Example Workflow: Slack Command Assistant

This workflow enables Slack slash commands to trigger documentation generation, Notion updates, or ad-hoc code analysis via DocuWriter.ai. It handles parsing, validation, routing, and contextual responses—all within an n8n workflow.

Workflow Overview

The Slack Command Assistant uses a webhook to receive /docuwriter commands. It then:

  • Parses the command payload
  • Validates the action
  • Routes to the appropriate process (GitHub, Notion, Analysis, or Help)
  • Responds back to Slack with real-time feedback
flowchart TD
  A[Slack Slash Command<br/>(/docuwriter)] --> B[Slack Doc Command Trigger]
  B --> C[Parse Slack Command]
  C --> D{Validate Command}
  D -->|Valid| E[Route by Action]
  D -->|Invalid| F[Respond Invalid Command]
  E --> G[GitHub Flow]
  E --> H[Notion Flow]
  E --> I[Analyze Flow]
  E --> J[Help Response]
  F --> K[Respond Invalid Command]
  J --> L[Respond Help Command]

Commands & Syntax

Users invoke the workflow via Slack slash commands. Available commands include:

Command Description
/docuwriter github <repo-url> Generate documentation for a GitHub repository
/docuwriter notion <database-id> Update a Notion database with generated docs
/docuwriter analyze <code> Perform code quality analysis on provided code
/docuwriter help Show usage guidance and feature list

The help response is formatted as an ephemeral Slack message with command details and examples .

Node Breakdown

Below is a table of the core nodes in this workflow:

Node Name Type Responsibility
Slack Doc Command Trigger webhook Listens for /docuwriter POST requests
Parse Slack Command code Extracts action, target, options, user
Validate Command if Checks if action ∈ {github, notion,...}
Route by Action switch/if Branches flow based on parsed action
Respond Help Command respondToWebhook Sends command usage and feature list
Respond Invalid Command respondToWebhook Alerts user of invalid syntax
GitHub Branch various (HTTP, code, DocuWriter) Processes GitHub docs generation
Notion Branch notion, code, DocuWriter Retrieves pages & updates with docs
Analyze Branch DocuWriter Runs ad-hoc code analysis
Respond to Slack (X) respondToWebhook Returns formatted Slack JSON for each flow

Parse Slack Command

This code node extracts key data from Slack’s webhook payload:

// Parse Slack slash command for documentation request
const slackPayload = $json;
const command = slackPayload.text || '';
const parts = command.split(' ');
return {
  json: {
    action: parts[0]?.toLowerCase() || 'help',
    target: parts[1] || '',
    options: parts.slice(2).join(' '),
    user: { id: slackPayload.user_id, name: slackPayload.user_name },
    channel: { id: slackPayload.channel_id },
    timestamp: Date.now(),
    isValidCommand: ['github','notion','analyze','help'].includes(parts[0]?.toLowerCase())
  }
};

Validate Command

An If node ensures only supported actions proceed:

  • True → continue to Route by Action
  • False → invoke Respond Invalid Command
{
  "conditions": {
    "leftValue": "={{ $json.isValidCommand }}",
    "operation": "equal",
    "rightValue": true
  }
}

Route by Action

This Switch/If logic directs valid commands:

  1. github → GitHub Flow
  2. notion → Notion Flow
  3. analyze → Analyze Flow
  4. help → Respond Help Command

GitHub Flow

  • Parse GitHub Repository Info
  • Get GitHub Repository Files → Filter GitHub Code Files → Download GitHub File
  • Generate GitHub Documentation
  • Format GitHub Slack Response
  • Respond to Slack (GitHub)

Notion Flow

  • Get Notion Database
  • Extract Code from Notion
  • Generate Notion Documentation
  • Update Notion Page
  • Respond to Slack (Notion)

Analyze Flow

  • Analyze Code Quality (DocuWriter.ai)
  • Format Analysis Slack Response
  • Respond to Slack (Analysis)

Help Response

  • Respond Help Command sends usage details .

Respond Help Command

Sends an ephemeral Slack JSON payload with:

  • 📚 DocuWriter.ai Help
  • Commands: list with backticks
  • Examples: sample invocations
  • Features: ✅ bullet list
{
  "response_type": "ephemeral",
  "text": "📚 **DocuWriter.ai Help**\n\nGenerate documentation and analyze code using Slack commands:\n\n**Commands:**\n• `/docuwriter github <repo-url>` - Generate documentation for GitHub repository\n• `/docuwriter notion <database-id>` - Update Notion database with documentation\n• `/docuwriter analyze <code>` - Perform code quality analysis\n\n**Examples:**\n• `/docuwriter github https://github.com/user/repo`\n• `/docuwriter notion abc123def456`\n• `/docuwriter analyze function calculateTotal() { ... }`\n\n**Features:**\n✅ Multi-platform integration\n✅ Real-time documentation generation\n✅ Code quality analysis\n✅ Team notifications\n✅ Email reports"
}

Adapting This Workflow

To tailor this assistant:

  • Add new commands: Extend isValidCommand and Route by Action branches.
  • Customize responses: Modify code nodes or respondToWebhook bodies.
  • Integrate additional platforms: Insert new sub-flows after parsing (e.g., Bitbucket, GitLab).
  • Adjust limits: Change file filtering logic in Filter GitHub Code Files.

Use this pattern as a template for multi-platform, interactive Slack automations.

Updated