Slack Integrations - Review Process, How to Request, and Approved Integrations

Summary

How to configure Slack Integrations, including a list of approved integrations and how to request, review, and get integrations approved for our Slack instance. This article applies to application integrations as well as webhooks.

After reviewing this article, please reach out to [e-mail] if you have any additional questions. 

NOTE: Review may take up to 2 weeks due to a lengthy Security queue.

 

Sections in this Article

• Disclaimers
• How to Request a Slack App / Integration
• How to Configure Approved Integrations
  • Google Calendar
  • Jira
  • Confluence Cloud
  • Donut
  • Email
  • GitHub
  • InVision
  • DataDog
  • Pingdom
  • Twitter
  • AirBrake
  • PagerDuty
  • Salesforce
  • Travis CI
  • Jenkins
  • Trello
  • RSS
  • Samson

Disclaimers

NOTE: This document provides directional guidance and is subject to change. 

Slack is administered by the IT Global Service Desk. For security reasons, we are limiting Admin and Owner roles to these select few individuals. We are unable to offer permanent Slack Admin access outside this group. In some cases, we may grant temporarily elevated privileges to allow the requester to facilitate enabling their requested integration.

• Integration requests for new apps MUST go through Vendor Review.
  • See data classifications here. (Sec 5.2)
• Apps in Beta will NOT be approved. 
• Customer data cannot be stored in Slack. 
• You may be asked to test/demo your request in our Slack Sandbox. 
• Custom Integrations (such as bots, incoming/outgoing webhooks, slash commands) will be required to be set up in Sandbox first. 

How to Request a Slack App / Integration

• Please confirm that the app you’re requesting has not already been approved here. 
• Please review the disclaimers list above and on the Security page here.   ;) 
• Complete and submit this form found on the Zendesk IT help center. 
• Your ticket will then be shared with Security for further review. 
• Security will get back to you with either an approval, rejection, or request for more information. 

If Approved: 

• For custom integrations (including webhooks), IT will elevate your permissions in Slack to configure your app. 
• For app marketplace apps, IT will approve the app in Slack. 

How to Configure Approved Integrations

Google Calendar

NOTE: Slack Team Members are APPROVED to configure. You will need to use your own Google Calendar access to complete the configuration. If your Google Apps account is suspended, the notifications will stop working. 

• Click here to access the Google Calendar App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
• Click Connect Google Account

• Allow Google Access

• Choose a calendar that you are subscribed to and the channel where notifications will be posted. Click Add Google Calendar Integration

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Google Apps and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please fill out the fields to suit your preferences:

Event Reminders 
Choose how you would like your reminders to display

Calendar updates
This will notify the channel for the applicable fields shown

Calendar Summaries
Choose a daily and/or weekly summary and time

 

JIRA Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in JIRA to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your JIRA Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the JIRA App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Add to Slack.

• Select a channel where notifications will be posted. Click Add JIRA Integration

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with JIRA and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields as such:

Descriptive Label 
include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
use this naming convention: JIRA - [JIRAprojectname]

Customize Icon
leave as default

Disable / Remove Jira Integration

• Click here to access the JIRA App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Under Configurations, locate the channel and edit the configuration

• Disable or remove the integration from the channel

Confluence Cloud Integration

Subscribe to Confluence Pages & Spaces

A subscription links your Confluence space, blog or page to a Slack channel so you can define which events drive notifications for that channel.

For security reasons, Slack notifications won't be sent for Confluence pages with both viewing and editing restricted. 

Subscribe to a Page or Post

• Open the page that you would like to create a subscription for.
• Click ... > Slack Notifications.
• Click Add subscription.
• Choose the Slack workspace and channel to connect to your page or blog post. If your workspace isn't on the list, select Add new workspace and follow the prompts to connect it.
• Choose the notifications you want to send to the Slack channel. 

To subscribe to a page in a Slack channel, type /confluence connect <page-url> into the chat window. By default a subscription added via Slack will send notifications for all available event triggers. 

Subscribe to a Space

Only space admins can add a space subscription within Confluence; however, all users can create a space subscription directly from Slack.

• Open the space that you would like to create a subscription for.
• Click Space settings > Integrations > Slack Notifications. 
• Click Add subscription. 
• Choose the Slack workspace and channel to connect to your space. If your workspace isn't on the list, select Add new workspace, and follow the prompts to connect it. 
• Choose the notifications you want to send to the Slack channel. 

To subscribe to a space in a Slack channel, type /confluence connect <space-url> into the chat window. A subscription added via Slack will by default send notifications for all available event triggers. 

Create a Personal Subscription: 

You can have notifications sent to you by direct message from the Confluence bot.

• Select Confluence in the Apps section of your Slack's left sidebar.
• Type /confluence connect <page-or-space-url>.

Edit a subscription

You can edit the types of notifications you receive for a subscription at any time. In Slack, type /confluence list and then click Edit subscription. Follow the below steps to edit subscriptions in Confluence. 

To edit notifications for a page or post in Confluence: 

• Open the page for which you would like to edit the notifications.
• Click  > Slack Notifications.
• Click the icon next to the existing subscription and choose the notifications you want to send to the Slack channel. 

To edit notifications for a space in Confluence: 

Only space admins can modify space subscriptions within Confluence; however, all users can modify space subscriptions directly from Slack.

• Open the space for which you would like to edit the notifications.
• Click Space settings > Integrations > Slack Notifications.
• Click the icon next to the existing subscription and update the notifications you want to send to the Slack channel. 

Disable and Enable the Confluence Cloud Integration

When you subscribe to a Confluence page, post or space to a Slack channel, the Confluence Cloud for Slack app will be automatically installed in your Slack workspace. Alternatively, you can install it in your Slack workspace from here. It's as simple as that!

Site admins can disable the app for their entire Confluence Cloud site with these steps:

• Go to Settings > Manage add-ons.
• Select System from the drop-down.
• Select Slack Notifications from the displayed apps and click Configure.
• Turn off the toggle to disable the app.

Space admins can also disable the app for pages in their space by navigating to Space settings > Integrations > Slack Notifications, and turning off notifications.

NOTE: Disabling the app at a site or space-level will delete any existing Slack notification subscriptions.

Donut Integration

NOTE: Zendesk is on the free version of Donut. This means that Donut CANNOT be added to any additional channels. 

There are a handful of channels that were grandfathered in to a plan that this rule does not apply to:

#mel-donut	#dub-waz-erg-donut	#sf-mosaic-erg	#san-francisco-donut
#madison-donut	#dublin-donut	#mel-megadonut	#sf-wie-donut
#dub-wie-donut	#mtl-donut	#pmo-ops-donut	#talk-donut

Create a Slack Channel for Donut

We recommend creating a new, dedicated Slack channel to use for Donut pairings.

To do this:

• Go to the top of your channel list in Slack and click the (+) sign to the right of the "Channels" heading.
• Give it a descriptive name (we've seen names range from #coffee-buddies or #donut-friends-forever to #donut-be-strangers).

Invite Donut to the Channel and Configure Settings

Once Donut has been added to your Slack team and you've created the Slack channel, the next step is to invite Donut to the channel.

To do this:

• Go to the channel and type "/invite @donut".
  • Donut will then DM you to finish the set up — this is where you'll set the frequency of pairings for your team. Don't worry — you can always go view or change the settings for your team later on donut.ai.

Announce Donut to Your Team

Your team participates in Donut pairings by joining the channel you created, so now you just need to invite others to participate and let them know what channel to join if they're interested!

You can announce Donut to your team via email and/or within Slack (most teams post it in the #general channel). Donut will send you a handy prompt that you can use by just copying and pasting it right into Slack (e.g. into #general). We'll also send you some email announcement examples that you can use as well.

Email Integration

NOTE: Email origin must be internal to Zendesk and not publicly distributed. Do not use this integration for sending confidential information. 

• Click here to access the Email App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Add to Slack.

• In the Post to Channel section, select the intended channel destination. Then click Add Email Integration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields as such: 

Descriptive Label 
Please include your name and a short description of the purpose of this integration.

Customize Name
leave as default

Customize Icon
leave as default

• Click Save Integration.

GitHub Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in Github to complete the configuration and the name of the repo the Engineer wishes to push updates to Slack

For a repo to be able to push updates to a slack channel, the configuration must be done via the Github Slack Integration within Github. 

• Log into the Github Zendesk org and click Settings. Then click Installed Github Apps in the left-side column.

• In the Github Apps list, find the Slack Github integration and select click Configure

Only certain repos have been set to integrate with Slack:

• Click Select repositories and type the name of the repo (e.g zendesk/classic)

• Click the repo name and it will add it to the group list. Then click Save.

For the integration to work correctly in a Slack channel you will need to send the Engineer the following instructions:

Please go to the Slack channel you wish to use the integration in and type

/github subscribe zendesk/reponame

Once this step is done the integration will be live.

InVision Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in InVision to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your InVision Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the InVision App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Visit site to install

There are three ways you can integrate Slack and InVision:

• Pushing prototype activity like status changes or new comments to a channel
• Sharing individual screens with a channel
• Creating freehands in Slack. 

Decide which way you'd prefer and follow the setup instructions outlined on this page. 

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with InVision and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

Datadog Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in Datadog to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Datadog Administrator with additional questions.

• Click here to access the Datadog App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Add Configuration

• Click Add Datadog Configuration. 
  
  
• Follow the Setup Instructions. 

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Datadog and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields:

Descriptive Label 
 - Include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
 - Use this naming convention: Datadog - [datadogprojectname]

Customize Icon
 - Leave as default

Pingdom Integration

NOTE: you will need the appropriate permissions in Pingdom to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Pingdom Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the Jenkins CI App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
• Click Add Configuration

• Select a channel where notifications will be posted, then click Add Pingdom Integration.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Pingdom and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated under Webhook Setup Instructions (New). 

• Complete the following fields as such:

Descriptive Label 
Include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
Use this naming convention: Pingdom - [pingdomprojectname]

Customize Icon
Leave as default

 

Twitter Integration

NOTE: you will need the appropriate permissions on Twitter to complete the configuration. 

• Click here to access the Twitter App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
• Click Add Configuration

• Select a channel where notifications will be posted. Click Add Twitter Integration.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Twitter and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Authorize the twitter account you want to integrate:

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields as such:

Descriptive Label 
Include team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
Leave as default

Customize Icon
Leave as default

 

Airbrake Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in Airbrake to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Airbrake Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the Travis CI App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Add to Slack. 

• Select a channel where notifications will be posted. Click Add Airbrake Integration.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Airbrake and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields:

Descriptive Label 
include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
use this naming convention: Airbrake - [airbrakeprojectname]

Customize Icon
leave as default

 

Pagerduty Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in Pagerduty to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Pagerduty Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the Pagerduty App set up instructions.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Pagerduty and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

Salesforce Integration

Search Salesforce from Slack by typing /salesforce [search term]. Your search will return three results, and when you click one, it will expand to provide basic account details. You can then choose to share your search results in any channel or Direct Message.

You can view information about any Account, Lead, Opportunity, or Contact whenever you paste a Salesforce URL in Slack. This way, your team has the context they need without having to juggle different apps and windows.

NOTE: The /salesforce slash command will search Accounts and Contacts, but NOT Leads or Opportunities.

• Navigate to https://zendesk.slack.com/services/BB69PQ9S6. 
• Click Authenticate your Salesforce account
• Log in using Okta. 
• Click Allow
• You can now use the Salesforce command in Slack to search Salesforce and paste URLs. 

NOTE: The search results will only be visible to you. 

• To post, click Show Details > click Post to Conversation. 
• Then you'll see an indication that your message posted.

Reach out to #ask-it-collab with any questions. 

Travis CI Integration

NOTE: you will need the appropriate permissions in Travis CI to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Travis CI Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the Travis CI App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Add to Slack.

• Select a channel where notifications will be posted. Click Add Travis CI Integration.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Travis CI and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields:

Descriptive Label 
include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
use this naming convention: Travis CI - [travisprojectname]

Customize Icon
leave as default

Jenkins Integration

NOTE: you will need the appropriate permissions in Jenkins CI to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Jenkins CI Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the Jenkins CI App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
• Click Add to Slack. 
• Select a channel where notifications will be posted. Click Add Jenkins CI Integration.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Jenkins CI and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields as such:

Descriptive Label 
include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
use this naming convention: Jenkins CI - [jenkinsprojectname]

Customize Icon
leave as default

 

Trello Integration

NOTE: You will need the appropriate permissions in Trello to complete the configuration. Please follow-up with your Trello Administrator for questions.

• Click here to access the Trello App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory.
  
  
• Click Add Configuration

• Click Authenticate your Trello account
  
  
• Select a channel where notifications will be posted.
  
  
• Click Add Trello Integration 

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident (with Trello and/or Slack), we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

• Follow the setup instructions indicated. Please complete the following fields:

Descriptive Label 
include eng team/owner of this integration

Customize Name
use this naming convention: Trello - [trelloprojectname]

Customize Icon
leave as default

 

RSS Integration

• Click here to access the RSS App in our Zendesk Slack App Directory. Scroll to the bottom of the page. 
  
  
• Fill in the Feed URL field and select a channel where notifications will be posted. Please be thoughtful that the feeds subscribed are appropriate for Zendesk use.

• Click Subscribe to this Feed.

NOTE: Slack Admins do not have administrative control over private channels. In the event of a security incident, we will be reaching out to you to disable this configuration.

 

Samson Integration

This integration webhook is available directly in Samson.

Please contact Michael Grosser from the Tools Team in Engineering if you cannot find it.