How to Post Todoist Task Summaries to Slack with Zapier

zapier.com > Dashboard > Create Zap

Create a new Zap and name it

Log into zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the left sidebar. Give the Zap a name at the top — something like 'Todoist Daily Standup → #standup'. This name shows up in your Zap list and in error notification emails, so make it descriptive. You'll be dropped into the Zap editor with a blank trigger block on the left.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the default 'Untitled Zap' name at the top and type a descriptive name
3. 3Press Enter to save the name

Zap Editor > Trigger > App & Event

Set the trigger to Schedule by Zapier

Click the trigger block and search for 'Schedule by Zapier' in the app search field — it's a Zapier-native app, not a third-party integration. Select it, then choose 'Every Day' as the trigger event. This fires the Zap once per day at a time you specify. Do not use Todoist as the trigger here; you want time-based execution, not task-event-based execution.

1. 1Click the trigger block
2. 2Type 'Schedule' in the app search field
3. 3Select 'Schedule by Zapier' from the results
4. 4Choose 'Every Day' as the trigger event
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Configure

Configure the schedule time and days

In the schedule configuration, set the time to 15–30 minutes before your standup starts so the Slack message is ready when people arrive. Set 'Day of Week' to 'Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri' if you only want weekday standups — leave it as 'Every Day' only if your team runs weekend standups. Select your team's time zone from the dropdown. Click 'Continue' and then 'Test Trigger' to confirm it fires.

1. 1Set 'Time of Day' to your desired standup prep time (e.g., 8:45 AM)
2. 2Select your team's local time zone from the 'Time Zone' dropdown
3. 3Set 'Day of Week' to weekdays only if applicable
4. 4Click 'Continue'
5. 5Click 'Test Trigger' to generate a sample payload

Zap Editor > Action 1 > App & Event

Add a Todoist action to get today's tasks

Click the '+' button below the trigger to add an action. Search for 'Todoist' and select it. Choose 'Find Tasks' as the action event — this queries Todoist for tasks matching a filter rather than waiting for a new task to be created. You'll need to connect your Todoist account if you haven't already; click 'Sign in to Todoist' and authorize in the popup window.

1. 1Click the '+' button below the trigger block
2. 2Search for 'Todoist' in the app search field
3. 3Select 'Todoist' from the results
4. 4Choose 'Find Tasks' as the action event
5. 5Click 'Sign in to Todoist' and complete OAuth authorization
6. 6Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action 1 > Configure

Configure the Todoist task filter

In the 'Find Tasks' configuration, set the Filter field using Todoist's natural language filter syntax. Use 'today' to get all tasks due today across all projects, or 'today & #ProjectName' to scope it to a specific project. The Filter field accepts the same syntax as Todoist's own filter bar — you can test your filter directly in Todoist before pasting it here. Enable the 'Find All?' toggle so Zapier returns every matching task, not just the first one.

1. 1Click into the 'Filter' field
2. 2Type your Todoist filter query (e.g., 'today' or 'today & #Work')
3. 3Enable the 'Find All?' toggle
4. 4Click 'Continue'
5. 5Click 'Test action' to verify tasks are returned

Zap Editor > Action 2 > Formatter by Zapier > Utilities

Add a Formatter step to build the task list text

The Todoist action returns an array of task objects, but Slack needs a single formatted text string. Add a new action and choose 'Formatter by Zapier', then select 'Utilities' as the event and 'Line Item to Text' as the transform. This converts the array of task content fields into a newline-separated list. Map the 'Content' field from your Todoist results into the Input field of the Formatter.

1. 1Click '+' to add a new action step
2. 2Search for and select 'Formatter by Zapier'
3. 3Choose 'Utilities' as the event
4. 4Select 'Line Item to Text' as the transform type
5. 5Map the Todoist 'Content' line item field into the 'Input' field
6. 6Set the separator to a newline character or '\n'
7. 7Click 'Continue' then 'Test action'

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

Zap Editor > Action 3 > Code by Zapier > JavaScript

Add a Code by Zapier step to prefix bullet points

The plain list from Formatter has no visual structure. Add a 'Code by Zapier' action using JavaScript to prefix each task with a bullet character and add a header line with today's date. Map the Formatter output text as an input variable named 'task_list'. The code splits on newlines, adds '• ' to each line, and prepends a date header. This makes the Slack message scannable at a glance.

1. 1Click '+' to add a new action
2. 2Search for and select 'Code by Zapier'
3. 3Choose 'Run JavaScript' as the event
4. 4Add an input variable named 'task_list' and map it to the Formatter output text
5. 5Paste the JavaScript code into the code editor
6. 6Click 'Continue' then 'Test action'

Paste this into the 'Code by Zapier' (Run JavaScript) step in Action 3. Add one input variable named 'task_list' and map it to the Formatter output. The code builds a formatted Slack message with today's date header and bulleted task lines — it also handles edge cases like empty input so the Zap doesn't post a broken message.

// Input variable: task_list (mapped from Formatter output)
const raw = inputData.task_list || '';
// Build today's date header in readable format

// Input variable: task_list (mapped from Formatter output)
const raw = inputData.task_list || '';

// Build today's date header in readable format
const today = new Date();
const options = { weekday: 'long', year: 'numeric', month: 'long', day: 'numeric' };
const dateHeader = today.toLocaleDateString('en-US', options);

// Split tasks on newline and filter out empty lines
const lines = raw.split('\n').map(l => l.trim()).filter(l => l.length > 0);

// Guard: if no tasks, post a fallback message
if (lines.length === 0) {
  output = [{ result: `*📋 Standup — ${dateHeader}*\n\n_No tasks due today. Enjoy the breathing room._` }];
} else {
  // Prefix each task with a bullet point
  const bulletedTasks = lines.map(task => `• ${task}`).join('\n');
  const message = `*📋 Standup — ${dateHeader}*\n\n${bulletedTasks}`;
  output = [{ result: message }];
}

Zap Editor > Action 4 > App & Event

Connect your Slack account

Add a new action and select 'Slack'. Choose 'Send Channel Message' as the event. Click 'Sign in to Slack' — this opens an OAuth popup where you authorize Zapier to post to your Slack workspace. You must have permission to add apps to your Slack workspace; if you get a 'restricted' error, ask your Slack admin to approve the Zapier app in Slack's App Management settings.

1. 1Click '+' to add a new action
2. 2Search for and select 'Slack'
3. 3Choose 'Send Channel Message' as the event
4. 4Click 'Sign in to Slack'
5. 5Select your workspace in the OAuth popup
6. 6Click 'Allow' to grant Zapier posting permissions
7. 7Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action 4 > Configure

Configure the Slack message

Select the target Slack channel from the 'Channel' dropdown — type '#' to filter by channel name. In the 'Message Text' field, map the output from the Code by Zapier step. Set 'Bot Name' to something like 'Standup Bot' and optionally set a Bot Icon to a robot emoji or custom icon URL. Leave 'Send as a Bot?' set to 'Yes' so the message appears under the bot name rather than your personal Slack account.

1. 1Select the target channel from the 'Channel' dropdown (e.g., #standup)
2. 2Click into 'Message Text' and map the Code by Zapier output variable
3. 3Set 'Bot Name' to 'Standup Bot' or your preferred display name
4. 4Set 'Bot Icon' to ':robot_face:' or a custom icon URL
5. 5Confirm 'Send as a Bot?' is set to 'Yes'
6. 6Click 'Continue'

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

Zap Editor > Action 4 > Test

Test the full Zap end to end

Click 'Test action' on the Slack step. Zapier will immediately post a test message to your selected Slack channel using real data from your Todoist test. Open Slack and confirm the message appears in the correct channel with the right formatting. Check that task names are readable, the date header is correct, and the bot name shows up as expected. If anything looks off, go back to the relevant step and adjust.

1. 1Click 'Test action' on the Slack configuration step
2. 2Open Slack and navigate to your target channel
3. 3Verify the message appears with correct formatting and task names
4. 4Check the bot name and icon display correctly
5. 5Return to Zapier if any corrections are needed

Zap Editor > Publish > Turn On

Turn on the Zap

Click 'Publish' in the top right corner of the Zap editor. Toggle the Zap to 'On' in the confirmation dialog. Zapier will now run this Zap automatically at the scheduled time every day. You can verify the Zap is active by checking the Zap list on your dashboard — it should show a green 'On' indicator and display the next scheduled run time.

1. 1Click the 'Publish' button in the top right of the Zap editor
2. 2Review the summary screen
3. 3Click 'Turn on Zap' in the confirmation dialog
4. 4Return to the Zap dashboard and confirm the green 'On' indicator is visible