How to Create a ClickUp Task from a Slack Message Using Make.com

Introduction

Someone posts an actionable request in Slack and it vanishes into replies, or it sits in a channel with no owner. Manually copying the message into ClickUp creates friction and loses context: attachments, thread history, and who asked for the work.

In this short guide you will build a simple Make.com scenario that turns a selected Slack message into a ClickUp task, preserves the message text and attachment links, writes the message permalink into the task description, and posts the new ClickUp task link back into the Slack thread. By the end you will have a reliable micro-automation you can hand to your team.

What you will know by the end: the Make.com modules to use, exact field mappings, and the small dedupe and permissions checks that matter.

What You'll Need

• Slack workspace, permission to install or use the Slack app that Make.com supports (posting into channels and reading messages requires the relevant scopes)
• ClickUp workspace, permission to create tasks in the target List and to read user IDs if you plan to map assignees
• Make.com account with connected Slack and ClickUp apps, and ability to create scenarios
• A target ClickUp List ID and a simple naming convention for automatically created tasks

Notes: Basic Make.com and Slack permissions are usually sufficient for a low-volume automation. If you expect many runs or need webhooks for Slack Events API, a paid Make.com plan may be necessary.

How It Works (The Logic)

Trigger: You use the Slack message shortcut (Add to Make.com via the Slack app) or a specific reaction-based trigger. Make.com receives the message payload, extracts text, attachments, author, timestamp, and the message permalink. Make.com then creates a ClickUp task in the chosen List, writes the Slack message text and permalink into the task description, optionally assigns the task, and finally posts the ClickUp task link back into the Slack thread as a reply.

Trigger (Slack message shortcut or reaction) → extract message + attachments → Create ClickUp task → Post confirmation reply to Slack thread

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Choose the Slack trigger pattern

• Option A, recommended for a simple user-driven flow: use Slack’s message action/shortcut and configure Make.com to receive that shortcut. This lets a user select a message and run the automation on demand.
• Option B, reaction-based: trigger when a specific emoji reaction is added (for example :create_task:). This is easy to teach the team but requires a small filter to ignore accidental uses.

Common gotcha: ensure the Slack app used by Make.com has the chat:write, channels:read, groups:read, channels:history and reactions:read scopes if you use reactions. For message shortcuts, the app needs message action permissions.

2. Create a new Scenario in Make.com and add the Slack trigger

• Module: Slack, choose the trigger matching your approach:

  • For message shortcuts: "Watch for Slack shortcuts" or the Make.com Slack "Watch Events" module configured for the message_action type if available.
  • For reactions: Slack "Watch Reactions" and filter for the emoji you use.

• Run a test by invoking the shortcut or adding the reaction to capture a sample payload.

3. Extract message fields you need

From the Slack payload map these values into variables:

• message_text: the full message text (include parent message if this is a thread reply)
• message_permalink: build or fetch the message permalink (Slack provides a method to get permalink by channel and ts)
• message_ts: timestamp to use for dedupe or context
• user_id: the Slack user who posted the message
• attachments/files: any file URLs present in the message (Slack file URLs may require the app token to fetch; you can store the public share link if available)

Gotcha: Slack file URLs are often private. If you need the file contents in ClickUp, either make the file public first or attach the Slack file permalink in the ClickUp description rather than attempting to upload the binary.

4. Add a small dedupe check (optional but practical)

If you use a reaction trigger, users may accidentally react twice. Implement a simple guard:

• Tools: search the ClickUp List for tasks containing the Slack message permalink in the description
• If a match exists, stop and optionally post a message saying the task already exists

This keeps duplicate tasks from being created for the same Slack message.

5. Create the ClickUp task

• Module: ClickUp, "Create a Task"
• Map fields as follows:

  • Task name: a short summary, for example Slack: {{first 80 chars of message_text}}

  • Description: include a block like:

    Source Slack message: {{message_permalink}}

    Posted by: <@{{user_id}}>
    Message: {{message_text}}

    Attachments: {{file_links}}

  • Due date: optional, leave blank unless you want a default SLA

  • Assignees: optional; map a default assignee or implement a routing rule below

  • Custom field: if you have a Slack permalink field, set it to message_permalink for easier lookups

Common gotcha: ClickUp date fields expect epoch milliseconds via the API in many cases. For this simple build you can omit dates or convert ISO times using Make.com date functions when needed.

6. Post the ClickUp task link back into Slack

• After ClickUp returns the new task object, build the task URL. Make.com often returns the full task URL; if not, construct it as https://app.clickup.com/t/{{task_id}}.
• Module: Slack, "Post Message". Post into the original channel and thread (use the channel id and the message_ts to reply in-thread).
• Message example: "Task created: <{{clickup_task_url}}|Open task> — assigned to @username. If you want to change the assignee, edit the task in ClickUp."

Why reply in-thread: it keeps the conversation connected to the task and makes the handoff visible to everyone who participated in the thread.

7. Test the full flow

• Pick a real Slack message, run the shortcut or add the reaction, and confirm the scenario creates a ClickUp task with the expected description and that Slack gets the reply with the task link.
• Verify file links appear as expected. If files are missing because of permissions, either share the file publicly or include instructions for the user to upload directly into ClickUp.

8. Turn on the scenario and teach the team

• Provide a one-line instruction in your Slack ops channel: "React with :create_task: or use the message action to create a ClickUp task from any message." Keep the scope narrow at first, for example only in #ops-requests.
• Monitor the first 48 hours and check for common issues: duplicate reactions, missing file access, or blank assignees.

Real-World Business Scenario

A product support team used this flow to convert Slack bug reports into ClickUp tasks without losing the thread context. Support staff used the message action on the user’s message. Each ClickUp task contained the message permalink, reporter, and any attached screenshots. The task link posted back into the Slack thread so engineers could ask follow-ups right where the user had posted. This removed manual copying and reduced triage time.

Common Variations

• Auto-assign by channel or keyword: route tasks to different ClickUp assignees or Lists by channel name or a keyword in the message text.
• Include a short form in Slack before task creation: after the shortcut runs, ask the user one quick question (priority or type) in Make.com and use that answer to set a ClickUp custom field.
• Upload files into ClickUp: if you need files attached to the task, have Make.com download the Slack file using the bot token and then upload it via ClickUp API as an attachment. This requires the Make.com Slack connection to have file access and may be subject to rate limits.

Putting this into practice

You now have a minimal, user-friendly Make.com scenario that turns Slack messages into ClickUp tasks, keeps the message permalink in the task, and posts the task link back into the thread. For related patterns, see our ClickUp→Slack status alerts guide for outbound updates and our Calendly→ClickUp booking patterns for task creation from scheduled events. Read the ClickUp status alert guide How to Automatically Notify Slack When a ClickUp Task Changes Status Using Make.com and the Calendly booking guide How to Create ClickUp Tasks from Calendly Bookings Using Make.com and Slack.

If you want this implemented across your channels, or extended with file uploads and multi-channel routing, Olmec Dynamics builds these kinds of automations for real businesses. See what we do at https://olmecdynamics.com