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Slack and Asana

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The Asana for Slack integration will ensure that your team can work seamlessly between Asana and Slack, without having to constantly switch tools. It also supports Slack's Enterprise Grid plans.

App integrations aren’t just for projects. Add apps to your My tasks to integrate with the tools your team uses most.

Getting started

To get started, download the Asana for Slack app. Log into Slack and follow prompts from the Asana bot for Slack to authenticate your Asana account, allowing Asana to send information to Slack. If someone in your organization has already installed the integration you might have received a prompt to re-authorize your Asana in Slack. By doing this you’ll be able take advantage of all the new features.

If you receive a message indicating that you are not authorized to install Asana, please contact your admin and ask them to approve the app for your Workspace.

Slack app authentication


The Asana for Slack integration is different than the previous Asana app and we will be deprecating the older version in due course. We will import any configurations you had set up from the old app to the new Asana for Slack app. To learn how to set up linked project configurations, see Linked Project Configurations below.

The fastest way to onboard your team is to paste a link to an Asana task in Slack. Ask your teammates to click on More actions from the drop down menu and select Like this task. By interacting with the task, they’ll receive the re-authorization message. Once they re-authorize, the new Asana for Slack will replace the old version.

Migrating to the new integration

If your slash commands and message actions have stopped working, it means we have started the migration window, and you’ll need to migrate to the new version to start using them again. We will import your project channel configs from the old app to the new app and you will receive notifications in the same channels you have used previously.

Slack auth

Using the Asana for Slack integration

The Asana for Slack integration allows you to turn Slack messages into tasks, take action on tasks from within Slack, or create a new task without leaving Slack. Task specific actions are also available via notifications in your personal or project channels.

From Slack you can view a list of commands and bring up links to this guide by typing /asana help

Asana help

Turn a Slack message into a task, or add a message to an existing task

Capture conversations in Slack and turn them into a task, or add the conversation to a task. In Slack, select the conversation. Click the more messages button and select either Create a task or Add to task. A link will be created in the Asana task so that you can re-access the Slack conversation for further context.

more actions

When you access a Slack channel:

  1. Click the three dot icon next to a Slack message
  2. Click either Add as task comment or Create a task

Paste a link to an Asana task, milestone, project, or status in Slack to share information and it will become actionable from within Slack via a dialogue box and dropdown menu options.

link unfurl actions

The person or channel you’ve shared the task with will be able to:

  1. Mark the task complete
  2. Like the task
  3. Change or add an assignee
  4. Change or add a due date
  5. Add the task to a project
  6. Open the task in Asana

If you share a task that lives in a project with Private to members permission settings, with a user that is not a project member, they will not be able to make edits and will have to request access from the project owner. You can control whether the description for private tasks or projects are unfurled via /asana settings.

Smart chat in Slack

Smart chat in Slack allows you to surface insights and recommendations related to your work in Asana, all within the context of your Slack conversations. Smart chat in Slack is available to customers who have a paid Asana plan and a paid Slack plan.

 

You can ask AI chat almost any work-related question to streamline your tasks. Whether you're looking for the latest project updates, trying to find out who owns a task, identifying blockers, or figuring out the next steps to keep a project on track. You can even ask who the most knowledgeable person about a specific topic is, so you know who to Slack. AI chat helps you get the information you need quickly, so your team can focus on what’s important without switching between tools.

AI chat example 

To access Smart chat in Slack, follow these steps:

  1. Find the Asana icon in the quick access menu in the top-right corner of your Slack workspace 
  2. Click Chat with Asana

Chat with Asana icon

 

If this icon is not visible, you can add it by going to your user preferences, clicking Navigation, and selecting it from the App agents section. If you don't see the app listed, you'll need to request your admin to enable it for your workspace first.

Smart summaries in Slack

Stay up to date on task details with AI-generated summaries directly in Slack. Smart summaries in Slack allows teams to get a quick overview of work happening in a task without having to leave their Slack workspace.

Your Asana organization must have Asana AI enabled in order to use Smart summaries in Slack. Using Smart summaries in Slack will count towards your organization’s AI usage limits. Visit this Help Center article for more details on limits.

Using the AI integration

Slack and Asana AI output (4).png 

  1. Copy the task URL and paste it in a Slack channel or direct message.
  2. A task preview will appear. Click Summarize task to generate a task summary.

The task summary is not visible to other members of the Slack channel. It is only visible to the user who requested it. Any member of the Slack channel with access to the task will have the option to summarize the task, however the summary itself is only visible to the user that clicked on the Summarize task button.

Enabling link previews

If you do not see task previews on Slack, check your Slack settings as follows:

  1. Type /asana settings into any DM or Slack channel to open your settings.
  2. Ensure Display link previews are set to On.

Create a task

Type /asana create to create a new task in Asana without leaving Slack.

A dialogue box will pop up and in drop down menus you’ll be able to:

  1. Add a task title
  2. Add an assignee
  3. Add a due date
  4. Add the task to a project and select a project section
  5. Add a task description
  6. Select which channel to share the task with - you can unselect this if you do not want to share it with a channel, or select yourself if you want the app to DM only you a link to the task
  7. Select who to make this task available to

Create a task using emojis

You can turn Slack messages into Asana tasks by using the :memo: 📝 emoji. To do so, react to any message with the 📝 emoji. The message content and any thread replies are automatically included in your task description.

Personal notifications

When you first install the app, you’ll receive a message from Asana giving you the choice to turn on your Asana notifications. This is helpful because you’ll be able to take action upon these notifications without leaving Slack. You’ll receive notifications when:

  • A task is assigned or unassigned from you

For tasks assigned to you, you'll receive a notification when:

  • The task is completed
  • The due date changed
  • All dependencies are completed
  • A dependency is uncompleted
  • A dependency due date is changed
  • You are added as a follower
  • There is a comment on a task you are following

Personal notifications will be delivered to your personal Asana channel, found under the Apps section in the bottom left of your Slack Sidebar.

Note iconNote

Please note that personal notifications are not sent when you are active in Asana

At any time you can manage your personal notifications by typing /asana settings in Slack. You’ll be able to turn notifications off or on, change your default domain, or deauthorize your account.

personal project notification

Linked project notifications

You can sync Asana projects to Slack channels. This is helpful because you and your team will be able to take action upon these notifications without leaving Slack. Notifications will be made in the channel when the following changes are made to the project:

  • A task is added to the project
  • A task is completed in project
  • The due date is changed on any task in the project
  • The assignee is changed on any task in the project
  • The status of a project, portfolio, or goal has changed
Note iconNote

Please note that updates from private projects, portfolios, and goals may be sent to a Slack channel that includes members who are not members of the private projects, portfolios, or goals.

To set up notifications for a channel, first make sure you’re in the channel you’re setting up notifications for. Then type /asana link and you’ll see the option to choose and connect your project to the channel. You can also use /asana link to turn off channel notifications.

linked project notification

Rules in Slack

You can use rules to keep Slack channels and Asana tasks in sync, so updates in one place are reflected in the other. Rules help you capture work from Slack, share status changes back to Slack, and keep conversations aligned across both tools.

Prerequisite: Add the Asana app to a Slack channel

Before you use rules that send messages to a Slack channel or read messages from that channel, you need to add the Asana app to the channel.

  1. Open the Slack channel where you want to use Asana rules
  2. Click the channel name at the top of the screen
  3. Click Integrations
  4. Click Add an app
  5. Search for Asana and click Add

Once the Asana app is added, you can create rules that read messages from that channel and send updates back to it.

Note iconNote

You cannot set up rules for a Slack channel until the Asana app has been added to that channel.

Slack rule triggers: trigger from new messages and replies

You can start rules from Slack activity when you want to turn channel conversations into work in Asana.

When a Slack message is posted to a channel, the rule can create or update a task in Asana based on that message. You choose the channel to monitor and can add AI conditions to check the content of each message before the rule runs. For example, you can look for messages that mention specific keywords or phrases before creating a task.

Slack rule triggers

When a reply is posted to a Slack thread that is linked to an Asana task, the rule can add that reply to the task so the full conversation is captured. This makes it easier to keep context in Asana while people continue talking in Slack.

Slack rule actions: send channel messages or DMs

You can use Slack message actions in rules to keep your team informed when work changes in Asana.

Use the Send channel message action to post an update into a Slack channel when task activity happens in Asana. For example, you can send a message when a task is created, moves to a specific section, or is marked complete. Including task variables in the message helps you give teammates clear context without leaving Slack.

Use the Send direct message action to notify a specific person from a rule so they see important changes right away. You can include details like the task name, assignee, and due date in the message so the person receiving it understands what changed and where to look in Asana.

Use the Send reply to thread action to add a reply to a Slack message that’s linked to the triggering task. You can use this to keep everyone on the Slack thread informed of progress on a task.

Using variables in Slack rules

When creating a Slack app action, you can include task variables that will automatically populate the Slack message with task information when the notification is sent to make your messages more dynamic and informative.

When creating a Slack app trigger rule, you can include Slack message variables that will automatically populate the task with Slack information. 

Two-way comments with rules in Slack

You can create a two-way comment sync between Slack and Asana so teammates can comment where they prefer while keeping a single, shared conversation.

First, create a rule that watches a Slack channel using the “New message is posted to channel” Slack trigger and creates a task from new messages. This helps you capture requests and questions that start in Slack so they can be tracked in Asana.

Next, create a rule that listens for replies in the linked Slack thread using the “Reply is posted to thread” Slack trigger and adds those replies as comments to the Asana task. This keeps the task’s comment thread complete while people continue to reply in Slack.

Finally, create a rule that listens for new comments on the Asana task and sends a reply to the linked Slack thread using the “Send reply to thread” Slack action. This keeps Slack followers in the loop when updates happen in Asana without requiring them to open Asana.

Two way comments with rules in Slack

With these rules in place, you can keep Slack and Asana comments aligned while still letting teammates use the tool that works best for them.

Like what you see? Get started with a free Asana trial today. Try for free

Note iconNote

Want to connect Slack and Asana like a pro? Ask the Community!

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