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25 min setup
Review before sending
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Auto-summarize Gmail to Slack

Turn unread Gmail into a morning Slack brief. Plain-English setup for Claude Desktop, Gmail, and Slack — no coding.

Setup progress

0%

Check items off as you move through the recipe.

⚡ TL;DR

  • ✓ A short, scannable Slack message in your team channel summarizing unread Gmail from the last 24 hours — with replies needed today, action items, and deadlines called out.
  • ✓ ~25 min first-time setup (connect apps once), ~2 min each morning after that
  • ✓ Review before sending
  • ✓ Uses Gmail, Slack

Before you start

0/5

How to connect each app

  • Gmail

    Claude Desktop → Settings → Connectors → Gmail → Connect → sign in with Google → Allow

    Open setup help →

  • Slack

    Claude Desktop → Settings → Connectors → Slack → Connect → pick your workspace → Allow

    Open setup help →

Setup (25 min)

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The prompt

Please help me with my morning email brief.

1. Read my unread Gmail messages from the last 24 hours.
2. Group them by theme or sender — whichever is clearer.
3. Write a Slack-ready summary with these sections:
   - Needs reply today (sender + one-line reason)
   - Action items (who / what / when if mentioned)
   - Deadlines mentioned
   - Everything else (short bullets)

Keep the whole summary under 400 words. Use bullet points.

When the summary looks good, ask me which Slack channel to post it to.
Show me a preview of the Slack message before posting anything.

Paste into Claude Desktop. Claude will use your connected apps: Gmail, Slack.

Expected outcome

A short, scannable Slack message in your team channel summarizing unread Gmail from the last 24 hours — with replies needed today, action items, and deadlines called out.

Success checklist

0/6

Troubleshooting

I can't find Connectors in Claude Desktop

Cause

The menu label changed in a recent update, or you are using the web browser instead of the desktop app.

Solution

Use the Claude Desktop app (not claude.ai in a browser). Look for Settings → Connectors or Settings → Integrations. Update Claude Desktop to the latest version from claude.ai/download if you still don't see it.

Gmail or Slack won't connect

Cause

You may be signed into the wrong Google/Slack account, or your company requires admin approval for new apps.

Solution

Sign out and reconnect with your work account. If Slack says the app needs approval, send your IT team the Claude Slack connector request — you can keep using the recipe to get a summary in chat while you wait, and post to Slack manually.

Claude says it can't read my email

Cause

Gmail is not connected yet, or Claude lost the connection after an update.

Solution

Go to Settings → Connectors and confirm Gmail shows Connected. If not, disconnect Gmail, reconnect, and restart Claude Desktop. Then run the prompt again.

Claude wrote a summary but didn't post to Slack

Cause

Slack is not connected, or Claude is waiting for you to name a channel and approve the preview.

Solution

Reply with the exact channel name (include the #, like #marketing-updates). Say "show me a preview before posting." Approve only when the preview looks right.

The summary is too long or includes newsletters I don't care about

Cause

The prompt needs a tighter time window or filter.

Solution

Say: "Only include emails from the last 12 hours" or "Skip newsletters and automated alerts." Run the prompt again with those instructions at the top.