for each one — Zapier doesn't support multi-channel selection in a single trigger. Stick to one high-signal channel like #general-tasks or #requests to start.

1. 1Click the 'Reaction' field and type the emoji name (e.g., 'white_check_mark')
2. 2Click the 'Channel' dropdown and select your target channel
3. 3Leave 'Trigger for Bot Messages?' set to 'No'
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Trigger > Test Trigger

Test the Slack trigger

Click 'Test Trigger.' Zapier looks for the three most recent times that emoji was added in that channel. If no results come back, go to Slack, react to a message with your chosen emoji, then return to Zapier and click 'Test Trigger' again. You'll see a data payload with fields like message text, the user who reacted, the channel name, the original message timestamp, and a permalink. These are the fields you'll map to Notion in the next steps.

1. 1Click 'Test Trigger'
2. 2If no data returns, go to Slack and add your emoji to a real message
3. 3Click 'Test Trigger' again
4. 4Expand the returned record to confirm message text and user fields are visible

Action > Search Apps > Notion > Create Database Item

Add a Notion action and connect your account

Click the '+' button below the trigger to add an action. Search for 'Notion' and select it. In the Event dropdown, choose 'Create Database Item' — this adds a new row to your Notion database. Click 'Sign in to Notion' and follow the OAuth flow. Critically, Notion's OAuth page asks you to select which pages Zapier can access — you must explicitly share the specific database page here or Zapier won't see it.

1. 1Click the '+' icon below the trigger block
2. 2Search for and select 'Notion'
3. 3Choose 'Create Database Item' from the Event dropdown
4. 4Click 'Sign in to Notion' and complete the OAuth flow
5. 5On the Notion permissions screen, select the specific database page to share with Zapier

Action > Configure > Database ID

Select your Notion database

In the 'Database ID' field, click the dropdown and search for your Notion database by name. If it doesn't appear, go back to Notion, open the database, click Share in the top-right, then re-authorize Zapier and share that page. Once the database loads, Zapier reads its schema and dynamically shows all the properties as fields below — Name, Status, Assignee, Priority, URL, and any custom fields you've added.

1. 1Click the 'Database ID' dropdown
2. 2Type the name of your Notion task database
3. 3Select it from the results
4. 4Wait for Zapier to load the database properties below

Action > Configure > Field Mapping

Map Slack fields to Notion properties

Click into the 'Name' field (or whatever your Notion task title property is called) and use the data picker to insert the Slack 'Text' field from your trigger. This puts the message text as the task title. For other fields, map 'User' to an Assignee or Reporter text field, 'Channel' to a Channel property, 'Timestamp' to a Created Date property, and 'Permalink' to a URL property. If your database has a Status field with options like 'To Do / In Progress / Done,' type the static value 'To Do' directly — don't map it from Slack.

1. 1Click the 'Name' field and select 'Text' from the Slack trigger data
2. 2Click the Assignee or Reporter field and select 'User' from the Slack data
3. 3Click the Channel field and select 'Channel Name' from the Slack data
4. 4Click the URL field and select 'Permalink' from the Slack data
5. 5Type 'To Do' directly into the Status field

Between Trigger and Action > + > Formatter by Zapier > Text > Replace

Add a Formatter step to clean the message text

Slack message text often contains user mention tokens like '<@U04BNKQ82>' and channel references like '<#C01234567|general>.' These look ugly as Notion task titles. Click '+' between the trigger and Notion action to insert a Zapier 'Formatter by Zapier' step. Choose 'Text' as the transform type, then 'Replace' as the action. In the 'Find' field enter '<[^>]+>' and check the 'Use Regex' box — this strips all angle-bracket tokens from the message. Use the cleaned output in your Notion Name field instead of the raw Slack text.

1. 1Click '+' between the Slack trigger and Notion action
2. 2Search for and select 'Formatter by Zapier'
3. 3Choose 'Text' then 'Replace'
4. 4In 'Input' select the Slack 'Text' field
5. 5In 'Find' type '<[^>]+>' and enable the 'Use Regex?' toggle
6. 6Leave 'Replace' blank to remove the matches
7. 7Click 'Continue' and run a test

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

This Code by Zapier step resolves the Slack user ID to a display name and strips mention tokens from the message text in one pass — paste it as a 'Run Python' Code step inserted between the Slack trigger and the Notion action. Set the input data fields 'message_text' and 'user_id' from your Slack trigger before running.

import re
import urllib.request
import json

import re
import urllib.request
import json
import os

# Input from Zapier
message_text = input_data.get('message_text', '')
user_id = input_data.get('user_id', '')
slack_token = input_data.get('slack_bot_token', '')

# Strip Slack mention tokens: <@U123>, <#C123|general>, <https://url|text>
def clean_slack_text(text):
    # Replace user mentions with placeholder
    text = re.sub(r'<@[A-Z0-9]+>', '[teammate]', text)
    # Replace channel references
    text = re.sub(r'<#[A-Z0-9]+\|([^>]+)>', r'#\1', text)
    # Replace hyperlinks — keep display text
    text = re.sub(r'<https?://[^|>]+\|([^>]+)>', r'\1', text)
    # Strip bare URLs left in angle brackets
    text = re.sub(r'<https?://[^>]+>', '', text)
    return text.strip()

cleaned_text = clean_slack_text(message_text)

# Resolve user ID to display name via Slack API
display_name = user_id  # fallback to ID if lookup fails
if slack_token and user_id:
    try:
        url = f'https://slack.com/api/users.info?user={user_id}'
        req = urllib.request.Request(url, headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {slack_token}'})
        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=5) as response:
            data = json.loads(response.read())
            if data.get('ok'):
                profile = data['user']['profile']
                display_name = profile.get('display_name') or profile.get('real_name', user_id)
    except Exception:
        pass  # Keep fallback ID on any error

return {
    'cleaned_message': cleaned_text,
    'reporter_name': display_name
}

Action > Test Step

Test the full Zap

Click 'Test Step' on the Notion action. Zapier uses your sample Slack data to create a live record in Notion — this is a real write, not a preview. Open your Notion database in a new tab and confirm the row appears with the correct title, channel, and permalink. Check that the Status column shows 'To Do' and that the URL is clickable and leads back to the original Slack message. Delete the test row from Notion after confirming it looks right.

1. 1Click 'Test Step' on the Notion action block
2. 2Open your Notion database in a separate tab
3. 3Find the new row created by the test
4. 4Verify title, channel, permalink, and status fields
5. 5Delete the test row from Notion

Zap Editor > Name field > Publish button

Name and publish the Zap

Click the pencil icon at the top of the editor and give the Zap a clear name like 'Slack ✅ Reaction → Notion Task Board.' Click 'Publish.' The toggle at the top switches to On and turns blue. Zapier will now listen for new ✅ reactions in your chosen channel 24/7. The first real-world trigger should fire and create a Notion task within 1-2 minutes of someone reacting.

1. 1Click the pencil icon next to the default Zap name
2. 2Type a descriptive name for the Zap
3. 3Click 'Publish'
4. 4Confirm the toggle shows 'On' in blue