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Learn how to automate Slack notifications directly from your GitHub Actions workflows using the Slack Notify action by rtCamp. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to send build statuses, deployment alerts, and custom messages to any Slack channel.
The image shows a GitHub Marketplace page for the "Slack Notify" GitHub Action, which is used to send messages to a Slack channel. It includes details like version, contributors, and a screenshot of a Slack message.

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Table of Contents

  1. Action Inputs Reference
  2. Creating a Slack Channel & Webhook
  3. Testing Your Webhook
  4. Storing the Webhook as a GitHub Secret
  5. Adding the Slack Notification Job
  6. Verifying Notifications in Slack
  7. Using if: always() on Cancellation
  8. Links and References

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Action Inputs Reference

Use the following environment variables to configure your Slack messages. At minimum, set SLACK_CHANNEL and SLACK_WEBHOOK.
VariableDescriptionExample
SLACK_CHANNELTarget Slack channel (name or ID)general
SLACK_WEBHOOKIncoming Webhook URL (store securely as a secret)${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }}
SLACK_COLORMessage color: good, warning, danger, hex code, or job status${{ job.status }}
SLACK_ICONURL to an icon or emojihttps://github.com/rtCamp.png?size=48
SLACK_TITLETitle of the notificationBuild Notification
SLACK_MESSAGEMain message text, supports emojisBuild Status :rocket:
SLACK_USERNAMEUsername to displayrtCamp

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Example Usage

- name: Slack Notification
  uses: rtCamp/action-slack-notify@v2
  env:
    SLACK_CHANNEL: general
    SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }}
    SLACK_COLOR: ${{ job.status }}
    SLACK_ICON: https://github.com/rtCamp.png?size=48
    SLACK_TITLE: Build Notification
    SLACK_MESSAGE: 'Build Status :rocket:'
    SLACK_USERNAME: rtCamp
Customize SLACK_COLOR, SLACK_ICON, and other fields to match your team’s branding or workflow context.

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Creating a Slack Channel & Webhook

  1. In your Slack workspace, create a new channel (e.g., github-actions-channel).
  2. Navigate to https://api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App → From scratch.
  3. Name the app GitHub Actions application, select your workspace, then Create App.
  4. Under Features, enable Incoming Webhooks and click Add to Workspace.
  5. Choose your channel and click Allow. Copy the generated webhook URL.
The image shows the Slack API interface for building apps, with options for adding features like Incoming Webhooks, Interactive Components, and Slash Commands. The left sidebar lists various settings and features available for app development.
The image shows a Slack authorization page where the GitHub Actions application is requesting permission to access a Slack workspace. A dropdown menu is open, allowing the user to select a channel for posting.

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Testing Your Webhook

Before integrating into GitHub Actions, verify the webhook: 
curl -X POST -H 'Content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"text":"Hello, World!"}' YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL_HERE

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Storing the Webhook as a GitHub Secret

  1. In your GitHub repository, go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions.
  2. Click New repository secret, name it SLACK_WEBHOOK, and paste your webhook URL.
The image shows a GitHub repository settings page for managing secrets and variables, including environment and repository secrets like AWS keys and passwords.
Never hard-code your Slack webhook URL in public workflows. Always use GitHub Secrets to protect sensitive information.

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Adding the Slack Notification Job

Incorporate the Slack notification at the end of your workflow to report statuses on success, failure, or cancellation. Below is a sample workflow: 
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
      - 'feature/*'

env:
  MONGO_URI: 'mongodb+srv://supercluster.d83jj.mongodb.net/superData'
  MONGO_USERNAME: ${{ vars.MONGO_USERNAME }}
  MONGO_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MONGO_PASSWORD }}

jobs:
  unit-testing:
    # ...
  code-coverage:
    # ...
  dev-integration-testing:
    # ...
  prod-integration-testing:
    # ...

  slack-notification:
    if: always()
    name: Slack Notification
    needs: [dev-integration-testing, prod-integration-testing]
    continue-on-error: true
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Send Slack Notification
        uses: rtCamp/action-slack-notify@v2
        env:
          SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }}
          SLACK_CHANNEL: github-actions-channel
          SLACK_COLOR: ${{ job.status }}
          SLACK_ICON: https://gitlab.com/sidd-harth/solar-system/-/raw/main/images/saturn.png
          SLACK_TITLE: Workflow Status
          SLACK_MESSAGE: ':hammer_and_wrench: Triggered by ${{ github.actor }}'
The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow interface with a workflow named "Solar System Workflow" in progress, displaying jobs like unit testing and code coverage, along with a visual representation of the workflow steps.
After the run completes, view the summary:
The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow summary for a project named "solar-system," indicating a successful run with various jobs like unit testing, code coverage, and Slack notification.

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Verifying Notifications in Slack

Open your Slack channel (github-actions-channel) and confirm receipt of the notification:
The image shows a Slack workspace with a channel named "github-actions-channel-2" where a GitHub Actions application has been integrated, displaying notifications about a commit event.

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Using if: always() on Cancellation

By using if: always(), your Slack notification step will run even if the workflow is manually canceled or fails. See GitHub Actions expressions for more details.
The image shows a GitHub Docs page about GitHub Actions expressions, specifically focusing on the "always" and "cancelled" expressions, with examples and a warning about using "always."
When you cancel the workflow mid-run, the notification still fires:
The image shows a Slack interface with a channel named "github-actions-channel-2" where GitHub Actions notifications are being posted, including details about commits and workflows.

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